Exploring the southeastern slopes of Osjecenica mountain (southeast of Una National Park, Bosnia and Herzegovina) in October 2009, we got records of spike lichen (Calicium abietinum) and the disc granular lichen (Lopadium disciforme). The spike lichen (Calicium abietinum) is rare in the Balkan Peninsula and the disc granular lichen (Lopadium disciforme) is even rarer there. We would like to express our gratitude to Mag. Dr. Bilovitz and Prof. Dr. Mayrhofer (both Institute of Plant Sciences Karl-Franzens-University Graz, Austria) and Prof. Dr. Türk (FB Organismische Biologie Universität Salzburg, Austria), who kindly determined our samples of collected lichen once again.
Lichens are an integral and important component of our ecosystems. The largest biomass of lichens occurs in old-growth forests with clean air quality. Lichens possess a number of characteristics that make them suitable biomonitors for air pollution. Many lichen species have large geographical ranges, allowing study of pollution gradients over long distances. Lichen morphology does not vary with the seasons, and accumulation of pollutants can occur throughout the year. Lichens are usually very long lived. But most important: Lichens are excellent biomonitors due to their sensitivity to pollution.