Urban lichen communities of the city of Concepción

Abstract

The City of Concepción, belonging to the Biobío region, bounded by the Coastal Range and the Andes Mountains in Chile, has extensive vegetation of sclerophyll forest and deciduous forest, which converge in the urban area of the city; protected by the Parks: a) Metropolitan Cerro Caracol and b) Ecuador, both habitats for urban lichens. More than 201 phorophytes from the city were sampled and 15 predominant lichen families were recorded: Parmeliaceae, Ramalinaceae, and Teloschistaceae. A total of four (4) areas of the urban area of Concepción were sampled, they were identified: a) lichens typical of sunny and open sites such as Flavopunctelia soredica (Nyl.) Hale, Xanthoria parietina (L.) Th. Fr., and Usnea sp. to, b) semi-open microsite lichens such as Haematomma puniceum (Ach.) A. Massal. It was concluded that the city houses a total of 30 species, which must be preserved as part of the natural heritage of the urban area of the city, and framed in the urban forests of Concepción as a potential to promote the conservation and study of lichenology.