Riparian Lichens of Northern Idaho

Riparian forests along rivers and streams in the Idaho Panhandle, north of Whitebird, were surveyed for rare riparian lichen species. The region was stratified into nine geographic units and by stream size. Eighty-one plots were surveyed for lichen community, stand, and river characteristics. The strongest differences in lichen community composition were regional, followed by community differences with respect to basal area in hardwoods and differences in floodplain cross-section type. Climatic affinities appear to vary with location in the study area. Plots with the highest suboceanic affinities clustered along the eastern border (Bitterroot Mountains), while those with the highest continental affinities were clustered in the southwest corner of the study area, near Lewiston. Plots with the highest oceanic affinities were more scattered but were loosely clustered in the south central half of the study area. One hundred and twenty-six lichen species were found, including eleven of the seventeen target species. About seventy percent of the plots had at least one of the target species. Management recommendations and information on distribution and rarity are given for each of the target species.