Terrestrial lichen data for Northwest Territories, Canada ...

• Main Authors: Baltzer, Jennifer, Degré-Timmons, Geneviève, Day, Nicola, Cumming, Steve, Turetsky, Merritt, Johnstone, Jill
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2020
• Subjects: FOS Biological sciences; lichen cover; biomass equation; Cladonia spp.; Rangifer; Canada; Northwest Territories; taiga; Taiga plains; Taiga shield
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.t1g1jwt15; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.t1g1jwt15

Increased fire activity due to climate change may impact the successional dynamics of boreal forests, with important consequences for caribou habitat. Early successional forests have been shown to support lower quantities of caribou forage lichens, but geographic variation in, and controls on, the rates of lichen recovery have been largely unexplored. In this study, we sampled across a broad region in northwestern Canada to compare lichen biomass accumulation in ecoprovinces, including the Saskatchewan Boreal Shield, the Northwest Territories Taiga Shield and Northwest Territories Taiga Plains, divided into North and South. We focused on the most valuable Cladonia species for boreal and barren ground caribou: Cladonia mitis and C. arbuscula, C. rangiferina and C. stygia, C. stellaris and C. uncialis. We developed new allometric equations to estimate lichen biomass from field measurements of lichen cover and height; allometries were consistent among ecoprovinces, suggesting generalizability. We then used ... : 346 plots were established with 5, 1 by 1 m quadrats within predetermined burn age classes (37-38 and 46-49 years post-fire) and areas with no recorded burn history or 'control' (>70 years). Destructive samples of caribou forage (i.e. Cladonia mitis and C. arbuscula, C. rangiferina and C. stygia, C. stellaris and C. uncialis, Flavocetraria spp., Cetraria spp., Stereocaulon spp., Cladonia spp. (cup lichen only)) and were collected in 20 x 20 cm quadrat at one third of the sites in each ecoprovince to sample the full range of variation in lichen thallus height and cover present within the study area. Lichen biomass samples were processed in the lab to obtain measurements of lichen dry weight per unit area. Plant parts, non-target species, dirt, plant litter and decaying basal regions of lichens were separated from lichen samples with tweezers and deionized water, then lichens were placed in paper bags and stored at room temperature. After sorting, all samples were oven-dried at 30°C for 24 hours and weighed ...