Abstract
We must just now formulate sustainable land-use approaches combining economic benefit with future species persistence. An appropriate tool for evaluating such approaches is metapopulation viability analysis (MPVA). MPVA includes a model for metapopulation dynamics. Developing such a model is a long or costly process, especially for sessile species such as the red-listed study lichen species. The 1st aim is to develop a short-cut method to fit models for metapopulation dynamics based on data on only the distribution pattern of the species among the patches. Normally, data from repeated surveys are required. The 2nd aim is to develop the metapopulation model to be used for evaluation. It will be based on observed lichen colonization-extinction dynamics. In order to understand the mechanisms behind the observed metapopulation dynamics, we will also conduct two in-depth studies: The 3rd aim is to investigate the importance of abiotic conditions on lichen colonization using a field experiment. The 4th aim is to estimate the lichen dispersal function using genetic parentage analysis, the first such analysis in an organism where the haploid phase dominates the life-cycle. The 5th aim is to evaluate a rapid, analytic method for MPVA. We will also investigate if the rapid method can be added to widely used forestry planning software. Stakeholders will participate in formulating forestry scenarios in this part of the project. The data have been collected based on FORMAS-funding.
Sweden