Lichen habitat index - Metalliferous Habitats Index (MHI)
Description
The lichen flora of heavy metal mines has been reviewed and an index developed (Simkin, in press). The index is applicable to British sites contaminated by heavy metals (particularly lead, zinc, cadmium and copper) as a result of mining activity and may include disused mines, smeltmills, hushes, opencuts, and also the alluvial gravels downstream of these. Such habitats can support a very high lichen diversity: a collective total of 626 taxa (excluding species that primarily grow on trees) has been recorded, including eight Threatened and 18 Near Threatened species. Saxicolous and terricolous species are the main interest, principally in areas sparse of vegetation.
The index comprises 49 taxa that are preferentially found in metal-rich habitats, of which 27 are saxicolous and 22 terricolous (Table 6) and applies to individual mine sites or mine complexes that are ecologically coherent. Sites are assessed on the total number of recorded species in Table 6 (saxicolous and terricolous taxa combined). A site supporting 10 or more should be considered for notification. There is considerable variation between orefields but a single selection threshold applies. Where no sites within an orefield qualify, the richest site within the AoS should be considered.
This list was first uploaded by David Genney on the Mon Mar 26 14:13:38 UTC 2018.It contains [totalRecords:49, successfulItems:49] taxa.
Type of content
Includes: species list.
Citation
No citation information available.