Liquenes de la Reserva Natural Integral de Muniellos, Asturias. 2003. 133 col. photogr. Some line-figures. 512 p. gr8vo. Paper bd.

Abstract: The present study about the Lichen biodiversity of the Muniellos Natural Reserve falls within the framework of the research line: Lichenology and Plant Ecophysiology, in the Department of Botany and the ICBIBE (Institute «Cavanilles» of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology) of the University of Valencia through the direction of Eva Barreno. The study is also the subject of co-author Sergio Pérez-Ortegas doctoral thesis. It has been promoted and financially supported by the Dirección General de Recursos Naturales y Protección Ambiental, Consejería de Medio Ambiente, Gobierno del Principado de Asturias (General Direction for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Autonomous Government of the Principado of Asturias) and it was made in collaboration with the INDUROT (Institute of Natural Resources and Land Management) of the University of Oviedo.

The main objective was to study exhaustively the biodiversity of lichens in the Reserva Natural Integral de Muniellos (Integral Natural Reserve, Biosphere Natural Reserve of the MAB Program, UNESCO) in Asturias, as well as the ecological value of these thriving elements as bioindicators to be used for Conservation Biology purposes.The survey, designed and directed by José Antonio Fernández-Prieto, has been carried out along with vascular-plant phytosociologists and bryologists. The fact that the plots of the woodlands, the serial communities or the edaphically conditioned vegetation have been determined together, to study the different ecosystems, has enabled us to demonstrate the extraordinary wealth of lichen flora that exists in these mountains. The ancient woods to be found here seem have maintained their equilibrium for centuries and have witnessed the quaternary periglacial phenomena. As an added value to the objectives, there were very few references to saxicolous lichens, a field that has remained practically unexplored in the Cantabrian Relief of the Iberian Peninsula

This book aims also to promote the knowledge of lichens in Spain among people related with Nature conservancy management, either students at any level, teachers or . As no keys including the «microlichens» were available in Spanish, we produced some original ones, as simple possible to use or understand. Of course, most of the crustaceous lichens need to be observed under the microscope.