Lichens in quarries of the south tundra subzone of the European North-East of Russia

The paper presents the first data on the diversity of lichens in building-stone quarries in the vicinity of Vorkuta (south dwarf shrub tundra subzone). The self-regenerative succession in quarries lasts for about 40-50 years. The soil-forming rocks in quarries do not actually differ from those in the background territories by texture but were characterized by a high carbonate content due to calcite. 69 lichen taxa were identified on loamy, gravel-sandy and sandy deposits of the quarries, among them 66 species and three subspecies. The species saturation of lichens at key sites of the quarries reaches 33 species per 100 m2, which exceeds the background value (26 species per 100 m2). This increase is related to the specificity of soil material conditions (presence of carbonates, gravel), vacant places in ecological niches, absence/low abundance of edificatory species, presence of species at different succession stages. In contrast to the background sites, the secondary quarry communities increase in the proportion of epibryophytes among ecologic-substrate group and scaly lichens among life forms. The lichen flora of quarries includes a significant number of calciphile species that makes it peculiar in comparison with the background areas. The quarries have been found for six lichen species included into the Red Data Book of the Komi Republic and its Annex 1.