Soil surface lichens on a 1500 kilometre climatic gradient in subtropical eastern Australia.

Soil lichens are taxonomically diverse in subtropical eastern Australia. A total of 61 species in 25 genera is reported from a transect 1500 km long, running from the humid sub-tropical coast to the arid interior of the continent. The distribution of the lichen species and genera is associated with climatic pattern and with the growth form of the species. The total number of species found in bands of one degree of longitude along the transect decreases from the wet coastal region to the arid interior. Fruticose and foliose species dominated the flora in wetter regions and squamulose species in the dry interior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]