To copy the URL of a document, Right Click on the document title, select "Copy Shortcut/Copy Link", then paste as needed. Only documents available to the public have this feature enabled.
Smoker’s lung (Lobaria retigera) is a foliose lichen with irregular lobes having rounded tips and edges. The upper surface is brown, and shiny to dull with ridges. The lower surface is reticulately black with whitish interspaces. There are tiny cylindrical outgrowths on the upper surface, mainly on the ridges. Smoker’s lung was designated as Threatened by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC 2018) due to the loss of humid old growth forests to forest harvesting in B.C. Smoker’s lung was listed on Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act (SARA) as Threatened in 2023. Threats to this species include extensive forest harvesting (past and current) leading to declines in the population from removal of host trees, and indirect impacts in adjacent habitats. Climate change may also lead to further declines. More than 50% of the North American range for smoker’s lung is found in B.C. Smoker’s lung is thought to be an umbrella species for other co-occurring temperate rainforest lichens. The northwest population inhabits the Skeena and Nass River watersheds in both the Interior Cedar Hemlock (ICH) and Coastal Western Hemlock (CWH) biogeoclimatic zones and is regarded as the core range for the species. More than 90% of the remaining individuals are found in the Northwestern population (Kispiox and Skeena valleys). The interior population is in the Columbia Mountains within the ICH zone, generally in low densities with the highest number of occurrences in the Robson Valley. The coastal population range is in the CWH zone occurring from Stewart in the north to Bute and Toba Inlets on the central coast. In B.C., smoker’s lung is ranked S3 (vulnerable) by the Conservation Data Centre and is on the provincial Blue list. Recovery is biologically and technically feasible. The recovery goal is to maintain the presence and abundance of the species at each extant site as well as for any populations found in the future by managing human-caused threats.
BC Ministry of Water Land and Resource Stewardship. 2023. Recovery Plan for Smoker's Lung Lichen (Lobaria retigeria) in BC. Province of BC, Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship. Management Plan (Species at Risk)
Topic: Recovery Planning
Keywords: smoker's lung, smokers lung, lichen, Lobaria retigeria, recovery plan, Threatened, old growth, rainforest, Blue list, COSEWIC, SARA, threats, recovery actions, ICH, Interior Cedar Hemlock, CWH, Coastal Western Hemlock, Kispiox, Skeena, Incomappleux, Columbia Mountains
ISSN:
Scientific Name: Lobaria retigera
ISBN:
English Name: Smoker's lung
Other Identifier:
To copy the URL of a document, Right Click on the document title, select "Copy Shortcut/Copy Link", then paste as needed. Only documents available to the public have this feature enabled.
