Abstract
Alpine ecosystems are important monitoring targets for examining climate-induced changes of vegetation cover, species composition, and species migration. In 2011, we installed alpine monitoring sites in Yellowstone National Park for the Rocky Mountain Inventory and Monitoring Network. The site was established using the protocol developed by the Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments [GLORIA] (Grabher et al. 2000). Here, we present a summary of the lichen species diversity documented within these monitoring plots, as well as the summary of field work completed for the GLORIA project in 2011. We report on the results of 40 numbered collections of lichens collected at four alpine sites in the Absaroka Range, Yellowstone National Park. A total of 21 unique taxa were documented. Of these, 6 are new to the documented lichen flora of Yellowstone (Eversman 1998, Eversman et al. 2002).