Annual fire negatively impacts common lichen (<em>Physcia millegrana</em>) and moss (<em>Amblystegium</em>) in an Iowa upland white oak forest

Abstract

Annual burning has been extensively studied in the prairie at the Conard Environmental Research Area (CERA), yet little work has been done to understand the effects of burning on the oak forest. We examined the specific effects of annual burning on the lichen species Physcia millegrana and a moss species from the genus Amblystegium by comparing the percent coverage on substrates in both burned and unburned plots at CERA in Central Iowa. We found both lichen and mosses to be significantly less common in burned plots, as have a number of studies. The data gives forest managers information needed to understand the impact of annual burning on lichen and moss populations.