Changing land use has a major impact on lichen diversity. This study attempts to identify patterns or trends of lichen functional groups along a land use gradient, ranging from natural forests to open agricultural landscape. In eight countries, covering six main European biogeographic regions, lichen vegetation was assessed according to a standardized scheme. Data on reproductive, vegetative and ecological traits was compiled and relative species richness for all classes of all traits calculated. Relationships between the land use gradient and relative species richness of trait classes were analysed. Open and intensively managed landscapes harbour more fertile species while sterile species are relatively more important in forests. This finding is also supported by analyses of different classes of dispersal propagules. The importance of species with the principal photobiont Trebouxia s.l. increases linearly with intensification of land use. A converse pattern is revealed by species with Trentepohlia. Concerning substratum specialization only generalists show an effect along the land use intensity gradient. Their relative species richness decreases from landscapes dominated by forests to open agricultural landscape. A considerable decline in the rare lichen species richness as a result of land intensification is predicted.

Seventeen taxa new for science, i.e. Absconditella baegasanensis, Caloplaca hallasanensis, C. subconcilians, Fellhanera chejuensis, F. maritima, Lecania coreana, L. rinodinoides, Lichenostigma heterodermiae, Micarea coreana, Phoma heterodermiae, Protoparmeliopsis chejuensis, Roselliniopsis phaeophysciae, Topelia jasonhurii (all from South Korea); Caloplaca dzhankoiensis (from Ukraine); Protoparmeliopsis pseudogyrophoricum (from China); P. taranii (from Russia); and Seirophora blumii (from several Central Asian countries) are described, compared with closely related taxa, and illustrated.Five new combinations are proposed: Caloplaca subscopularis, Protoparmeliopsis crustaceum, P. gyrophoricum, P. mazatzalensis, and P. pinguis.A total of 64 lichen-forming and lichenicolous fungi are reported here as new for South Korea (i.e. Abrothallus microspermus, Amandinea melaxanthella, Arthonia epiphyscia, Arthothelium ruanum, Aspicilia contorta subsp. hoffmanniana, Biatora globulosa, Brigantiaea purpurata, Caloplaca ...

Nomenclatural type definitions are one of the most important concepts in biological nomenclature. Being physical objects that can be re-studied by other researchers, types permanently link taxonomy (an artificial agreement to classify biological diversity) with nomenclature (an artificial agreement to name biological diversity). Two proposals to amend the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN), allowing DNA sequences alone (of any region and extent) to serve as types of taxon names for voucherless fungi (mainly putative taxa from environmental DNA sequences), have been submitted to be voted on at the 11^th International Mycological Congress (Puerto Rico, July 2018). We consider various genetic processes affecting the distribution of alleles among taxa and find that alleles may not consistently and uniquely represent the species within which they are contained. Should the proposals be accepted, the meaning of nomenclatural types would change in a fundamental way from physical objects as sources of data to the data themselves. Such changes are conducive to irreproducible science, the potential typification on artefactual data, and massive creation of names with low information content, ultimately causing nomenclatural instability and unnecessary work for future researchers that would stall future explorations of fungal diversity. We conclude that the acceptance of DNA sequences alone as types of names of taxa, under the terms used in the current proposals, is unnecessary and would not solve the problem of naming putative taxa known only from DNA sequences in a scientifically defensible way. As an alternative, we highlight the use of formulas for naming putative taxa (candidate taxa) that do not require any modification of the ICN.

We provide a phylogenetic revision of the Pseudocyphellaria crocata complex in the Americas. Specimens traditionally identified as P. crocata, based on their cyanobacterial photobiont, yellow pseudocyphellae, at least partially white medulla, and yellow soralia or soralia-like structures, are shown to represent 13 distinct species, forming a monophyletic group divided into four large clades, three comprising one species each and one containing eight species, plus two taxa for which no molecular data are available. Seven species correspond to what was previously recognized as P. crocata and one to P. dozyana, whereas a further one is identified as the sorediate counterpart of the usually apotheciate taxon P. lechleri and another as a pseudosorediate morph of the usually phyllidiate species P. neglecta. Surprisingly, none of the species represents P. crocata s. str., which must therefore be excluded from the American lichen biota. The 13 recognized species include three species new to science and three new combinations: P. citrina (Gyeln.) L " ucking, Moncada & S. Stenroos, comb. nov. [bas.: Cyanisticta citrina Gyeln., nom. nov. pro Sticta citrina Pers. nom. illeg.], P. desfontainii (Delise) Vain., P. deyi L " ucking, sp. nov., P. dozyana (Mont. & Bosch) D. J. Galloway, P. epiflavoides (Gyeln.) L " ucking, Farkas & L} ok " os, comb. nov. [bas.: Cyanisticta epiflavoides Gyeln.], P. hawaiiensis H. Magn., P. hillii (C. W. Dodge) D. J. Galloway, P. holarctica McCune, L " ucking & Moncada, sp. nov., P. lechleri (M " ull. Arg.) Du Rietz, P. neglecta (M " ull. Arg.) H. Magn., P. punctata Lendemer, L " ucking & Moncada sp. nov., P. sandwicensis (Zahlbr.) Moncada & L " ucking, comb. nov. [bas.: Sticta crocata f. sandwicensis Zahlbr.], and P. xanthosticta (Pers.) Moncada & L " ucking. Based on sequenced specimens, a neotype is selected for P. citrina and epitypes for P. hawaiiensis, P. lechleri, P. sandwicensis and P. xanthosticta. A key to all sorediate or pseudosorediate species of this complex in the Americas is presented, and all species are described, discussed and illustrated

Data on 54 new for China, India, Korea and Russia species of lichen-forming and lichenicolous fungi, including 22 new for science taxa of lichen-forming and lichenicolous fungi, i.e.: Acarospora ulleungdoensis, Amandinea trassii, Aspicilia geumodoensis, Biatora ivanpisutii, Caloplaca patwolseleyae, Catillaria ulleungdoensis, Coenogonium agonimieoides, Gyalidea austrocoreana, G. ropalosporoides, Opegrapha briancoppinsii, O. ulleungdoensis, Phyllopsora loekoesii, Psoroglaena coreana, Psorotichia gyelnikii, Rinodina oxneriana, Scoliciosporum jasonhurii, Staurothele oxneri, Stigmidium coarctatae, Thelocarpon ulleungdoense, Thelopsis loekoesii, Toninia poeltiana, Unguiculariopsis helmutii, and and 7 new species to China (Caloplaca ussuriensis, Megaspora rimisorediata, Rinodina xanthophaea, Rusavskia dasanensis, Xanthoria splendens, Zeroviella coreana, Z. esfahanensis), and 1 new species to India (Zeroviella esfahanensis), and 24 new species to Korea (Agonimia blumii, Arthonia rinodinicola, Buelliella minimula,...