The genus Zygodon Hook. & Taylor is revised for southern South America (Andean-Patagonian and Fuegian regions). Thirteen taxa (twelve species and one variety) are recognized as occurring in the region: Z. bartramioides Malta, Z. chilensis Calabrese & F. Lara, Z. hookeri Hampe var. hookeri, Z. hookeri var. leptobolax (Müll. Hal.) Calabrese comb. nov., Z. intermedius Bruch & Schimp., Z. jaffuelii Thér., Z. magellanicus Dusén ex Malta, Z. menziesii (Schwägr.) Arnott, Z. papillatus Mont., Z. pentastichus (Mont.) Müll. Hal., Z. pichinchensis (Taylor) Mitt., Z. reinwardtii (Hornsch.) Bruch & Schimp. and Z. obtusifolius Hook. All taxa previously considered to grow in southern South America were studied, and many were typified. Because of the biogeographical connections with other Southern Hemisphere landmasses, some taxa from other areas (e.g., Australasia or South Africa) were also considered. The studied taxa are a good representation of the genus as a whole, thus allowing one to conclude that Zygodon, worldwide, consists of three subgenera: subg. Zygodon, the species of which have papillose leaf cells that are flat as seen in cross-section, and that can be further divided in two sections, sect. Zygodon defined by leaf basal cells not in differentiated bands and seta distally dextrorse, and sect. Stenomitrium Mitt. with leaf basal cells disposed in differentiated alternating bands and seta distally sinistrorse; subg. Codonoblepharon (Schwägr.) Calabrese stat. nov. comprising species with smooth, flat leaf cells in cross-section; and subg. Obtusifolium (Malta) Calabrese stat. nov., including species with papillose, bulging leaf cells. For each of the accepted taxa, keys, descriptions, illustrations, a complete list of synonyms previously used in the study area (sometimes expanded with names from abroad), ecology, distribution maps, variability and differentiation from related taxa are provided. Study of the peristome of Zygodon with the SEM provides new data about its structure and ornamentation.

Study of the material on which E. G. Britton based the report of Orthotrichum shawii from California confirms this overlooked report. Diagnostic characters of the species are presented, and the differences between the known American specimen and those from Europe and Africa, are discussed. Finally, the differences between this species and those with which it has been confused are discussed.

The contributions of both biotic and abiotic factors to the “urban” effect on the ecology of epiphytic macrolichens of the greater Cincinnati, Ohio metropolitan area were evaluated. Abundance, as percent cover, and several diversity indices were used to evaluate the distribution of these lichens among urban and non-urban (both rural and suburban) sites. The measures of diversity examined in this study include species richness, the Shannon-Wiener index, evenness, Simpson's index and the Index of Atmospheric Purity (IAP). A significant difference in abundance and diversity among the eleven study sites was established. This significance was maintained when the sites were grouped into urban vs. non-urban classes. It was found that the diversity of the epiphytic lichens examined in this study was associated with tree species, tree size and annual vehicle traffic, but not with human population density of the study site, or side of the tree observed (cardinal direction). Finally a comparative review was performed of epiphytic urban lichens as reported in a sampling of published surveys from North America.

Species' responses to disturbance depend in part on their life histories. In this study we examined the association between post-fire distribution and a few life history characteristics (growth form, presence of soredia, habitat preference and population size) for lichens in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota, U.S.A. We used sample plots set up two months after a wildfire in 1995, and defined fire-vulnerable and fire-favored species as those over- or under-represented in unburned versus burned plots eight years after the fire. Fire-vulnerable species (30% of species) were characterized by shade preference and crustose growth form. Fire-favored species (7% of species) were characterized by preference for dead wood. Rare species were over-represented in unburned plots. Species observed on charcoal, indicating post-fire colonization, were associated with high regional population size, estimated by sample plot frequency. These results suggest that habitat association and its mechanisms, along with population size, are presumably important predictors of species-specific response to disturbance, such as fire, for lichens in the boreal forest.

In the United States Sphagnum portoricense Hampe is a coastal plain species ranging from New York to Florida and Texas, primarily at elevations < 100 m. It extends further south into the tropics (from near sea level to 2150 m), occurring in Mexico, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Guyana and the Caribbean (Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico). A recent report of S. portoricense in China is based upon misidentified specimens. The species has a montane distribution in Puerto Rico, being most abundant in the palo colorado forests and cloud forests of the Caribbean National Forest (El Yunque). Although having strong aquatic tendencies on the coastal plain in the United States, tropical populations often occur in wet, but not inundated habitats.

The capacity of feathermosses to release mineral N to water and eventually re-capture it back from the solution was periodically measured in several 64-hour tests. Mosses were collected from 13 locations in western Alberta, Canada, and given several pre-treatments in the days leading up to the submersion of mosses in aerated distilled water. In a factorial experiment, the pre-extraction conditions were fertilized or left as controls and kept moist or allowed to dehydrate. The concentration of mineral N in the solution was monitored by withdrawing small samples of the solution for colorimetric analysis at pre-determined time intervals. To assess the effects of microflora and handling damage to the moss tissues on the rate of N exchange between moss and solutions, the test was repeated firstly using a solution of antibiotics instead of water and secondly using mosses that were not given time to recover from handling. No perceptible leakage of N was recorded from fully hydrated moss tissues. Dehydrated mosses lost as much as 8% of their total N content to the solution within two hours after re-hydration, but had recovered two thirds of it within the next 16 hours. Moss tested immediately after normal handling released 0.7% of their total N and recovered it at the same rate as the desiccation-damaged mosses. Application of antibiotics affected neither leakage nor re-absorption rate. During the gradual drying of moss, N apparently shifted from NO₃⁻ to NH₄ . The strong ability of mosses to quickly re-absorb released N from surrounding solutions suggests that leakage of N from dried moss after rewetting, as a source of N to the ecosystem, is not as large as suggested by previous literature.

A lectotype for Grimmia pilifera P. Beauv. is designated. The original description of the species is ambiguous and typification of the name with materials matching the traditional concept of the species is important in order to maintain nomenclatural stability.

The history and usage of the name Rinodina chrysomelaena is discussed. The name is typified and the distribution of the species documented.

The distribution of Flakea papillata in North America is here reported from a survey of herbarium specimens. Unlike reported specimens from the tropics, North American F. papillata is primarily saxicolous with the first report on soil. Examined specimens were found in humid habitats near water.

Ten lichen species: Buellia miriquidica, Catillaria contristans, Fuscidea gothoburgensis, Hymenelia cyanocarpa, Lecanora caesiosora, “Lecidea” commaculans, Metamelanea umbonata, Micarea coppinsii, M. marginata and Stereocaulon plicatile are reported for the first time for North America from Mt. Katahdin, Maine. A further 22 taxa for which the Mt. Katahdin records represent a significant extension of their range on the continent, mostly being first reports from either eastern North America or the contiguous United States, are also reported.

Brotherella cuspidata is described as a new species from Yunnan, China. It differs from the other species of Brotherella in its small plants (ca. 1 cm long), slender and long-cuspidate leaf acumina (more than ½ of the length of the lamina), and broadly triangular-lanceolate perichaetial leaves. Brotherella complanata is reported here as a new record to China from Chongqing, Hunan, Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces. Detailed descriptions and illustrations are provided for each species.

Dobson, Frank. 2005. Lichens: An Illustrated Guide to the British and Irish Species. 5^th rev. ed. 480 pp., with color photographs and range maps. The Richmond Publishing Co. Ltd, Slough, England. [ISBN 0-8554-6096-2 (paperback); ISBN 0-8554-6095-4 (hardcover)] Price £35.00 (paperback) or £45.00 (hardcover) postage and handling. Available from: rpc@richmond.co.uk.

Tucker, Shirley C. & Bruce Ryan. 2006. Revised catalog of lichens, lichenicoles, and allied fungi in California. Constancea 84. 275 pp. bibliography. Available for free use and download at  http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/constancea/84/tucker_ryan.html.

Ertz, Damien, Claude Christnach, Mats Wedin & Paul Diederich. 2005. A world monograph of Plectocarpon (Roccellaceae, Arthoniales). 155 pp. Bibliotheca Lichenologica, Band 91. J. Cramer, Stuttgart, Germany. [ISBN 3-443-58070-X (softcover)] Price €58.00 postage and handling (softcover). Available from  http://www.schweizerbart.de/