Lichen cover of Fraxinus excelsior and Quercus robur at the Leipzig Canopy Crane Facility

Using the Leipzig Canopy Crane Facility situated in the temperate floodplain forest of Leipzig, epiphytic lichens on Fraxinus excelsior and Quercus robur were sampled between fall of 2016 until summer of 2017. A layered design was applied: Tree crowns were divided into five equally-spaced crown layers, with the trunk below the crown as an extra layer. In each layer a number of plots proportional to that layers bark surface area was placed. In each plot (100 cm²), lichen cover was documented. In addition, descriptors, such as branch diameter, height, position within the tree and LAI were measured. And supporting information on the identification the the lichen species. The goal was to determine epiphytic lichen diversity and distribution patterns and to infer mechanistic explanation of their emergence.