Enumeration of lichen diversity in Manaslu Conservation Area and Sagarmatha National Park of Nepal

An extensive research on deciphering lichen diversity in the high Nepalese Himalaya was undertaken in two subsequent years in Manaslu Conservation Area (MCA) and Sagarmatha National Park (SNP). Altogether, 621 specimens were collected from these two regions, viz., 173 from MCA and 448 from SNP, which resulted in the occurrence of a total of 13 species of lichens from MCA (belonging to 4 families) and 69 species belonging to 15 different families from SNP. Among the lichen families reported from these two study sites, family Parmeliaceae (7 and 29 species from MCA and SNP, respectively) was the dominant one followed by Physciaceae (12 species from SNP) and Cladoniaceae (4 and 8 from MCA and SNP, respectively). Thus, this research work, to some extent, reveals the lichens enrichment in the study region, furnishing much new insights that can be used as a composite signal of environmental quality and future bio-monitoring studies. Key words: Bio-indicators, endemism, geographical gradients, speciation.