Potential Use of Reindeer Lichen Transplanting in Reclamation of Lichen Ecosystems for Mountain Caribou Habitat

Fifty-four plots in three sites in reclaimed areas in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region were installed in July 2009. Monitoring took place in September 2009, and June and September 2010. Survival, vigour, and attachment to substrate were recorded for lichen fragments in each plot at each assessment to determine the effect of forest floor substrate (litter, moss, soil) on the establishment of reindeer lichen on reclaimed sites that are 10 and 24 years old (open canopy / low ground cover and nearing canopy closure / dense moss cover). A survey of cryptogam (lichens and bryophytes) diversity was also conducted in June 2010 on the trial sites.

This research investigated whether transplanted lichen fragments could successfully establish on reclaimed forest sites and examined how different substrates (moss, litter, or soil) affected their survival. The study found that substrate effects varied significantly by site age and location. On 12-year-old sites, lichen fragments survived much better on moss (74%) and litter (46%) substrates compared to soil (1%), while 24-year-old sites showed no significant substrate differences. Fragment vigor was generally similar across substrates, except on one south-facing 24-year-old site where moss substrates performed better than soil. The researchers concluded that photographic area measurements were unreliable for monitoring short-term establishment due to fragment burial and breakage obscuring actual growth. However, microscopic examination revealed encouraging signs of establishment, with 41% of fragments showing hyphal growth after one season, 23% forming reproductive structures (apothecia), and 31% developing lateral branches by the second year. A broader biodiversity assessment confirmed that the sites were following expected successional patterns, with no lichens present on the 12-year-old site but cup lichens becoming established on 24-year-old sites, though key indicator species for mature boreal lichen communities were still absent from all reclaimed areas.