Nitrogen Fixing Lichens in Forests of the Southern Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina

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Abstract
The abundance and species diversity of N2 fixing lichens were determined for several forests of the southern Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina. Gray beech forests of wet, high-elevation beech gaps were auspicious locations for these lichens. The bark of Aesculus octandra Marshal was the optimum habitat, particularly for the dominants Lobaria quercizans Michx. and L. pulmonaria (L.) Hoffm. Lichen biomass in this gray beech forest commonly ranged from 7-9 kg ha-1 but was higher where A. octandra was abundant. Lichens were less abundant in oak forests and cove forests, and none were found on conifers. The annual contribution of ammonia N by lichens was roughly estimated to be 0.8 kg ha-1 for the gray beech forest in beech gaps.