Trichocolea tomentella
Trichocolea tomentella (Ehrh.) Dumort.
Trichocoleaceae
Conservation status. Endangered [EN B2ab(iii)].
Morphology and biology. Perennial leafy liverwort forming pale green to whitish green patches. Stems 3–12 cm long, 2–3 pinnate, with branched paraphyllia and small bilobed under-leaves. Leaves 0.5–0.9 mm long, divided almost to base into 3–4 narrow lobes. The species does not produce gemmae. Sporophytes very rare. Perianth lacking, the capsule is enclosed by perigynium. Unisexual.
Habitats and populations. Plants grow on moist to wet neutral humus soil along the streams in humid and shady forests (in Bulgaria mainly in oak forests). Indicator species of old-growth forests with high air humidity. The species forms individual or mixed tufts with Plagiochila porelloides or Pellia species. The low population density and the low growth rate are characteristic to the species.
Distribution in Bulgaria. Balkan Range (Western – along Stara Reka river above Zanozhene village and Shabanitsa locality, above Berkovitsa along the road to Kom peak).
General distribution. Balkan Peninsula (Bulgaria, Croatia, R Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia) and other parts of Europe (Scandinavia, Great Britain, Ireland, Spain, France, Portugal, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Russia), Caucasus, Himalayas, China, North America, Azores, Tunisia. Sub-oceanic/montane species.
Threats. The species cannot stand the decrease of air and substrate humidity. Forest thinning and clearance cause species extinction. The locality above the town of Berkovitsa is close to a dirt road and locality damage could be expected caused by wood-carrying trucks. Near the same locality an intensive forest clearance is in progress.
Conservation measures taken. Some localities are in an area recently proposed for protection, the Western Balkan Nature Park, and within a site of the European ecological network Natura 2000 in Bulgaria. A proposal for designation of the locality above Zanozhane village as a protected area has been submitted. An Action plan for conservation of the species is in a process of elaboration.
Conservation measures needed. Monitoring of changes in population size and changes in ecological conditions of the habitats; developing of action plans; legal protection of the species under the national Biological Diversity Act.
References. Arnaudoff 1911a, b.
Author: Anna Ganeva
