Provincial Lichen Checklists

The compilation of provincial lichen checklists represents a critical step in advancing the mycological and ecological understanding of Iran’s lichen biota. Due to Iran's vast geographic extent and pronounced ecological heterogeneity—including temperate Hyrcanian forests, semi-arid montane zones, arid deserts, alpine tundras, and coastal ecosystems—the distribution of lichenized fungi is highly variable and often restricted to specific microhabitats or bioclimatic niches. National-scale inventories, while essential for establishing broad patterns of species richness and endemism, frequently overlook this fine-scale spatial variation. Provincial checklists thus serve as indispensable tools for capturing localized diversity, identifying biogeographic discontinuities, and detecting narrowly distributed or potentially endemic taxa.

From a conservation perspective, regional lichen inventories provide the foundational data required for assessing species vulnerability, informing red list assessments, and prioritizing areas for protection under national and international biodiversity frameworks. Given that many lichen species are sensitive indicators of environmental change—particularly air quality, land-use modification, and climate shifts—provincial checklists offer critical baseline data for long-term ecological monitoring. Furthermore, such checklists support capacity-building by promoting local expertise, encouraging provincial herbaria development, and facilitating citizen science and academic collaboration.

In the context of Iran, where historical lichenological research has been sparse and unevenly distributed, provincial checklists help correct knowledge gaps and foster a more comprehensive and systematic approach to lichen biodiversity documentation. These regional studies also contribute to refining national taxonomy and distributional maps, aiding in the construction of a robust and up-to-date National Lichen Checklist of Iran. Ultimately, provincial checklists not only enhance our scientific understanding of fungal biodiversity but also integrate lichenology into broader conservation and environmental policy at both provincial and national levels.