Occurrence of manglicolous lichens in Calabarzon, Philippines

Abstract

Various species of mangrove trees thrive in the mangrove forests of Calabarzon, Philippines including species of Avicennia marina, Rhizophora mucronata, and Rhizophora apiculata, which house various lichen species but very little available information on the diversity of these epiphytes is known. A survey of 90 decaying mangrove woods from 3 mangrove sites in Calabarzon including Laiya Batangas, Tanza Cavite and Pagbilao Quezon recorded a total of 40 lichen species classified under 25 genera and 14 families. Rhizophora apiculata (bakawang lalaki) was found the most preferred lichen establishment host as it housed 23 lichen species followed by Rhizophora mucronata (bakawang babae) with 17 lichen species and Avicenia marina with 7 lichen species. Lichens that belong to family Arthoniaceae, Caliciaceae, Parmeliaceae, Collemataceae, and Graphidaceae were the highest recorded. Most of these manglicolous lichens were classified as crustose (60%) and foliose (40%) lichens. Out of these manglicolous lichens identified, 29 species were found to be new records of lichens in the Philippines.