Researcher ORCID Identifier

0009-0003-0149-4110

Graduation Year

2026

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Environmental Analysis

Reader 1

Colin Robins

Reader 2

Robert Brodman

Rights Information

2025, Willow E. Lehrich

Abstract

As rising global temperatures intensify the frequency and force of wildfires, species are facing increasing ecological pressures. This study evaluates the responses of rock-dwelling lichens to a variety of wildfire conditions in the Southern California chaparral habitat. It examines how Fire Recurrence Interval (FRI) relates to species diversity, and how lichen populations differ between recently burned and not-recently burned areas. A weakly positive relationship between FRI and species richness was found, indicating that more frequent wildfires are associated with reduced lichen biodiversity. The majority of species found in recently burned sites were Squamulea subsoluta, suggesting that this species is particularly tolerant of fire or post-fire environmental changes. A proposed future study expands on these findings, addressing confounding variables and broadening the study area. It focuses on specific FRIs’ impacts on diversity and considers the variables of slope, aspect, and mineralogy. Additionally, it works to minimize biases in species identification and site selection. Together, these studies have the potential to guide conservation practices and fire-management strategies in chaparral ecosystems.

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This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.

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