A synopsis of liverworts occurring in the Tatra Mountains (Western Carpathians, Poland and Slovakia): checklist, distribution and new data.

This paper presents the current state of knowledge on the liverwort flora of the entire massif of the Tatra Mts, the highest mountain range in the Carpathians. All data on the liverwort flora of the massif, published during 1814–2014, and personal material collected by P. Górski during 2002–2014 were compiled. The distribution of species is presented separately for five areas: Belianske Tatry Mts (located entirely in Slovakia), High Tatra Mts (Slovak part), High Tatra Mts (Polish part), Západné Tatry Mts (Slovakia) and Tatry Zachodnie Mts (Poland). For each species, its range in altitude in particular areas is presented and the total number of localities given. Moreover, the highest (maximum) and lowest (minimum) localities are listed for every species. The data collected consists of more than 18,500 records (3600 of which are original). In the entire area of the Tatra Mts there are 194 species of liverwort, with 131 in the Belianske Tatry Mts, 178 in the High Tatra Mts and 179 in the Western Tatra Mts (Západné Tatry and the Tatry Zachodnie Mts). Nearly the same number of species is recorded on each side of the Poland-Slovak border. There is a total of 185 species in the Slovak Tatra Mts and 184 in the Polish Tatra Mts. The liverwort flora in the Tatra Mts has been studied unequally. Most data came from the Slovak High Tatra Mts and the least from the Slovak Západné Tatry Mts. This paper presents, for the first time, nine species previously not recorded in Slovak Západné Tatry Mts, four previously not recorded in Belianske Tatry Mts, three previously not recorded in Slovak High Tatra Mts, two previously not recorded in Polish Tatry Zachodnie Mts and two previously not recorded in Polish High Tatra Mts. The first locality of Odontoschisma (= Cladopodiella) francisci is documented in Polish Tatra Mts. Moreover, new localities for liverworts considered extinct in Slovakia (i.e. Cephaloziella varians and Geocalyx graveolens) are recorded. The new data for the years 2002 2014 allowed an analysis of the frequency of some liverworts in the Polish and Slovak Red Lists. The rarest and most common liverworts in the Tatra Mts are highlighted. The liverwort flora on the highest peak of the Tatra Mts (and the entire Carpathians), Mt Gerlachovský štít (2655 m above sea level) and its ridge was catalogued. The results of the search for the rarest Tatra liverworts at their historical localities are also presented. This article presents original localities for many species, including the rarest Tatra liverworts such as Nardia breidleri, Marsupella apiculata, M. sparsifolia, Eremonotus myriocarpus, Frullania fragilifolia, Odontoschisma (= Cladopodiella) francisci, Orthocaulis (= Barbilophozia) binsteadii, Fuscocephaloziopsis (= Cephalozia) catenulata, Scapania crassiretis and S. gymnostomophila. The list of Tatra liverworts presented also includes 22 species erroneously reported from this area. The species excluded from the Tatra liverwort flora upon revision of the available data include Barbilophozia hyperborea (R. M. Schust.) Potemkin, Lophozia groenlandica (Nees) Macoun (L. schusterana Schljakov) and Scapania glaucocephala (Taylor) Austin var. scapanioides (C. Massal.) Potemkin.