Lichens of the genus Peltigera found during the 13th summer polar expedition in 1997 on the Kaffiøyra Plain, Oscar II Land (NW Spitsbergen, Svalbard)

The material was collected during studies of the vegetation of Kaffiøyra in the course of „Thirteenth Toruń Polar Expedition, Spitsbergen - 1997” of N. Copernici University of Toruń. The studied areas were situated only on moraines, some mountain massif slopes, and all terraces. Samples of lichens were taken from 24 out of 61 total squares with an area of 1 km2. In the study area, 12 taxa of the genus Peltigera were noted, including nine new ones to the Kaffiøyra Plain, such as P. aphthosa, P. canina, P. didactyla, P. frippii, P. kristinssonii, P. lyngei, P. neckeri, P. polydactylon, P. ponojensis and three previously noted, such as P. leucophlebia, P. malacea, and P. rufescens. The most frequently recorded species in the study area were P. canina (9 localities), P. malacea (9), P. ponojensis (9) and P. rufescens (9). The greatest species diversity occurred on Waldemar Glacier Sander. As many as 10 species of Peltigera genus were recorded there. An average of five species per square were recorded in that region.