Biomass of Xanthoparmelia camtschadalis in steppe communities of Buryatia

The article analyzes the productivity and projective cover of Xanthoparmelia camtschadalis (Ach.) Hale in arid ecosystems of the Republic of Buryatia. Previously, the productivity of lichens in open grass ecosystems of Russia has not been studied. Xanthoparmelia camtschadalis is a xeromesophytic lichen of the Parmeliaceae family widespread in in arid and semi-arid steppes in Holarctic. The study was carried out in 2010-2016 based on our observations from transect investigations in the Barguzin depression from the slopes of the Ikat range to the foothills of the Barguzinsky range, and in the Tapkhar depression (Selenga middle mountains). The productivities were varied from 0.5 to 435.2 kg/ha and 96.44 in average. We have found moderate positive correlations between lichen biomass and lichen coverage, and weak correlations between lichen biomass and plant community coverage. The coverage of lichens (areas with the dominance of X. camtschadalis) varies greatly from 1 to 30% with an average of 8%. The changes of biomass and coverage of Xanthoparmelia camtschadalis had a good response to grazing rate, and it is an indicator of pasture impact on grassland ecosystems.