Podolian-Middle-Dnieper geobotanical subprovince of Forest-Steppe zone and the belts
of Artemisia-Gramineae Steppes and grass-Stipeta-Festuca Steppes of Priazov Black
Sea Steppe subprovince of Steppe zone are the most well studied among twelve geobotanical
subprovinces of the Ukrainian plains, while the lack of information on lichen species
diversity found to be in Middle Russian subprovince of Forest zone and belt of grass-Stipeta-Festuca
Steppes of Middle-Don Steppe subprovince of Steppe zone of this territory. Among twenty
three administrative oblasts of the Ukrainian plains situated in twelve geobotanic
subprovinces of three zones the highest lichen species diversity is found in Kherson
oblast of the belt of Artemisia-Gramineae Steppes (464 species), Mykolaiv oblasts
of the belt of grass-Stipeta-Festuca Steppes of Priazov Black Sea Steppe subprovince
(389 species) of Steppe zone, as well as in Kharkiv oblast of Middle Russian subprovince
(332 species) of Forest-Steppe zone of the Ukrainian plains on the basis of the Fourth
checklist of lichen-forming and lichenicolous fungi including 2,106 of the total Ukrainian
lichens. The lower lichen diversity is hitherto recorded from Rightbank Polessian
subprovince (the highest species diversity 296 species in Zhytomyr oblast) and Baltic
Forest subprovince (281 species in Lviv oblast) in Forest zone of the Ukrainian plains
as well as Podolian-Middle-Dnieper subprovince (287 species in Khmelnytsk oblast)
of the Forest-Steppe zone of territory mentioned. Insufficient level of data on lichen
diversity is recorded for Middle Russian and Podolian-Bessarabian Forest subprovinces
of the Forest zone, as well as the belt of grass-Stipeta-Festuca Steppes of Middle-Don
Steppe subprovince and the belt of Stipeta-Festuca Steppes of Priazov Black Sea Steppe
subprovince of Steppe zone. The same rather lower level of data on lichen diversity
is found in Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Chernihiv, Vinnytsia and Sumy of Forest and
Forest-Steppe zones; in Poltava and Kharkiv, as well as Cherkasy, Kirovograd, Mykolaiv
and Donetsk oblasts in Forest-Steppe and Steppe zones; in Odessa, Kherson and Dnipropetrovsk
oblasts of Steppe zone, as well as Zhytomyr oblasts in Podolian-Middle-Dnieper subprovince
of Forest-Steppe zone. List of the rarest taxa of the regionally unique group (hitherto
known from single or a few localities) proposed as candidates for including to Red
Regional lists of 22 oblasts of the Ukrainian plains as far the whole nature protection
activity in Ukraine is provided.
