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Abstract Detail



Conservation Biology

Lendemer, James [1].

Lichen Biodiversity in the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain: patterns and trends amid a changing climate.

The Coastal Plain of eastern North America comprises the Atlantic coastline and associated lowland ecosystems from Maine to Texas. Within this vast area the region in which natural habitats have been, and continue to be, most impacted and threatened by anthropogenic change is the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain, an area roughly the size of Alabama that extends from southern New Jersey to northern Florida. The region hosts a remarkable diversity of natural communities and thus a highly diverse biota including many endemic and disjunct species. Although lichens are a diverse and conspicuous component of the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain the area has received relatively little attention from lichenologists and has never been the subject of intensive floristic inventories for lichens. Here we present the results of two years of intensive lichen biodiversity inventory efforts in the Mid-Atlantic. These efforts have documented unexpected levels of biodiversity and established critical baseline data for lichen distribution and ecology. We present these data in the context of drastic ecosystem-wide changes that are projected to occur in the future due to sea-level rise and global climate change.

Broader Impacts:


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1 - New York Botanic Garden, 200th Street And Southern Blvd, Bronx, NY, 10458, USA

Keywords:
North American Coastal Plain
mid-atlantic
lichens
Climate Change
sea level rise
pocosin.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Topics
Session: 20
Location: Marlborough A/Riverside Hilton
Date: Tuesday, July 30th, 2013
Time: 10:30 AM
Number: 20008
Abstract ID:479
Candidate for Awards:None


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