The activity concentration of 131I, 134Cs and 137Cs radionuclides in lichens was traced one and a half months after the Fukushima nuclear accident. The samples were collected in Tsukuba City, which is located c. 170 km south of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (NPP). The activity concentrations differed depending on species and habitat. For example, the maximum activity concentration of 137Cs was 22596 Bq kg–1 dry weight in Physcia orientalis (collected from the trunk of Zelkova serrata on 30 June 2011), and 1928 Bq kg–1 in Hyperphyscia crocata (from the trunk of Quercus myrsinaefolia collected on 8 March 2012). The activity concentration of 137Cs in Dirinaria applanata and Phaeophyscia spinellosa growing on vertical habitats decreased by c. 50% within a year, indicating radionuclides might have been washed off by rain. The radionuclides were apparently derived from the Fukushima NPP accident because: 1) one specimen collected at the same place one year before the accident did not contain radionuclides, 2) high activity concentrations of radionuclides were detected after the accident, 3) 131I, which has a short half-life of 8 days, was detected one and a half months after the accident, and 4) the ratio of 134Cs/137Cs in lichens was 0·90–0·98 on 26 April 2011, which is consistent with the values reported for radiocesium from the Fukushima NPP accident.

Ten foliose and placodioid species of Physciaceae are reported from the National Park Torres del Paine and from other areas in southernmost Chile. Phaeophyscia constipate and Physconia perisidiosa are reported as new to the Southern Hemisphere, Phaeophyscia endococcina var. endococcina and Phaeorrhiza nimbosa as new to South America, and Dimelaena oreina and Physcia kalbii as new to Chile. The latter was recorded only from the island of Chiloé. Dimelaena appears to be rare in Magallanes and has been recorded only from one steppe locality. Phaeophyscia constipate and Phaeorrhiza nimbosa appear to be confined to the driest steppes, in areas with occurrences of rock outcrops associated with calcareous soil. Physconia muscigena has a similar habitat ecology, but a wider distribution, and is quite common. Physconia perisidiosa and Physcia adscendens were found to be very common in all bioclimatic zones surveyed in the lowland of Torres del Paine. The Physciaceae species treated here are all bipolar or subcosmopolitan, and belong to genera lacking an austral or South American element in the area studied, in contrast to the pattern in all other reasonably large macrolichen groups, except among cetrarioid genera. Their habitat ecology is also very similar to conditions known in the Northern Hemisphere. On the other hand, other widely distributed Northern Hemisphere species such as Physcia stellaris and P. aipolia have known distribution patterns in South America which are disjunct and northern and very different from those of the species treated here.