GYPSUM LICHENS: a global data set of lichen species from gypsum ecosystems

Lichens are significant components of the Biological Soil Crust (BSC) communities in gypsum ecosystems and are involved in several processes related to ecosystem functioning. Although numerous studies centered on lichen taxonomy and ecology have been performed in these habitats, global information about the lichen species from gypsum ecosystems or their distributional ranges at a global scale is missing. Thus, a global data set of lichen species growing on gypsum has been compiled.

A total of 321 studies were finally retained for the review. This data set is composed of 6114 specimen records, belonging to 336 lichen species from 26 countries throughout the World. Spain and Germany hosted the highest number of species (160 and 114 species respectively). Outside the European continent, only a few countries had a significant number of species: Morocco (46), United States (42), and Iran (37). Remarkably, countries from the southern hemisphere (i.e. Australia, Chile, Namibia, and South Africa) showed a low number of studies from gypsum lands. The number of records per country showed a similar pattern as the species number, having Spain and Germany the highest number of records (3863 and 1075 respectively).

Thirty one families are present in the data set. Teloschistaceae (56 species), Verrucariaceae (38 species), and Cladoniaceae (37 species) are the most represented families showing the highest number of species. Regarding the number of records, Cladoniaceae (1267 records), Teloschistaceae (972 records), and Psoraceae (539 records) are the most abundant families. Psora decipiens (Psoraceae) and Squamarina lentigera (Cladoniaceae) are the most widespread species concerning the number of countries in which the species were present, and the most abundant regarding the total number of records.