Lichens of the Scottish Mountains ... and beyond

Alan Fryday (East Lansing, USA): The corticolous lichen biota of the oceanic woodlands of the west of Scotland is widely accepted as of international importance. Alan Fryday argues that the saxicolous lichen biota of the oceanic mountains is equally unique, but less well known because it lacks the large foliose species of the Lobarion community that are so distinctive of the woodlands.

In this talk, Alan will explain the factors that contribute to this unique biota and describe the ecology of some of its distinctive species and communities. From there he will expand the scope of his talk to other regions of the world with a similarly oceanic climate (SE Alaska, SW Chile, New Zealand) - investigating lichen distribution patterns and what can be inferred from them.