Lichens of the eastern slope of Berutarube volcano, Iturup Island (the Kuril Islands, Far East of Russia)

Abstract

The paper presents an annotated list of lichens of the eastern slope of Berutarube volcano, one of the most inaccessible and poorly studied active volcanoes on Iturup Island. Samples of lichens were collected in August 2023 from eroded areas in the summit part of the volcano, as well as on the eastern slope along the Andrey Creek, in the upper reaches of which unnamed cold acidic springs discharge. In total, 53 species of lichens were identified from the sampling sites, of which 20 species were new to Iturup Island, 2 species were new to the Kuril Islands, and 1 species was new to the Sakhalin region. In the summit part of the volcano, lichens typical for areas of volcanic activity were identified: Cladonia crispata, Cladonia straminea, Huea confluens, Lecidea plana, Melanelia stygia, Pseudephebe pubescens, Rhizocarpon badioatrum, and Umbilicaria torrefacta. The influence of the solfataric gases of the volcano on the lichen biota of the Andrey Creek valley has not been revealed, which allows us to make the assumption that there is no direct influence of the products of the solfataric activity of Berutarube volcano on the natural environment of its eastern slopes.

Keywords

• solfataric activity
• lichens
• tolerant species
• biodiversity
• northeast asia