V. 81 N. 2s (2026): Atti della Conferenza Foreste vetuste e antichi alberi: un tesoro di natura, vita e cultura. Firenze 1 ottobre 2025 / Vallombrosa 2-3 ottobre 2025
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Lichen biodiversity in old-growth forests and on veteran trees: an overview with a focus on Italian forests

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  • Juri Nascimbene
Juri Nascimbene
BIOME Lab, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna; via Irnerio 42, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/ifm-1248

Pubblicato 2026-10-06

Parole chiave

  • lichen biota,
  • Lobaria pulmonaria,
  • old-growth forests,
  • veteran trees

Come citare

Nascimbene, J. (2026). Lichen biodiversity in old-growth forests and on veteran trees: an overview with a focus on Italian forests. L’Italia Forestale E Montana, 81(2s), 54–60. https://doi.org/10.36253/ifm-1248

Copyright (c) 2026 Juri Nascimbene

Creative Commons License

Questo lavoro è fornito con la licenza Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non commerciale 4.0 Internazionale.

Abstract

Lichens contribute significantly to forest biodiversity, both considering the number of species and their ecological roles that impact on ecosystem functioning. Several species are threatened with extinction due to their sensitivity to both atmospheric factors and forest management. Solid scientific evidence indicates that forest management intensity strongly influences lichen patterns, suggesting a gradient of greater suitability from industrially managed forests to old-growth forests left to evolve according to natural dynamics. The unvaluable role of old-growth forests for lichen diversity is increasingly recognized and parallels with that of veteran trees that are considered a keystone for maximizing lichen diversity. Some lichen species consistently indicate the trees and forest stands of greatest interest for conservation. In temperate forests of Italy, Lobaria pulmonaria seems to have a good predictive potential for detecting remnants of old-growth forests and for prioritizing forest sites for conservation. This aspect, combined with its easy detectability in the field even by non-lichenologists, makes this species an excellent and promising indicator of practical use in forest inventories. Old-growth forests are irreplaceable reservoirs of biodiversity, enabling the long-term conservation of currently threatened and extremely rare species. In this perspective, the strict conservation of these lichen hot-spots should be mandatory.

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