Lichens are bioindicators due to their sensitivity to environmental variables. As key constituents of biological soil crusts in gypsum-rich arid ecosystems, their links to abiotic factors offer insights into ecological processes. We studied lichen community responses to environmental variation in gypsum soils in Spain. Sampling was conducted in 35 plots, estimating lichen cover to quantify taxonomic diversity (TD), calculate functional diversity (FD) assessing and measuring qualitative and quantitative traits, and compute phylogenetic diversity (PD) using a community-level phylogenetic tree. A higher diversity (TD, FD, PD) was found in plots with less extreme temperature conditions. Higher TD, total FD, and FD of quantitative traits were observed in plots with greater precipitation. FD of quantitative traits was positively associated with gypsum content. Functional variability was mostly explained by intraspecific variability except in water-related traits. Our findings reinforce the relevance of trait-based approaches in understanding patterns of lichen biodiversity.

Reforestation is expanding rapidly worldwide; however, most reforestations lack the heterogeneous structure of mature forests, limiting their capacity to support biodiversity. We evaluated whether Mediterranean reforestations could recover the diversity and composition of epiphytic lichen and bryophyte communities found in well-conserved mature forests and identified the key structural and environmental drivers underlying these patterns. Epiphytic diversity and composition were assessed across 14 mature and 14 reforested pine stands (Pinus nigra and P. sylvestris) in central Spain spanning a wide range of forest ages and structures. Forest type was the dominant determinant of both diversity and composition, and the Forest Maturity Index (FMI), a composite maturity metric developed to integrate key structural attributes associated with late-successional conditions, emerged as the most influential structural predictor. Tree age showed weak effects largely confounded with FMI, being independently significant only for bryophyte richness. Although structural predictors affected epiphytic diversity in a similar way across both forest types, reforestations did not reach the levels of structural maturity needed to support late-successional or specialist epiphytic communities. Indicator species analysis further revealed that all late-successional and specialist taxa were restricted to mature forests. Our findings highlight the irreplaceable role of mature pine forests for epiphytic conservation and emphasize the importance of restoration approaches that facilitate the development of mature-forest structural attributes.

Forest habitat complexity is crucial for biodiversity, although fine-scale complexity remains understudied. On three trunks, arthropods assemblages are shaped by bark structure and seasonality, but epiphytic lichens add structural complexity to trunks, contributing to retain moisture and microclimate stability. This study examines how microhabitat complexity provided by Lobaria pulmonaria, a foliose cyanolichens, interacts with bark structure and seasonal variation to shape arthropod communities in montane Mediterranean forests (Fagus sylvatica and Quercus pyrenaica). Seasonal comparisons among lichen thalli and basal/high traps, analyzed with two-way ANOVA, NMDS, PERMANOVA, SIMPER, Bray-Curtis, and bootstrap ratio-of-means (ROM), revealed microhabitat as the dominant driver. L. pulmonaria consistently supported much higher arthropod abundances than bark, with ROM reaching around 20-32x on Quercus in autumn and winter relative to traps. Taxon richness did not differ significantly among microhabitats, but decomposers and detritivores (Acarina, Collembola, Psocoptera) concentrated on Lobaria pulmonaria. Tree identity modulated effect size, with stronger responses on Quercus pyrenaica, while Acarina Oribatidae responded more on Fagus sylvatica. These results indicate that L. pulmonaria acts as a refugial microhabitat buffering environmental stress, especially during leaf-off, cold seasons. From a conservation perspective, maintaining large cyanolichen thalli on host trees is essential to sustain arthropod abundance and functional diversity in Mediterranean forests, where cyanolichens are vulnerable to fragmentation and management. Their decline could lead to cascading effects on arthropod communities and ecosystem processes such as decomposition and nutrient cycling.

Global change drivers, including fragmentation, climate change and habitat degradation, are accelerating the alarming decline in biodiversity worldwide. Additionally, biodiversity-environment interactions may vary depending on the spatial scale, as communities are shaped by both large- and small-scale factors. Therefore, it is crucial to assess the taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic responses of communities to environmental factors operating at different scales. To address this, we investigated epiphytic lichen communities thriving in 20 oak forest fragments located between temperate and Mediterranean climates in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Using structural equation modelling, we tested the effects of forest fragmentation, climate, habitat structure and quality on functional (FD), taxonomic (TD) and phylogenetic (PD) diversities at plot and tree scales, considering both direct and indirect effects mediated through FD. Our findings indicate that habitat structure and climate are key determinants of diversity at both spatial scales. Additionally, habitat quality emerged as a critical predictor exclusively at the tree scale. Heterogeneity in habitat structure had a profound effect on diversity, increasing FD, TD and PD, while climate primarily influenced TD. Conversely, habitat quality positively affected both FD and TD, but its net effect on PD was negative. Although TD can be inferred through PD, FD emerged as the cornerstone mediating between the environment and other diversity facets. However, direct relationships were also identified. These results highlight the necessity of incorporating multi-scale and multi-faceted approaches in forest management practices. Effective forest management should monitor and manage key factors such as slope and DBH to enhance FD, TD, and PD of lichens. By focusing on these factors, forest management can ensure the resilience and sustainability of forest ecosystems, promoting biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services in the face of global environmental changes.

Contrary to the assumption that epiphytic lichens, which obtain water and nutrients from the atmosphere, do not exhibit host species preference, this notion is challenged by the limited number of studies that cover a wide geographical range and diverse phorophyte species (hereafter referred to as “host species”). To investigate this assumption, we evaluated the host preference of 709 epiphytic lichen species across the Mediterranean basin, examining 72 host species. The research is based on field studies conducted by the authors, supplemented with bibliographic records to expand the study area and the number of host species. We define “host preference” as the association of an epiphytic lichen species with a single host species. Our findings reveal a high prevalence of lichens exhibiting host preference both locally (exceeding 30% of lichen species in each of six geographic areas) and regionally (25% across the entire dataset). This host preference remained consistent even with increased sampling extent, which can be attributed to factors such as hosts with diverse bark types, the wide climatic range of some species, and host species associated with extreme environmental conditions within the Mediterranean region. Overall, we conclude that host bias for epiphytic lichen species remains consistent in Mediterranean landscapes, contributing to a diverse array of epiphytic species and high levels of host species preference. This research provides valuable insights into the complex interactions between lichens and their host species, offering a deeper understanding of biodiversity within Mediterranean landscapes.

Reforestation is a widely promoted strategy to restore Mediterranean forests. However, its effectiveness in recovering avian diversity (key for ecosystem processes such as seed dispersal and insect control) remains unclear. We studied bird communities in 28 reforestations and 25 mature forests in central Spain, assessing bird species richness, community composition, and functional guild proportions. Bird communities were surveyed using passive acoustic monitoring, and forest structure was characterized by measurements of tree diameter, height, density, canopy and shrub cover, and deadwood volume. Mature forests hosted on average 10.5 % more species and higher proportions of cavity-nesters, insectivores, and long-distance migrants than reforestations. Structural differences, particularly larger mean tree size (+8.8 %) and lower tree density (-6.6 %), explained part of these richness patterns, while deadwood volume and canopy cover were linked to community composition and the prevalence of specialist guilds. Although reforestations supported fewer species, they already host a substantial part of the regional avifauna and show potential for further recovery as structural characteristics typical of mature forests. These findings highlight that reforestation can meaningfully contribute to bird conservation in Mediterranean landscapes, but its ecological value depends on promoting structural complexity. Conservation strategies should combine structural maturity recovery in reforestations, while safeguarding remnant mature forests, which remain irreplaceable for supporting diverse and functionally important bird guilds.

Specialization remains as a controversial and ambiguous term in ecology. Although it has been usually measured using a dichotomic and simplified classification of specialists and generalists , its nature is by far more complex. In the context of biotic interactions, assigning these two labels is usually based on the number of interacting partners (one or few vs. many). Here, we provide a more precise, quantitative, and objective interpretation of the specialization phenomenon combining three different dimensions ( specificity , preference , and selectivity ) that offer complementary information to quantify specialization. Hence, partner richness is a metric associated with the specificity , Simpson's evenness is related to the preference and d ′ index to the selectivity of the biotic interactions. Consequently, we propose a 3D specialization space combining these three metrics which allows to identify the degree of biotic specialization fleeing from its simplified historical interpretation. The proposed space was subsequently evaluated in five natural interacting systems (host–parasite, plant–ant, plant–pollinator, plant–seed disperser, and mycobiont–cyanobacteria) using available data comprising 116 networks with quantitative observations. The results indicate the prevalence of a lax specialization, where most organisms tended to show low values in at least one of the metrics. Predominantly, observations showed high values of specificity and low values of preference and selectivity. This relaxed specialization provides advantages of being specialized, without sentencing it when being too tight. The implementation of this framework provides a useful tool that allows to identify specialization in a more objective, integrative, and universal way for future specialization studies.

Lichens are significant components of the biological soil crust communities in gypsum ecosystems and are involved in several processes related to ecosystem functioning, such as water and nutrient cycles or protection against soil erosion. Although numerous studies centered on lichen taxonomy and ecology have been performed in these habitats, global information about lichen species from gypsum substrates or their distributional ranges at a global scale is lacking. Thus, we compiled a global data set of recorded lichen species growing on gypsum. This review is based on systematic searches in two bibliographic databases (Web of Science and the more specialized database Mattick's Literature Index) using various keywords related to the substrate or ecology (i.e., gypsum, gypsiferous, semiarid, saxicolous, terricolous). In addition, we revised lichen literature from countries with gypsum soils using Mattick's, Hamburg University's Worldwide checklist, and different national lichen checklists. Ultimately the review includes a total of 321 studies. This data set included 6114 specimen records belonging to 336 recorded lichen species from 26 countries throughout the world. The results showed large differences in the number of species recorded among countries, reflecting differences in the sampling effort. We provide a table with the number of studies and species in relation to gypsum surface in order to account for the bias produced by sampling effort. The number of studies carried out per country was not related to the gypsum surface but probably to other factors, such as accessibility to field sampling, economic or political factors, or the presence of a wider community of lichenologists. Thus, Spain and Germany hosted the highest number of recorded species (160 and 114 species, respectively). Outside the European continent, only a few countries had a large number of species: Morocco (46), United States (42), and Iran (37). Remarkably, countries from the southern hemisphere (i.e., Australia, Chile, Namibia, and South Africa) showed a low number of studies from gypsum lands, supporting the stated biases observed in sampling efforts among countries. Considering the most studied countries, the results show that Teloschistaceae was the most represented family in gypsum ecosystems followed by Verrucariaceae and Cladoniaceae. Regarding particular species, Psora decipiens and Squamarina lentigera were some of the most widespread and abundant species in these habitats. This data set constitutes a basic and first step toward a much more comprehensive database, to be periodically updated in future releases, which also serves to identify countries or territories where future studies should be accomplished. There are no copyright restrictions on the data; please cite this data paper if the data are used in publications and teaching events.

Gypsum soils, despite physico-chemical constraints, harbor a unique biota composed of specialist (gypsophiles) and stress-tolerant non-specialist species (gypsovags). Gypsophily has been addressed in plants, although is important to ask whether lichen communities also contain gypsophile species. Therefore, our main aim is the analysis of the affinity of lichens for the gypsum substrate in Spain. Affinity was estimated using two methods: a “geological method”, overlapping lichen occurrence data on a geological map of Spain; and a “biological method”, overlapping the occurrences on a map constructed with the distribution of plant gypsophiles. To assess the accuracy of both methods, we compared them with a literature review. Lichen occurrence data was obtained from GBIF. The biological method was the most accurate as it showed similar percentages to the literature review. The affinity for gypsum substrate has been effectively demonstrated by the employment of these methods, probing the existence of a group of lichens considered gypsophiles. Twenty lichen species are considered gypsophiles, 7 strict and 13 preferential (ca. 40% of 50 taxa analyzed), and 30 gypsovags. This approximation can apply to the study of the affinity for the substrate for other organisms/substrates, and for characterizing geological units when detailed geological maps are not available.

Currently, diagnosis of Neisseria meningitidis in nasopharyngeal samples can be made by culture and nucleic acid amplification techniques.1 In Cuba, molecular diagnosis of meningococcal meningitis was introduced at the National Reference Laboratory for Neisseria (NRLN), in 2010, through a PCR that amplifies a fragment of the ctrA gene using the protocol described by Taha, 2000.2 This gene codes for a capsule protein that regulates the adhesion of N. meningitidis to the host, and 16 to 28% of meningococci isolates, especially in the nasopharynx, lack this gene.2 In contrast, the sodC gene, related to the production of superoxide-dismutase of this organism, is less sensitive to antigenic variation, hence its importance for molecular diagnosis in patients and asymptomatic carriers.3 Information on the meningococcal carriage is essential for public health policy,4. Still, the high number of invasive meningococci disease (IMD) affecting Cuba during the 1980s and the absence of molecular tools prevented its accurate microbiological diagnosis in carriers.

Abstract Specialization, contextualized in a resource axis of an organism niche, is a core concept in ecology. In biotic interactions, specialization can be determined by the range of interacting partners. Evolutionary and ecological factors, in combination with the surveyed scale (spatial, temporal, biological, and/or taxonomic), influence the conception of specialization. This study aimed to assess the specialization patterns and drivers in the lichen symbiosis, considering the interaction between the principal fungus (mycobiont) and the associated Nostoc (cyanobiont), from a community perspective considering different spatial scales. Thus, we determined Nostoc phylogroup richness and composition of lichen communities in 11 Nothofagus pumilio forests across a wide latitudinal gradient in Chile. To measure specialization, cyanobiont richness, Simpson's and d′ indices were estimated for 37 mycobiont species in these communities. Potential drivers that might shape Nostoc composition and specialization measures along the environmental gradient were analysed. Limitations in lichen distributional ranges due to the availability of their cyanobionts were studied. Turnover patterns of cyanobionts were identified at multiple spatial scales. The results showed that environmental factors shaped the Nostoc composition of these communities, thus limiting cyanobiont availability to establish the symbiotic association. Besides, specialization changed with the spatial scale and with the metric considered. Cyanolichens were more specialized than cephalolichens when considering partner richness and Simpson's index, whereas the d′ index was mostly explained by mycobiont identity. Little evidence of lichen distributional ranges due to the distribution of their cyanobionts was found. Thus, lichens with broad distributional ranges either associated with several cyanobionts or with widely distributed cyanobionts. Comparisons between local and regional scales showed a decreasing degree of specialization at larger scales due to an increase in cyanobiont richness. The results support the context dependency of specialization and how its consideration changes with the metric and the spatial scale considered. Subsequently, we suggest considering the entire community and widening the spatial scale studied as it is crucial to understand factors determining specialization.

Beech forests are considered one of the most emblematic ecosystems in the temperate deciduous broadleaf forest biome and host a wide variety of specialised cryptogamic organisms such as epiphytic lichens. This checklist is the first compilation focused on the epiphytic lichen diversity occurring on Fagus sylvatica L. trees along Europe. The checklist is based on a literature search encompassing 137 studies. We report 683 lichen species differently distributed across 26 European countries. The reported richness of the lichen species ranged from one in Kosovo and Netherlands to 331 species in Ukraine. All information provided in this manuscript is available online (http://biodiversos.org/epidiversity-lichens-fagus-europe/) to facilitate the accessibility and updating of the data. Thus, we aim that this checklist becomes an open and dynamic database that continuously expands not only based on new lichenological studies, but also with the information retrieved by lichenologist in the past, data published in a diverse suite of languages and herbarium records.

AbstractA checklist of Lichen-forming, Lichenicolous and Allied Fungi of Ecuador is presented with a total of 2599 species, of which 39 are reported for the first time from the country. The names of three species, Hypotrachyna montufariensis, H. subpartita and Sticta hypoglabra, previously not validly published, are validated. Pertusaria oahuensis, originally introduced by Magnusson as ‘ad interim’, is validated as Lepra oahuensis. The form Leucodermia leucomelos f. albociliata is validated. Two new combinations, Fissurina tectigera and F. timida, are made, and Physcia mobergii is introduced as a replacement name for the illegitimate P. lobulata Moberg non (Flörke) Arnold. In an initial step, the checklist was compiled by reviewing literature records of Ecuadorian lichen biota spanning from the late 19th century to the present day. Subsequently, records were added based on vouchers from 56 collections participating in the Consortium of Lichen Herbaria, a Symbiota-based biodiversity platform with particular focus on, but not exclusive to, North and South America. Symbiota provides sophisticated tools to manage biodiversity data, such as occurrence records, a taxonomic thesaurus, and checklists. The thesaurus keeps track of frequently changing names, distinguishing taxa currently accepted from ones considered synonyms. The software also provides tools to create and manage checklists, with an emphasis on selecting vouchers based on occurrence records that can be verified for identification accuracy. Advantages and limitations of creating checklists in Symbiota versus traditional ways of compiling these lists are discussed. Traditional checklists are well suited to document current knowledge as a ‘snapshot in time’. They are important baselines, frequently used by ecologists and conservation scientists as an established naming convention for citing species reported from a country. Compiling these lists, however, requires an immense effort, only to inadequately address the dynamic nature of scientific discovery. Traditional checklists are thus quickly out of date, particularly in groups with rapidly changing taxonomy, such as lichenized fungi. Especially in megadiverse countries, where new species and new occurrences continue to be discovered, traditional checklists are not easily updated; these lists necessarily fall short of efficiently managing immense data sets, and they rely primarily on secondary evidence (i.e. literature records rather than specimens). Ideally, best practices make use of dynamic database platforms such as Symbiota to assess occurrence records based both on literature citations and voucher specimens. Using modern data management tools comes with a learning curve. Systems like Symbiota are not necessarily intuitive and their functionality can still be improved, especially when handling literature records. However, online biodiversity data platforms have much potential in more efficiently managing and assessing large biodiversity data sets, particularly when investigating the lichen biota of megadiverse countries such as Ecuador.

The present paper reports the first record of Diplotomma cedricola (Werner) Etayo in the eastern Mediterranean (Creta Island, Greece), being the nearest record from Corsica (France). This lichen species was found near Iérapreta on decorticated Cupressus sempervirens L. and Pinus brutia Ten. trees. This finding constitutes a great expansion of the distribution range of this species.

The ecological success of lichens is related to both myco- and photobionts which condition the physiological limits of the lichen symbioses and thus affect their ecological niches and geographic ranges. A particular type of lichen, called cephalolichen, is characterized by housing both green algal and cyanobacterial symbionts-the latter is restricted to special structures called cephalodia. In this type of lichen, questions related to specialization within species or within individuals are still unsolved as different patterns have previously been observed. In order to study the variability at the intrathalline, intraspecific, and interspecific level, cyanobionts from different cephalodia within the same thalli and from different thalli were genetically analysed in three cephalolichen species at two different forests (18 thalli, 90 cephalodia). The results showed variability in the cephalodial Nostoc OTUs in all the studied species, both at the intrathalline and intraspecific levels. The variability of Nostoc OTUs found in different cephalodia of the same thallus suggests low specialization in this relationship. Additionally, differences in OTU diversity in the three studied species and in the two forests were found. The variability observed may confer an increased ecological plasticity and an advantage to colonize or persist under additional or novel habitats or conditions.

The COVID pandemic has resulted in a major disruption in healthcare that has affected several medical and surgical specialties. European and American Vascular Societies has proposed deferring the creation of an elective vascular access (VA) (autologous or prosthetic arteriovenous fistula (AVF or AVG) in incident patients on hemodialysis (HD) in the era of a COVID pandemic. The aim of this study is to examine the impact of COVID pandemic on VA creation and the CVC-related hospitalizations and complications in HD patients dialyzed in 16 Spanish HD units of 3 different regions. We compared retrospectively two periods of time: the pre-COVID (January 1th 2019-March 11th 2020) and the COVID era (March 12th 2020-June 30th 2021) in all HD patients (prevalent and incident) dialyzed in our 16 HD centers. The variables analyzed were: type of VA (central venous catheter-CVC, AVF and AVG) created, percentage of CVC in incident and prevalent HD, CVC-related hospitalizations and complications (infection, extrusion, disfunction, catheter removal) and percentage of CVC-HD sessions that did not reach the goal of KT(KT> 45) as marker of HD adequacy. 1791 VA for HD were created and 905 patients started HD during the study period. Patients who underwent vascular access surgery during COVID period compared to those who did not were significantly younger and a significant decrease of surgical activity to create AVFs and AVGs in older HD patients (> 75 and > 85 years) was observed in COVID period compared to Pre-COVID period. There was a significant increase in CVC placement (from 59.7% to 69.5%) (p<0.001) from the pre-COVID to the COVID time-period. During COVID pandemic a significantly higher number of patients started HD through a CVC (80.3% vs. 69.1%, p<0.001) The percentage of CVC in prevalent HD patients has not decreased 19 months after the start of the pandemic (414 CVC/1058 prevalent patients (39.4%). No significant changes were detected in CVC-related hospitalizations between the pre-COVID and COVID periods. In COVID period a significant increase in catheter replacement and in the percentage of HD session that not reach the HD dose objective (KT> 45) was observed. COVID has presented a public health system crisis that has influenced VA for HD with an increase of CVC relative to AVF. A decrease in HD session that not reach the HD dose objective was observed in COVID period compared to preCOVID period.

Netwotk_information: Information of every interacting network for which the different specialization metrics were estimated from the repository https://www.web-of-life.es/ (except data of lichens). Contains the number of species of both classes of organisms, the total number of species of each networks, the country and the coordinates. Lichen_networks: Information of every interacting network for mycobiont species and Nostoc phylogroups of 11 forest across a latitudinal gradient in Chile. Each sheet of the Excel document shows the incidence matrix of each of the forest. Abstract: Specialization remains as a controversial and ambiguous term in ecology. Although it has been mostly treated as a dichotomic and simplistic classification of specialist and generalist, its nature is more complex. In the case of biotic interactions, the assignation of these labels, is usually based on the number of interacting partners (one or few versus several ones). Here we provide a more precise and objective interpretation of the specialization phenomenon combining three different metrics (partner richness, Simpson’s index, and d’-index) that offer complementary information of specialization. Hence, partner richness is the metric associated with specificity, Simpson’s index with selectivity and d’ index with the discrimination of the interactions. Consequently, a 3D space is created with the three metrics, in which a symmetrical division of each of the axes into two halves results in eight specialization categories, from entirely specialized to entirely generalized. Additionally, we suggest two different approaches to compare specialization 1) between and 2) within interacting systems. The proposed categories have been estimated in five natural interacting systems (host-parasite, plant-ant, plant-pollinator, plant-seed-disperser, and mycobiont-cyanobacteria) using available data comprising 188 networks with quantitative observations. The categorization proposed indicates the prevalence of a lax specialization, being scarcely specialized the most common category, in which organisms are specialist, unselective and opportunist. This relaxed specialization shows advantages of being specialized, without sentencing specialization to its constraints. The application of this proposed framework is a useful tool that allows to categorize specialization in a more objective, integrative, and universal way for future specialization studies.

Tropics harbour the greatest biodiversity in the planet but are still largely unknown. Among these remote areas, there are the Tepuyes of Nangaritza Valley, in the Zamora Chinchipe province, southeastern Ecuador. They constitute isolated mountainous systems with great biological importance and high levels of endemicity. Therefore, the main objective of this study was the elaboration of the first catalogue of epiphytic lichens from several Tepuyes in the Nangaritza Valley. Two expeditions were carried out in two Tepuyes, between 900 and 2000 m of altitude, approximately 1,000 samples of lichens where collected at different habitats: piemontane wet forest, lower montane wet forest, dwarf forest, and paramillo. We identified 174 lichen species, belonging to 57 genera and 26 families. We found thirteen new records for South America, 64 for Ecuador, and 132 for the Zamora Chinchipe province. New chemotypes for species belonging to the Cladoniaceae family were found. Lichens with a crustose growth-form were the most abundant with around 40 % of the total richness, being Graphidaceae the richest family (27 species). Lichen species with green algae as photobiont were dominant, and especially those with Trenthepholia (66 species). This catalogue is a first approximation to the knowledge of the diversity of lichens from the Tepuyes of the Nangaritza Valley, and the high number of new records indicates a lack of knowledge of the biodiversity from these tropical forests.

Biocrusts are major contributors to dryland diversity, functioning, and services. However, little is known about how habitat degradation will impact multiple facets of biocrust diversity and measurable functional traits. We evaluated changes in taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of biocrust-forming lichens along a habitat degradation gradient related to the presence of linear infrastructure (i.e., a road) and a profound agricultural driven transformation. To do so, we selected 50 remnants of a Mediterranean shrubland. We considered several surrogates of habitat quality and causal disturbance on the various diversity facets of biocrusts by using structural equation modeling, hypothesizing that habitat degradation primarily affects functional diversity, which in turn regulates changes in taxonomic and phylogenetic diversities, and also that taxonomic and phylogenetic diversities are coupled. Fragment connectivity, distance to linear infrastructure (i.e., a road) and, particularly, soil fertility (i.e., soil P concentration), had mostly negative effects on biocrust functional diversity, which in turn affected both taxonomic and phylogenetic diversities. However, we found no direct effects of habitat degradation variables on the taxonomic and phylogenetic diversities. We also found that increases in phylogenetic diversity had a positive effect on taxonomic diversity along the habitat degradation gradient. Our results indicate that functional diversity of biocrusts is strongly affected by habitat degradation, which may profoundly alter their contribution to ecosystem functioning and services. Furthermore, functional diversity regulates the response of biocrust taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity to habitat degradation. These findings indicate that habitat degradation alters and simplifies the diversity of functional traits of biocrust-forming lichens, leading to biodiversity loss, with important consequences for the conservation of global drylands biodiversity.

Background The coronavirus disease (COVID) pandemic has resulted in a major disruption in healthcare that has affected several medical and surgical specialties. European and American Vascular Societies have proposed deferring the creation of an elective vascular access (VA) [autologous or prosthetic arteriovenous fistula (AVF) or arteriovenous graft (AVG)] in incident patients on haemodialysis (HD) in the era of the COVID pandemic. The aim of this study is to examine the impact of the COVID pandemic on VA creation and the central venous catheter (CVC)-related hospitalizations and complications in HD patients dialyzed in 16 Spanish HD units of three different regions. Methods We compared retrospectively two periods of time: the pre-COVID (1 January 2019-11 March 2020) and the COVID era (12 March 2020-30 June 2021) in all HD patients (prevalent and incident) dialyzed in our 16 HD centres. The variables analysed were type of VA (CVC, AVF and AVG) created, percentage of CVC in incident and prevalent HD patients, CVC-related hospitalizations and complications (infection, extrusion, disfunction, catheter removal) and percentage of CVC HD sessions that did not reach the goal of Kt (>45) as a marker of HD adequacy. Results A total of 1791 VAs for HD were created and 905 patients started HD during the study period. Patients who underwent vascular access surgery during the COVID period compared with pre-COVID period were significantly younger, with a significant decrease in surgical activity to create AVFs and AVGs in older HD patients (>75 and >85 years of age). There was a significant increase in CVC placement (from 59.7% to 69.5%; P < 0.001) from the pre-COVID to the COVID period. During the COVID pandemic, a significantly higher number of patients started HD through a CVC (80.3% versus 69.1%; P < 0.001). The percentage of CVC in prevalent HD patients has not decreased in the 19 months since the start of the pandemic [414 CVC/1058 prevalent patients (39.4%)]. No significant changes were detected in CVC-related hospitalizations between the pre-COVID and COVID periods. In the COVID period, a significant increase in catheter replacement and the percentage of HD session that did not reach the HD dose objective (Kt > 45) was observed. Conclusions COVID has presented a public health system crisis that has influenced VA for HD, with an increase in CVCs relative to AVFs. A decrease in HD sessions that did not reach the HD dose objective was observed in the COVID period compared with a pre-COVID period.