Forest logging can be detrimental for non-vascular epiphytes, determining the loss of key components for ecosystem functioning. Legal logging in a Mediterranean mixed oak forest (Tuscany, Central Italy) in 2016 heavily impacted sensitive non-vascular epiphytes, including a large population of the threatened forest lichen Lobaria pulmonaria (L.) Hoffm. This event offered the background for this experiment, where the potential effects of logging in oak forests are simulated by means of L. pulmonaria micro-transplants (thallus fragments <1 cm). Our working hypothesis is that forest logging could negatively influence the growth of the thalli exposed in logged stands compared to those exposed in unlogged stands. One hundred meristematic lobes and 100 non-meristematic fragments are exposed for one year on 20 Turkey oak trees (Quercus cerris), half in a logged and half in an unlogged stand. Chlorophyll (Chl) a fluorescence emission and total chlorophyll content are used as a proxy for the overall vitality of the transplants, while their growth is considered an indicator of long-term effects. Generally, vitality and growth of the transplants in the logged stand are lower than in the unlogged stand. Both vitality and growth varies between the meristematic and non-meristematic fragments, the former performing much better. Hence, irrespective of forest management, meristematic fragments show higher growth rates (0.16–0.18 cm² year⁻¹) than non-meristematic ones (0.02–0.06 cm² year⁻¹). Considering that a conservation-oriented management for this species should be tailored at the habitat-level and, especially, at the tree-level, our results suggest that for appropriate conservation strategies, it is necessary to consider the life cycle of the lichen, since the probability of survival of the species may vary, with meristematic fragments having more chance to survive after logging.

中文翻译：

---

受威胁的地衣小叶肺病（L.）Hoffm的活力和生长。响应伐木及其在地中海橡树林中的保护意义

森林伐木可能对非维管附生植物有害，从而决定了生态系统功能关键要素的损失。2016年在地中海混交栎林（意大利中部托斯卡纳）的合法伐木活动严重影响了敏感的非维管附生植物，包括大量受威胁的森林地衣Lobaria pulmonaria（L.）Hoffm。该事件为该实验提供了背景，其中通过肺炎沙门氏菌模拟了橡树林砍伐的潜在影响微型移植（眼球碎片<1 cm）。我们的工作假设是，与未伐木林相比，森林伐木可能会对伐木林中的thalli的生长产生负面影响。在20棵土耳其栎树（Quercus cerris）上，将一百个分生裂片和100个非分生裂片暴露一年，其中一半成木，一半成木。叶绿素（Chl）a荧光发射和总叶绿素含量被用来代替移植物的整体生命力，而移植物的生长被认为是长期影响的指标。通常，伐木林中移植物的活力和生长低于未伐木林中的移植物。在分生和非分生碎片之间，活力和成长都不同，前者的表现要好得多。因此，无论森林管理如何，分生碎片的生长速率（0.16-0.18 cm ² year ^-1）都比非分生碎片（0.02-0.06 cm ² year ^-1）高。）。考虑到该物种的保护导向管理应在栖息地一级，尤其是在树木一级进行，我们的结果表明，对于适当的保护策略，有必要考虑地衣的生命周期，因为物种生存的可能性可能有所不同，分生碎片在伐木后有更大的生存机会。