Lobaria pulmonaria (L.) Hoffm. in the southwestern Baltic – Kattegat area

Lobaria pulmonaria, a lichen species, is nearly extinct in several regions of the southwestern Baltic–Kattegat area, including Schleswig-Holstein and southern Jutland, due to factors such as air pollution and forestry practices. The study, conducted between 2015 and 2018, confirmed its presence at 64 out of 124 localities across Denmark, northern Germany, northwestern Poland, and parts of Sweden. It thrives primarily in species-poor acidic beech and oak forests, with healthy specimens found on two-thirds of colonized trees. The research highlights the influence of anthropogenic (e.g., sulfur dioxide and nitrogen pollution) and natural factors (precipitation, temperature, humidity) on its distribution, with global warming emerging as an additional unnatural climatic factor. The situation is most critical in Schleswig-Holstein but relatively stable in Blekinge and central/northern Jutland.

Schiefelbein, U., Arnfred, T., Dolnik, C., Neumann, P., Ossowska, E., Poulsen, R., Søchting, U., & Thell, A. (2021). Lobaria pulmonaria (L.) Hoffm. in the southwestern Baltic – Kattegat area. Folia Cryptogamica Estonica, 58, 183–197. https://doi.org/10.12697/fce.2021.58.19