Ecological description of the sodium chloride mineral springs in the Kirenga River basin and the upper reaches of the Lena River: 2. Flora of non-vascular plants: Algae, lichens

Abstract

For the first time, the flora of algae and aquatic lichens is studied in the sodium chloride mineral springs of the Northern Baikal region flowing from the Lower Cambrian salt-bearing formations. The full list of algae found in six springs is presented. In total, 257 taxa are identified belonging to six divisions: Cyanoprokaryota (=Cyanophyta), Euglenophyta, Bacillariophyta, Xanthophyta, Chlorophyta, and Streptophyta. The flora of diatoms is the richest (196 taxa, or 76%). The similarity of algoflora of different springs is negligible. Species that are indifferent to salinity prevail in most of the mineral springs; mesohaline species dominate in the Ust’-Kutskii spring. Nineteen taxa of halophile diatoms are identified. The marine species Percursaria percursa (Chlorophyta) is recorded in Klyuchevskoi and Ust’-Kutskii springs. In the three springs, seven lichen species from the four genera are identified, five species are truly aquatic and two species may stand flooding; all these species are found in the freshwater ponds and streams. Two species of the genus Bagliettoa are probably relict in the Baikal region.