Key words: Umbilicaria hirsuta, lichens, Oregon, Siskiyou Mountains, western North America.

Key words: Leptogium pseudofurfuraceum, Leptogium tacomae, Leptogium subaridum, epiphyte, California, Oregon, Siskiyou Mountains, Trinity Alps.

The life and work of the late mycologist Howard Whisler is reviewed.

Key words: Leptogium pseudofurfuraceum, Leptogium tacomae, Leptogium subaridum, epiphyte, California, Oregon, Siskiyou Mountains, Trinity Alps.

Forage lichens are pendulous, hairlike species eaten by a wide range of mammals. Our overall goal was to estimate losses of Bryoria, a genus of ecologically important forage species, in forests subjected to disease and fuel reduction treatments at Starkey Experimental Forest in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon. Specific objectives were to (1) estimate Bryoria biomass in stands decimated by insects and disease, (2) compare Bryoria biomass in untreated stands with those treated by mechanical fuels reduction and prescribed fire, and (3) estimate the range of pre-insect outbreak Bryoria biomass using historical data. Our general approach was to estimate tree-level Bryoria biomass on a sample of trees, regress estimates against tree size and species using nonparametric multiplicative regression (NPMR), then predict stand-level biomass by applying NPMR to tree size and density data. For live trees, logarithm of dbh was a strong predictor of Bryoria biomass (cross validated R 2 = x R 2 = 0.83). Biomass on dead trees showed a similar but weaker pattern (x R 2 = 0.45); including Abies grandis as an indicator variable substantially improved the model (x R 2 = 0.52). Current Bryoria biomass is clearly much lower than the potential biomass for forests of this type. Based on our prediction of pre-outbreak Bryoria biomass and benchmarks from related studies, we conclude that the biomass in intact, mature forests should be about 0.5 – 2.0 T/ha. This means insects and disease caused a loss of about 50-80% of starting Bryoria biomass, and fuel reduction treatments removed roughly another 10%. How long it will take for the biomass to recover is unknown, but we assume that Bryoria recovery will keep pace with structural recovery of the canopy. Even though small, young trees individually supported very low Bryoria biomass, their combined contribution to standing biomass will soon be appreciable due to high regeneration density.

The lichenized ascomyceteUsnea longissima occurs in cool forests with coastal climates in Europe, Asia and North America and is threatened throughout its range. The Pacific Northwest region of North America is considered a stronghold of this species. While many studies have focused on the ecology of U. longissima, knowledge of the secondary chemistry of U. longissima is sparse for the region. The objectives of this study were to analyze collections of U. longissima for chemotypic variation using thin-layer chromatography and to examine ecological and geographic patterns of chemotype variation within the central Oregon Coast Range. Three major chemotypes were found within the study area with some additional chemotypic variation documented throughout the global range of U. longissima. The most common chemotype (chemotype 1: usnic, barbatic and norbarbatic acids) accounted for 70.9% of samples, with the other 2 chemotypes accounting for 24% (chemotype 2: usnic and diffractaic acids) and 4.2% (chemotype 3: usnic and a minor unknown acid) of samples. Chemotype 2 generally occurred farther west and at higher elevations than chemotype 1. Different chemotypes may deserve protection to ensure the persistence and genetic variation of U. longissima throughout its current range.