*2.4. Lichen Growth*

Lichen growth was used as an indicator of potential long-term effects. We are aware that growth rates may vary on a seasonal basis, depending on several environmental factors; however, for the purpose of this research, the attention was focused on the annual growth rate of the thallus. Therefore, both at the beginning and at the end of the transplant experiment, each thallus fragment was fully hydrated with mineral water and carefully flattened to avoid the folding of the lobes before scanning by Canon i-SENSYS MF4320d (Canon Inc., Tokyo, Japan). The area (A) of the meristematic and non-meristematic fragments was assessed using Photoshop CS6 extended (Adobe Systems, San Jose, CA, USA). The lichen growth comparing the same samples before and after the exposure was quantified as percentage increases A (%A) = [(area TF − area T0) area T0 <sup>−</sup>1] <sup>×</sup> 100. After one year, the growth of the surface of each individual thallus was assessed by subtracting the initial area from the respective area at harvest. All transplant devices remained attached to the bark during the transplant period. Only a few samples (both meristematic and non-meristematic) detached, likely due to the presence of wildlife. The loss was similar in the two stands (unlogged and logged). Thus, the final sample size for statistical analyses comprised 90 meristematic fragments (40 in the logged stand and 50 in the unlogged one) and 97 non-meristematic ones (49 in the logged stand and 48 in the unlogged one).
