DOWNLOAD full IUCN Assessment as PDF

Common name(s): English: Appalachian Dust Bunnies

ASSESSMENT JUSTIFICATION [criteria: A2ce]

Lepraria lanata is a southern Appalachian endemic species with very few remaining extant subpopulations. Widespread logging in the 20th century, along with introduction of the Baslam Woolly Adelgid (Adelges piceae), has led to substantial reductions in the amount and quality of available habitat for this species. Therefore, it is listed as Endangered, A2ce. Climatic changes, including a rising cloud layer and hotter drier temperature pose serious threats to this species in the coming century, and so thepopulation should be monitored carefully.

Assessor/s: Allen, J., Lendemer, J. & McMullin, T.; Reviewer/s: Yahr, R.; Facilitator(s) and Compiler(s): Scheidegger, C.

Bibliography:

Allen, J. L. (2017) Testing lichen transplant methods for conservation applications in the southern Appalachian Mountains, North Carolina, U.S.A. The Bryologist 120: 311-319.

Allen, J.L. & Lendemer, J.C. (2016) Climate change impacts on endemic, high-elevation lichens in abiodiversity hotspot. Biodiversity and Conservation 25(3): 555-568.

Culatta, K.E. & Horton, J.L. (2014) Physiological Response of Southern Appalachian High-Elevation Rock Outcrop Herbs to Reduced Cloud Immersion. Castanea 79: 182-194.

Farjon, A. (2013) Abies fraseri. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013: e.T32101A2810241. Available at: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T32101A2810241.en. (Accessed: 13August 2020).

IUCN. 2020. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2020-3. Available at: www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 10 December 2020).

Rollins, A.W., Adams, H.S. & Stephenson, S.L. (2010) Changes in forest composition and structure acrossthe red spruce-hardwood ecotone in the central Appalachians. Castanea 75: 303–314.

Rose, A. & Nicholas, N. S. (2008) Coarse woody debris in a Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Natural Areas Journal 28: 342-355.

White, P.B., S.L. van de Gevel, & P. T. Soulé (2012) Succession and disturbance in an endangered redspruce-Fraser fir forest in the southern Appalachian Mountains, North Carolina, USA. Endangered Species Research 18: 17-25.

Find out more about the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria here.