Woodland caribou habitat restoration using lichen transplants: insights from a 24‐year trial

Abstract Introduction Lichens are crucial components of many ecosystems and serve as a key winter food source for caribou. In forest‐harvested block reclamation, the focus tends to be on replanting trees and shrubs, often overlooking lichens. Objectives This study examined the effect of different transplanting methods on the success of lichen transplant within harvested blocks. Methods The treatments included control, hand transplant of entire thalli‐ “clumps,” and broadcast transplant of crushed lichen thalli. Each plot contained roughly equal amounts of Cladonia mitis Sandst., C. rangiferina , and C. uncialis based on their morphological characters. The covers of each transplanted species in 2000 were re‐assessed in 2016 and 2024, and the covers of other lichens and plants were evaluated in 2016. Ecological site information and lichen dispersal were assessed in 2024. Results The lichen covers within the broadcast‐transplant and hand‐transplant plots were significantly higher than in the control plots for each of the three lichen species in 2016 and 2024, but did not differ significantly from one another. Cladonia mitis Sandst. cover was positively correlated with the cover of non‐target lichens but negatively associated with herb cover, while the cover of C. uncialis was positively associated with herb cover but negatively correlated with woody plant cover. Higher slopes negatively influenced the cover of C. mitis Sandst. and C. uncialis . Lichens did not appear to disperse significantly beyond 50 cm. Conclusions Lichen transplants can be successful in the long term and utilized to restore caribou habitat impacted by tree harvesting.