Lichens and mosses are also sampled without damaging trees favoured by lichens.
In September-October, the ELY Centre of South Ostrobothnia inventories endangered lichen and moss species in the Ostrobothnian regions. The species in question are lichens and mosses that grow in old-growth forests, some of which are even highly endangered.
The ELY Centre maps lichens and mosses from former sites where species were observed, as most of the observations date back 20-30 years.
Endangered lichen species have previously been found in nearly 200 sites in Ostrobothnia and South and Central Ostrobothnia. Most of the inventory sites are located in the province of Ostrobothnia.
Difficult to identify species
The target species of the inventory are western jelly lichen, aspen jelly lichen, western kidney lichen, powdery mildew, southern moss and aspen hanging moss.
Species identification is difficult in the terrain. Therefore, samples are taken from the observations to ensure species identification.
ELY-keskus orders the inventory with a consultant specialized in lichens. Field work is done at the end of September and October.
Lichen and moss species are threatened by, among other things, forest renewal and management, drainage, removal of peat, clearing of forests for farming and air pollution.