Distribution of Lobaria pulmonaria (L.) Hoffm. in Mt Kilimanjaro and Mt Meru forests: altitudinal range and specificity to substratum tree species

Abstract

Abstract In this study, we sampled L. pulmonaria thalli from Mt Kilimanjaro and Mt Meru, Tanzania. Across all sampled tree species, a range of 1–35 thalli of L. pulmonaria were counted per trunk (up to 5 m above ground level), with sampling distributed across 13 (c. 1 ha) plots located in the sub-alpine to montane forest altitudinal gradients of Mt Kilimanjaro and Mt Meru. Descriptive analyses were performed to determine the association of L. pulmonaria with particular host trees among the study sites and regions, and linear mixed effects models (LMM) were used to explore relationships with tree-level variables. The analyses showed that most thalli of L. pulmonaria were unevenly distributed among the tree species in the montane and sub-alpine forests of Mt Kilimanjaro and Mt Meru. Host tree characteristics such as trunk circumference, height on trunk, bark texture and trunk shape appeared to have an effect on the local population size of L. pulmonaria and the frequency of occurrence. Also, the results indicated an effect of trunk circumference and tree bark on the development of L. pulmonaria thallus size among the study sites. Furthermore, host tree species, for example, Hypericum revolutum and Rapenea melanophloeos were important habitats for L. pulmonaria on both mountains, whereas Ilex mitis, Bersama abyssinica and Hagenia abyssinica were important only on one mountain. The wider literature on L. pulmonaria ecology is also reviewed and it is therefore recommended that for successful conservation of the threatened L. pulmonaria in tropical montane forests, strategies should consider the type of the forests, together with the host tree species and their size.