Distinct lichen community in riparian forests along an anthropogenic disturbance gradient in Southern Brazil

Abstract

The riparian forest sustains an expressive richness and diversity of species and anthropogenic impacts in certain sites have caused changes in the structure of the communities. This study aimed to analyze the composition and structural parameters of the lichen community in riparian forests. The study was carried out in seven sites surrounded by different matrices: rural, urban and industrial. The lichens were mapped using the acetate method and the composition and phytosociological parameters were analyzed. A total of 208 species were identified. The riparian forest sites of the rural matrix differed from the others by the dominance of the morphological forms crustose and squamulose, as well as the predominance of species from humid and shaded environments. Phyllopsora lividocarpa, Phyllopsora parvifolia and Herpothallon minimum presented the highest importance values in the forest sites. The lichen community presented greater homogeneity in riparian forest sites of the urban-industrial matrix. Modifications in the species’ composition and structural parameters of the lichen community demonstrated a gradient of disturbances in the different matrices. Preservation actions of riparian forests are essential for the conservation of the species and landscape connectivity since they act as an important reservoir of biodiversity in sites of subtropical watersheds.

Full text

Rodriguésia 74: e01332021. 2023
http://rodriguesia.jbrj.gov.br
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/2175-7860202374032
Abstract
The riparian forest sustains an expressive richness and diversity of species and anthropogenic impacts
in certain sites have caused changes in the structure of the communities. This study aimed to analyze the
composition and structural parameters of the lichen community in riparian forests. The study was carried out
in seven sites surrounded by different matrices: rural, urban and industrial. The lichens were mapped using the
acetate method and the composition and phytosociological parameters were analyzed. A total of 208 species
were identified. The riparian forest sites of the rural matrix differed from the others by the dominance of the
morphological forms crustose and squamulose, as well as the predominance of species from humid and shaded
environments. Phyllopsora lividocarpa, Phyllopsora parvifolia and Herpothallon minimum presented the
highest importance values in the forest sites. The lichen community presented greater homogeneity in riparian
forest sites of the urban-industrial matrix. Modifications in the species’ composition and structural parameters
of the lichen community demonstrated a gradient of disturbances in the different matrices. Preservation actions
of riparian forests are essential for the conservation of the species and landscape connectivity since they act
as an important reservoir of biodiversity in sites of subtropical watersheds.
Key words: Atlantic Forest, lichenized fungi, rare species, urbanization.
Resumo
As florestas ripárias sustentam expressiva riqueza e diversidade de espécies e os impactos antropogênicos
em determinados locais podem ocasionar modificações na estrutura das comunidades. O objetivo do estudo
foi analisar a composição e parâmetros estruturais da comunidade liquênica em florestas ripárias. O estudo
foi realizado em sete áreas inseridas em diferentes matrizes: rural, urbana e industrial. Os liquens foram
mapeados utilizando o método do acetato e foram analisadas a composição e os parâmetros fitossociológicos.
Um total de 208 espécies foram identificadas. As áreas florestais da matriz rural diferiram das outras pela
dominância das formas morfológicas crostosas e esquamulosas, assim como pela predominância de espécies
de ambientes úmidos e sombreados. Phyllopsora lividocarpa, Phyllopsora parvifolia e Herpothallon minimum
apresentaram os maiores valores de importância nas áreas florestais. As modificações na composição de
espécies e nos parâmetros estruturais demonstraram um gradiente de perturbação nas diferentes matrizes.
Ações de preservação nas áreas florestais ripárias são essenciais para a conservação das espécies e
conectividade da paisagem uma vez que atuam como importante reservatório de biodiversidade em áreas
de bacias hidrográficas subtropicais.
Palavras-chave: Floresta Atlântica, fungos liquenizados, espécies raras, urbanização.
Original Paper
Distinct lichen community in riparian forests along
an anthropogenic disturbance gradient in Southern Brazil
Márcia Isabel Käffer1,3,5, Renan Kauê Port 1,4 & Jairo Lizandro Schmitt 2
1 Universidade Feevale, Colaboradora do Laboratório de Botânica, Bairro Vila Nova, Novo Hamburgo, RS, Brazil.
2 Universidade Federal de Alagoas, Campus de Arapiraca, Unidade Educacional de Penedo, Centro, Penedo, AL, Brazil. ORCID: <https://orcid.org/0000-0001-
9867-9645>.
3 ORCID: <https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4685-7566>.
4 ORCID: <https://orcid.org/0009-0008-3284-5688>.
5 Author for correspondence: mkaffer9617@gmail.com
See supplementary material at <https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.22626970.v1>

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Introduction
Riparian forests maintain and preserve water
courses, soil, and biodiversity (Ribeiro-Filho et
al. 2009). These forest areas present high levels
of biological diversity and productivity (Bennet
& Simon 2004) and are responsible for housing
highly adapted species in addition to generalist
taxa (Gundersen et al. 2010). Anthropogenic
disturbances in these sites cause habitat loss and
changes in the composition of communities, which
may lead to the extinction of species (Aragón et
al. 2019). The knowledge of biodiversity, ecology
and communities is important for the protection of
forests. Assessing the quality of forest sites, such as
riparian forests, as well as their continuity, human
impact or number of threatened species is essential
for the conservation of these ecosystems (Resl et
al. 2018). Therefore, species composition, richness
and diversity are considered good indicators of
ecological continuity, reflecting the recent history
of disturbance in forest areas (Aragón et al. 2019).
Epiphytic lichens are essential components
in tropical forests due to their role in water and
nutrient cycling (Benítez et al. 2018). These
organisms are considered environmental indicators
due to their capacity to demonstrate human and
microclimatic disturbances (Chuquimarca et
al. 2019; Käffer et al. 2021), helping evaluate
ecosystem health (Bartholmess et al. 2004).
Additionally, they are considered highly effective
in diagnosing the quality of forest environments
due to their sensitivity to the substrate (Tripp
et al. 2019). Lichens can be used to assess the
successional stage of forests (Koch et al. 2013) by
demonstrating whether the ecosystem has remained
unchanged over time (Aragón et al. 2019).
Lücking et al. (2009) estimated approximately
7,000 lichen species for the tropical region and
considered the knowledge of the species richness
of tropical taxa and their taxonomy to be important
to other research areas. The same author reports
that the high richness in the tropics is attributed to
different variables, including the absence of snow
and the good conditions for photosynthesis. Recent
studies in the South region of Brazil reported 107
new records for the state of Rio Grande do Sul
(Aptroot et al. 2021, 2022).
In the last 25 years, forest areas had a net
loss of 129 million ha, especially in developing
tropical countries, where forests are used for
agricultural purposes (Ripple et al. 2017). The
Hydrographic Basin of Sinos River (HBSR) located
in southern Brazil, is considered one of the most
polluted in the country and is located in the Atlantic
Forest Biome, which constitutes one of the 36
biodiversity hotspots in the world (<https://www.
conservation.org>). The forest areas inserted in
the HBSR region have been altered over the years,
presenting different degrees of anthropogenic
disturbance and causing direct changes in the
ecosystem’s dynamics. Specifically, past studies
in this Basin found composition change and
richness reduction in fern and lycophyte species,
as well as in vascular epiphytes (Rocha-Uriartt
et al. 2016), over a gradient of urbanization. The
knowledge about the diversity and structure of
the lichen community in the Atlantic Forest is
of great importance for ecosystem conservation
studies (Cáceres et al. 2016). Studies show that
changes in the composition and richness of
lichenized mycota in tropical forests are due to the
influence of agricultural activities and urbanization
(Chuquimarca et al. 2019; Koch et al. 2019).
Accordingly, the determination of the composition,
diversity and structure of the lichen community can
be used as a diagnostic model of environmental
quality in an urbanization gradient. On the other
hand, the phytosociological approach of the lichen
community as a tool in the analysis of forest areas
in tropical and subtropical environments is still
incipient (Leite et al. 2015; Käffer et al. 2015).
Thus, we hypothesize that the structural parameters,
diversity and composition of the lichen community
are different in forest sites according to the matrices
in which they are inserted, and we assume that there
will be: (1) reduction of species richness in the
rural-urban-industrial matrices; (2) modification in
the structural parameters of the lichen community
with a predominance of characteristic taxa in the
urban-industrial matrices, and (3) homogenization
of the lichen community in the most urbanized and
industrialized environments. Therefore, the present
study aims to: (1) verify possible differences in the
composition and diversity between forest sites (2)
analyze the composition of the lichen community
occurring in different riparian forest sites, and (3)
assess the phytosociological parameters of the
corticicolous lichen community in riparian forest
sites in different matrices in southern Brazil.
Material and Methods
Study sites
The Hydrographic Basin of Sinos River
(HBSR) is in the northeastern region of Rio
Grande do Sul, Brazil. It covers an area of 3,746.68
km², encompassing 32 municipalities with a

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total population estimated at around 1,249,100
inhabitants (Sema 2019). The HBSR is inserted in
the Atlantic Forest Biome. The basin’s vegetation
cover is reduced, although forest patches remain
predominantly at the sources of the Sinos River
and the streams that form it. The increasing
urbanization associated with population growth
caused several impacts on the HBSR, especially
the decrease in the vegetation cover (Prosinos
2011).
The HBSR forest sites are characterized by
several tropical species. The forest sites analyzed
in this study correspond to two formations.
Semideciduous Seasonal Forest, comprising the
most extensive formation of the basin, with an
amplitude of altitudinal distribution from 12 to 600
m, is characterized by generally less density and
humidity with a less diverse and open understory.
The Ombrophilous Forest occurs in an altitudinal
amplitude ranging from 600 to 905 m and
presents a humid habitat with dense understory,
in addition to a herbaceous layer dominated
by ferns and trunks covered by epiphytes. The
families Myrtaceae, Meliaceae, Lauraceae, and
Salicaceae predominate in number of individuals.
This formation concentrates some of the largest
and most preserved stretches of continuous forest
in the basin, including the Caraá Environmental
Protection Area, which houses one of the springs
of the HBSR main river (Molz et al. 2016). The
climate is classified as humid subtropical (cfa)
with well-defined summers and winters, as well
as rains throughout the year (Peel et al. 2007).
Selection of forest sites
The riparian forest sites (S1 to S7) were
selected along the HBSR (from the source
towards the mouth of the main river) in seven
municipalities distributed into three different
environmental matrices (rural, rural-urban, and
urban-industrial). Levels of urbanization were
considered for each matrix (Tab. 1; Fig. 1). Each
riparian forest site was selected based on its
availability in the three different environmental
matrices. All forests had an area of at least 1 ha
and the phorophytes were 5 m to 15 m apart.
Sampling and identication
The lichen community was sampled using
the acetate sheet method, which consists of placing
five acetate sheets (20 × 20 cm) in sequence along
the trunk from a height of 100 cm to 180 cm on
the north and south sides of the trees (cardinal
directions determined by a compass) (Fig. 2). The
contour of the species’ thalli was drawn with a
pen (Käffer et al. 2015) and later used to calculate
Sites City Matrix Elevation (asl.) Coordinates
S1 São Leopoldo Urban/Industrial 829°45’ 84.0”S
51°10’ 83.0’W
S2 Campo Bom Urban/Industrial 17 29º 39’ 07.9”S
51º 07’ 04.0”W
S3 Nova Santa Rita (mouth of the Sinos River) Urban/Industrial 14 29º 52’ 45.8”S
51º 15’ 39.0”W
S4 Rolante/Santo Antônio da Patrulha Rural/Urban 18 29º 43’ 62.5”S
50º 38’ 23.2”W
S5 Taquara Rural/Urban 16 29º 41’ 09.7”S
50º 47’ 54.2’W
S6 Santo Antônio da Patrulha/Caraá Rural 34 29° 46´ 57.0” S
50º 28’ 25.5”W
S7 Caraá (source of the Sinos River) Rural 470 29º 42’ 05.8”S
50º 17’ 46.1”W
Table 1 – Location of forest sites (from the source to the mouth) located in the Hydrographic Basin of Sinos River.
Brazil.

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Figure 1 – a-c. The riparian forest sites of the
Hydrographic Basin of Sinos River, southern Brazil.
(Site 1 = São Leopoldo; Site 2 = Campo Bom; Site 3
= Nova Santa Rita; Site 4 = Rolante/Santo Antônio da
Patrulha; Site 5 = Taquara; Site 6 = Santo Antônio da
Patrulha/Caraá; Site 7 = Caraá).
a b
c
the species’ coverage. For lichen community
sampling, 10 phorophytes were randomly chosen
in each riparian forest site, totaling 70 trees.
The phorophytes were selected according to the
following characteristics: diameter at breast height
(DBH) ≥ 12.0 cm, similar trunk structure and no
branches below 2.0 m from the ground (Tab. S1,
available on supplementary material <https://doi.
org/10.6084/m9.figshare.22626970.v1>).
Lichen species that could not be identified in
the field were collected for later identification in
the Botany Laboratory of the Feevale University,
RS, Brazil. To identify the species, stereoscopic and
optical microscopes, chemical tests on the cortex,
medulla and/or reproductive structures, taxonomic
keys, and consultation of herbarium material were
used, as well as confirmation by specialists in the
lichen groups. The species classification followed
Lücking et al. (2017) and the nomenclature
was consulted in the Index Fungorum. More
representative samples of the collected material
were deposited in the Anchieta Herbarium
(PACA118285 - 118500), São Leopoldo, RS, with
duplicates deposited in the didactic collection of
the Botany Laboratory of the Feevale University.
Data analysis
For the analysis of the composition of
the lichen community, all species recorded in
the sampling area (acetate sheet method) were
considered, as well as the collections carried out
tree trunks located on the access trails to the forest
sites (additional samples).
The Lichen Diversity Index (LDI) was
calculated for the lichen communities in each
riparian forest site. To calculate the LDI, the sum of
the frequency of all species occurring on both sides
of the trunk (N/S) was used for the 10 phorophytes
Figure 2 – Schematic representation of the method used
to sample the lichen community in the phorophytes
analyzed in the riparian forest sites of the hydrographic
basin. The rectangles represent the acetate sheets (20
× 20 cm) arranged at a height of 100 cm to 180 cm on
both sides of the trunk (north and south).

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analyzed in each forest site (Asta et al. 2002a
adapted). To classify the diversity, the LDI scale
proposed by Asta et al. (2002b) was used. This scale
goes from 0 to 100, where the values of 0–20 = very
low; 20.1–40 = low; 40.1–60 = moderate; 60.1–80
= high and 80.1–100 = very high. Cluster analysis
was performed using Sørensen distance and group
average (set to -0.25) as a clustering algorithm.
Indicator species analysis and Monte-Carlo
test were performed on the frequency (species
occurring in more than two riparian forest sites)
and abundance data of the lichen species (McCune
et al. 2002). The analysis was performed in the
program PC-Ord 6.08 (McCune & Mefford 2011).
The phytosociological parameters of the
community (number of thalli, richness, frequency,
coverage, and importance value) were calculated
for each riparian forest site using only the data
obtained by sampling the species using the
acetate sheet method. Richness considered the
species present on both sides (N and S) and the 10
analyzed phorophytes in each site. Frequency was
calculated using the total number of occurrences
of the species on both sides (N and S) and in the
10 analyzed phorophytes in each riparian forest
site. Coverage (CA) was estimated by the sum of
all the lichen thalli present on both sides (N and S)
and the 10 sampled phorophytes for each riparian
forest site. For the calculation of absolute coverage
(CA), the acetate sheets were superimposed on a
sheet with 100 squares of 2 cm each. The relative
coverage (CR%) was calculated considering the
value of the species’ coverage divided by the total
sum of the community’s CA and multiplied by
100. The absolute frequency (FA) was estimated
by the number of occurrences of each species and
divided by the total number of phorophytes (10),
while the relative frequency (FR%) was calculated
considering the FA of each species divided by
the total sum of the FA of the community and
multiplied by 100. The Importance Value (IV) of
each species was calculated considering the sum of
the frequency and relative coverage data (Mueller-
Dombois & Ellenberg 1974 adapted from lichen
community).
To evaluate the relationship between
phytosociological parameters of the lichen
community (number of thalli, coverage, and
importance value) and the different matrices (rural-
urban-industrial), a one-way analysis of variance
(ANOVA) was used. The analyses were performed
using the software SPSS Statistics 2.0.
Results
Composition and structure
of the lichen community
A total of 208 species were recorded
distributed into 25 families and 60 genera. From the
total number of species, 43 are additional samples
collected to characterize the sites’ composition. Two
species are new records for Brazil: Herpothallon
minimum and Pyrenula montocensis. Eight
species are new occurrences for the state of Rio
Grande do Sul: Bacidina varia, Bacidiopsora
squamulosula, Coenogonium subdentatum,
Cresponea melanocheiloides, Cryptolechia nana,
Fissurina dumastii, Phyllopsora lividocarpa, and
Pyrenula massariospora (Tab. S2, available on
supplementary material <https://doi.org/10.6084/
m9.figshare.22626970.v1>; Fig. 3).
As for the morphological characteristics,
the predominant growth form was crustose, with
47.1%, followed by foliose (40.4%), fruticose
(6.7%), squamulose (4.8%), filamentous and
dimorphic (0.5% each). Species associated with
chlorophytes represented 91.8% of the community,
while those carrying cyanobacteria were 8.2%. The
family with the largest number of representatives
in the lichen community was Parmeliaceae (39
species), followed by Graphidaceae (25), and
Ramalinaceae (23). The genera with the largest
number of representatives were Parmotrema,
with 15 species, Graphis, with 11 species, and
Porina, with nine species (Tab. S2, available on
supplementary material <https://doi.org/10.6084/
m9.figshare.22626970.v1>).
The lichen diversity index (LDI) ranged
from 32.8 to 11.9, with low values recorded for
rural matrix (S6 and S7) and a very low LDI for
an urban-industrial matrix (S3) (Fig. 4).
In the cluster analysis, we verified a greater
similarity between two sites from the urban-
industrial matrix and a closer relationship between
three sites of the urban-industrial, rural-urban and
rural matrices, while the other rural-urban site
appeared distant from the other sites (Fig. 5). The
two sites of the urban-industrial matrix were very
similar, with more than 50% of the species of each
forest site (S1 = 77.3% and S2 = 56.2%) belonging
to the families Parmeliaceae, Graphidaceae and
Physciaceae, which presented the largest number
of representatives in this study. The forest sites of
the urban-industrial, rural-urban e rural matrix were
characterized by the presence of typical species

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of shaded environments and the predominance of
taxa of the families Arthoniaceae, Porinaceae and
Ramalinaceae, especially the genera Herpothallon,
Porina and Phyllopsora. The species Leptogium
diaphanum (Sw.) Mont. (IV = 100.0; p ≤ 0.05),
Letrouitia domingensis (IV = 100.0; p ≤ 0.05),
Malmidea fuscella (IV = 100.0; p ≤ 0.05), Porina
mastoidea (IV = 93.6; p ≤ 0.05) and Cresponea
melanocheiloides (IV = 66.7; p ≤ 0.05) were
indicators of the riparian forest sites from the rural
and rural-urban matrix, while Graphis librata (IV =
75.0; p ≤ 0.05) was indicator of the riparian forest
sites from the urban-industrial matrix.
Phytosociological parameters
The riparian forest sites of the rural matrix
differed from the others by the dominance of the
morphological forms crustose with perithecia and
squamulose. Nevertheless, the highest richness
was recorded in the riparian forest site (S2) of the
urban-industrial matrix, while the lowest richness
was observed in the riparian forest site of the
rural-urban matrix (S5), contrary to expectations.
However, the greater richness in the urban-
industrial matrix is associated with a high incidence
of species of the family Graphidaceae, especially of
the genus Graphis, and Parmeliaceae of the genus
Parmotrema, which are prevalent in urbanized
areas and areas with more solar incidence. In a
forest site of the rural-urban matrix (S5), the most
representative genera were Porina, Leptogium and
Ramalina.
The species with the highest importance
value (IV) presents expressive frequency and
coverage in riparian forest sites. In the sites of the
urban-industrial matrix, five species presented
Figure 3 – a-f. Lichen species occurring in the riparian forest site of the Hydrographic Basin of Sinos River, southern
Brazil – a. Herpothallon minimum; b. Herpothallon pustulatum; c. Malmidea piperis; d. Pyrenula massariospora;
e. Phyllopsora sp. 2; f. Porina tetracerae. Scale bars: d-f =1 mm.
abc
efd

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Figure 4 – Lichen diversity index (LDI) in different matrices (rural-urban-industrial) in forest areas of the Sinos
River Basin, southern Brazil. (S1 = São Leopoldo; S2 = Campo Bom; S3 = Nova Santa Rita; S4 = Rolante/Santo
Antônio da Patrulha; S5 = Taquara; S6 = Santo Antônio da Patrulha/Caraá; S7 = Caraá).
the highest values of relative importance and
coverage: Canoparmelia carneopruinata (CR =
12.81%), Parmotrema tinctorum, Heterodermia
albicans, Punctelia constantimontium and Physcia
tribacoides for site S1 (IV = 71.04 / ∑ = 200.00);
Porina tetracerae (CR = 10.12%), Graphis
duplicata, Leptogium isidiosellum, Pyrenula
pyrenuloides and Fissurina instabilis for site S2
(IV = 49.69); and Phyllopsora lividocarpa (CR =
42.89%), Herpothallon minimum, Herpothallon
rubrocinctum, Herpothallon roseocinctum and
Physcia sinuosa for site S3 (IV = 144.00 / ∑ =
200.00). For the forest sites of the rural-urban
matrix, species with the highest IV in relation to the
total values (∑ = 200) were: Phyllopsora parvifolia
(CR = 13.64%), Herpothallon pustulatum,
Phyllopsora buettneri, Herpothallon rubrocinctum
and Porina eminentior (IV = 80.91) for site S4;
and Malmidea vinosa (CR = 36.79%), Leptogium
atlanticum, Pyrenula massariospora, Phyllopsora
parvifolia and Leptogium azureum (IV = 26.15)
for site S5.
In the forest sites of the rural matrix, the
species with the highest IV were: Herpothallon
minimum (CR = 8.9%), Letrouitia dominguensis,
Heterodermia obscurata, Physcia cf. sorediosa
and Strigula muriconidiata for site S6 (IV = 58.8);
and Porina cryptostoma (CR = 14.37%), Porina
tetracerae, Malmidea vinosa, Coenogonium
subdentatum and Coenogonium strigosum for site S7

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(IV = 21.33) in relation to the total values (∑ = 200)
(Tab. S3.1 to Tab. S3.7). The species with the highest
values of IV, FR and CR belong to the morphological
groups crustose, foliose and squamulose. In general,
Herpothallon minimum and Porina tetracerae
(Ach.) Müll. Arg. were the most frequent species,
occurring in 90% of the analyzed sites (Tab. S2,
available on supplementary material <https://doi.
org/10.6084/m9.figshare.22626970.v1>).
Differences were recorded between the
forest sites of the urban-industrial and rural-urban
matrices for the parameters number of thalli
(ANOVA, F = 10.21, p < 0.001) and importance
value (F = 10.40, p < 0.001); the same parameters
were also different between the urban-industrial
and urban matrices (number of thalli: F = 5.12, p
< 0.001; importance value: F = 7.07, p < 0.001).
For the forest sites of the rural matrix, significant
differences were found for the parameters coverage
(F = 9.92, p < 0.001) and importance value (F =
12.59, p < 0.001) in relation to forest sites of the
rural-urban matrix.
Discussion
The differences in structural parameters and
species composition associated with homogenization
of the lichenized community in forest sites inserted
in urban-industrial matrices, together with the
predominance of taxa characteristic of these
regions, corroborated our initial hypothesis.
In this study, the species of the families
Parmeliaceae (Parmotrema), Physciaceae
(Physcia) and Graphidaceae, with Graphis being
the predominant genus, were dominant in the
riparian forests of the urban-industrial matrix.
These families are characterized as cosmopolitan
(Galloway 2008; Thell et al. 2012) and dominant
in tropical regions (Rivas-Plata et al. 2012).
In the forest areas of rural-urban and rural
matrices, the species of Phyllopsora, Malmidea,
Porina and Herpothallon stood out with their
higher importance values, causing differences
in the composition of the lichen community,
especially in relation to the forest areas of the
urban-industrial matrix. Species of the genus
Phyllopsora prefer partially shaded habitats and
are more restricted to riparian forests, occurring
on tree trunks of tropical lowland forests (Timdal
2008). Malmidea and Porina are characteristic
of tropical regions, and species of the family
Porinaceae are dominant in the lichen community
of tropical forests (Kalb et al. 2011). Species of
the genus Herpothallon are common in shaded
tropical forests, growing on wet bark or bryophytes
(Aptroot et al. 2009). Biological characteristics
of the species and the forest structure of riparian
forest sites, especially concerning humidity and
shading, may be related to the predominance of
these taxa. As for the higher representativeness of
the abovementioned families, they predominated
in the studies related to lichenized mycota in forest
and/or urban environments for subtropical regions
(Käffer et al. 2015; Koch et al. 2016; Lucheta et
al. 2018, 2019).
Lichens are affected by deforestation
and forest exploitation and consequently, the
conversion of forest sites by tree extraction changes
microclimatic conditions, such as luminosity
and humidity (Aragón et al. 2019), especially
by changes in canopy coverage, and affects the
composition of lichen species (Benítez et al. 2018;
Soto-Medina et al. 2019). According to Lakatos et
al. (2006), some crustose lichens, mainly in tropical
forests, have adaptations to repel water because
they have a dense layer of flattened hyphae or
projections of hyphae from the medulla forming a
hydrophobic layer. Thus, this layer could help them
tolerate excessive humidity in certain locations.
The riparian forests present heterogeneity in the
composition and structuring of the species (Ribeiro-
Figure 5 – Cluster analysis considering the composition of species in the riparian forest sites of the Hydrographic
Basin of Sinos River, southern Brazil. (Urb/Ind = Urban-Industrial; Rur/Urb = Rural-Urban; Rur = Rural).

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Rodriguésia 74: e01332021. 2023
Filho et al. 2009), and many environmental aspects
are changing globally due to human activities,
including changes in climatic variables, which
directly affect the lichen community. Studies
with vascular epiphytes in the HBSR area have
verified changes in richness and diversity of the
riparian forest sites in different matrices and have
emphasized the importance of their conservation
and preservation (Rocha-Uriartt et al. 2016). In
this study, we found that the preservation actions
associated with agropastoral practices were
decisive for the conservation of habitats, such as in
the S4 forest site of the rural-urban matrix, in which
rare species were found, including Herpothallon
pustulatum (crustose) and the genera Ricasolia and
Sticta, which are known to occur in more preserved
environments (Käffer & Martins 2014; López et al.
2016; Lehnen et al. 2017).
The decrease in the richness of lichen species
on isolated trees in squares and parks inserted in
rural sites towards urban-industrial areas of the
HBSR was also observed by Lucheta et al. (2018)
and differentiation in the environmental quality of
forest areas of the HBSR for lichen communities
were related especially to luminosity and altitude
(Käffer et al. 2021). Furthermore, structural
parameters and morphological characteristics can
certainly be applied as indicators in the analysis
of the effects of land use on riparian ecosystems
(Chuquimarca et al. 2019).
In this study, changes in species composition,
associated with changes in landscape structure,
demonstrated the gradient of disturbances in
riparian forest sites in different matrices. Thus,
the maintenance of the subtropical riparian forests
preserves the heterogeneity in the composition of
the species of the HBSR.
Modifications in the structure of riparian
forest sites (fragmentation) associated with
microclimate change contributed to the results.
Strategies for conservation and preservation of
riparian forest sites are essential for the balance and
maintenance of the biota in general, but especially
of rare species, and improve the connectivity of
the landscape with organisms, acting as important
reservoirs of biodiversity, such as in sites of
subtropical watersheds.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to the farm owners in Campo
Bom, Santo Antônio da Patrulha and Taquara,
as well as to Mr. João from the São Leopoldo
Environmental Station, for permission to perform
mapping of lichen samples. We thank lichenologists
Dr. André Aptroot (Federal University of Mato
Grosso do Sul), Dr. Marcos Kitaura (Federal
University of Mato Grosso do Sul), Dr. Patricia
Junglubth (Federal University of Santa Maria/
Campi Palmeira das Missões), and Dr. Shirley
Cunha Feuerstein (Instituto de Ensino Superior do
Sul do Maranhão - IESMA), for helping identify
and/or confirm species. We also thank Feevale
University, for the Scientific Initiation Grant; and
the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal
de Nível Superior (CAPES), for the Postdoctoral
fellowship of the first author. JLS is supported by
CNPq (PQ-312908/2020-2).
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Area Editor: Dra. Lana Sylvestre
Received on August 24, 2021. Accepted on October 13, 2022.
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