The Skibotn area in North Norway - an example of very high lichen species richness far to the north

摘要

During the 4-day excursion of the Nordic Lichen Society (NLF) in 2003, 653 lichen species were recorded from the Skibotn area in eastern Troms County, central North Norway, bringing the total of known lichen species from the area to 709. Of the 291 species considered rare, 250 were found during the excursion. Of the 115 species reported as new to Troms County, 29 are also new to North Norway and eight new to Norway. Two species, Caloplaca spitsbergensis and Stereocaulon groenlandicum, are new to Fennoscandia. The number of lichenicolous species increases to 803 for the region when 94 previously known species are added. We believe that only Sweden's Tornetrask region surpasses this diversity. The high species number—remarkable for such northern latitudes (68-69 deg N)—challenges the general concept that species richness decreases as latitude increases. A fully annotated checklist of the Skibotn species is now posted on http://www.mycotaxon.com/resources/weblists.html