The thesis is focused on the study of lichens and their communities in the basin of the upper and middle reaches of the Teteriv River. The taxonomic structure of lichen flora, its ecological and geographical features, as well as the distribution of lichens within the most typical formations of the area are analyzed.
The lichen flora of Teteriv River basin includes 261 species belonging to 95 genera, 40 families, 19 orders, 7 classes of Ascomycota division. Additionally, 39 species of lichenicolous fungi of 27 genera, 16 families, 15 orders, 7 classes and 2 divisions were found. The distribution of 117 species (80 lichens, 37 lichenicolous fungi), are for the first time recorded for area studied. Five species are new to Ukraine, 7 species are new for the Ukrainian Plains, while 11 species are new for the Polissia subprovince of mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests, and one species is new for the territory of the Ukrainian forest-steppe subprovince. In addition, new information on the distribution of a number of rare to Ukraine lichen and lichenicolous fungal species is obtained.
Dominance of lichens of the Lecanorales and Teloschistales is found within taxonomic analysis of the lichen flora of the upper and middle reaches of the Teteriviv River basin. 11 families and 32 genera found to have the highest species diversity. The lichen flora of the region studied is similar to the nearest nemoral and boreal lichen floras after taxonomic structure and shows common features with other lichen floras of the Holarctic. . It is found that the lichen flora of the Teteriviv River basin is most similar to the lichen floras of Western Polissia, Left Bank Polissia and the Dnieper Upland areas.
Dominance of epiphytic, acidophilic, heliosciophytic, mesophytic and subhygrophytic lichens, indicating moderately continental features of the lichen flora of the Teteriviv River basin is shown by results of the ecological analysis. Significant participation of epilitic, subxerophytic, subneutrophilous species in the lichen flora of the Teteriviv River basin is considered to be its zonal features. Six geographical elements, i.e.: arid, boreal, hypoarctomontane, euholarctic and montane are found within geographical analysis of the lichen flora of the upper and middle reaches of the Teteriv River basin. Nemoral and boreal elements include more than half species of the lichen flora (52.5%; 137 species).
The biggest species lichen diversity, i.e.: 143 species, belonging to 64 genera and 27 families was found in the light-broad-leaved nemoral forest among three main types of coenoses studied (formations of open areas, boreal and nemoral forests). Large proportion of euholarctic, boreal, and nemoral, as well as acidophilic, heliosciophytic and mesophytic species in the geographical and ecological spectras of all three major types of formations causing considerable similarity of these lichen floras.
Dominance of regional sporadic and regional rare lichens is demonstrated on the basis results ofanalysis of lichen abundance within territory studied. A considerable number of lichens of rare, sporadic and common abundance categories are members of the boreal, euholarctic and nemoral geographic elements.
Four epilythic acidophilic, one epilythic basophilous, and one epigeic association found to be widespread in the upper and middle reaches of the Teteriv River basin. It is found that lichen communities of the area studied include 6 associations belonging to 3 unions, 3 orders and 3 classes. Assosiations Aspicilietum contortae, Cladonietum mitis, Parmelietum conspersae, Parmelietumsomloensis and union Aspicilion calcareae are new to Ukraine. The lichen communities of Ceratodonto purpurei–Polytrichetea piliferi are for the first time recorded for Ukraine as well as communities of Cladonion arbusculae union are for the first time recorded for mainland of Ukraine.
