Minnesota Lichen Map's Journal

Minnesota Lichen Map Project
May 1, 2024
According to their website:
“British Field Studies Council is an environmental education charity. Founded in 1943, we are best known for providing residential and day field trips for those studying biology and geography. But our mission is to create outstanding opportunities for everyone to learn about nature.”
Do you want to know more about Lichens?
British Field Studies Council offers an online class for beginners and advanced beginners.
This class is good for beginners and advanced beginners. It is well taught, by an expert observer and very well organized. Follow the link listed below.
Week 1: 1st October 2024
Week 2: 8th October 2024
Week 3: 15th October 2024
Week 4: Assignment due 22nd October 2024
Field Studies Council Classes Online
https://www.field-studies-council.org/courses-and-experiences/static-courses/discovering-lichens-online/
Cheers!
Zan & Elaine

Hi Lichen Scouts!
Good winter for Lichen-scouting in Minnesota.
I encourage scouts to join the British Lichen Society.
It is a modest membership fee for the Lichen resources they provide.
I took this online Class in the fall and it is well worth the investment of time and class fee,
Here is the link:
https://www.field-studies-council.org/courses-and-experiences/static-courses/discovering-lichens-online/

Happy scouting
Zan and Elaine

University of Minnesota Extension Master Naturalist LICHEN MAP PROJECT PRESENTS

"LichenArt: A Field Journal Page with Lisa McClintick."

Lichen Art: A Field Journal Page is a day-long workshop that will guide you through field observations of lichens while learning art skills. This class will teach you basics, no art or botany experience is needed. A short presentation will introduce you to basic lichen structure. Minnesota artist and author, Lisa Meyers McClintick will teach you basic pencil sketching, pen outlining, and coloring techniques to enhance your journal pages and closely study lichens. Class is basic art and basic lichen structure identification. She’ll also help you write about observations and create a beautiful entry for a nature journal we hope you’ll continue to fill. Coffee, tea, snacks, and art supplies (watercolor journal, watercolor fieldset, pencil, and waterproof outliner pen) will be provided. Bring lunch and any specialty snacks you may need for the 30-minute lunch break.
Places remaining 11 Register here:

https://extension.umn.edu/event/nature-journals-lichen-art

Friday, April 12, 2024 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Silverwood Park: 2500 County Rd E, St Anthony, MN 55421

Little Lichens on the Prairie
St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN hosted a week-long class for MN Master Naturalist class for Prairies and Potholes biome, August 7-11, 2023.
It was an opportunity to work with students to promote and develop the MN Master Naturalists Lichen Map Project and to sketch out a Lichen Trail on the Chapel Trail in the St. John’s University Arboretum, using data from the project. MN Master Naturalist, Kerri A. Meyer wrote this summary of the Capstone project-

LICHEN LOOKING: The nature-based pastime you didn’t know you were missing
By Kerri A. Meyer

Promoting the Lichen Map to our kindred Naturalists:
• Lichens are everywhere. We’re always looking at them but rarely seeing them.
• Lichens are tiny, varied landscapes, just as compelling to observe and photograph as wildflowers in spring or foliage in autumn.
• You already know all that you need to know to be a Lichen Looker. Just start by being a Lichen Liker! Enjoy spotting them, getting the coolest photo of them that you can, and sharing that image with experts who know how to identify them.

About the Monastery Cemetery as a Lichen Looking spot:
• Many lichen-friendly substrates are present: wood, metal, living trees, granite, marble, concrete.
• The grounds are not managed with fertilizer, keeping nitrogen levels moderate and comfortable for lichens.
• Oldest graves are not scrubbed regularly, so colonies are thriving on some headstones
• We found lichens on fallen twigs (four flavors on one four-inch section of oak) and on an old propane tank (what looked like flaking paint and rust was actually a bunch of lichen colonies!)

What we learned about the HOW-TO of Lichen Looking:
• Sunshine doesn’t make it easier to observe or document them. Choose a shady spot or cloudy day.
• Water DOES make it easier, and does amazing things to their natural color, so bring along a bottle of tap water.
• You want to see these organisms close up, so bring a field lens or a smartphone.
• Be ready to sit. You’ll be fascinated, and they don’t run off. Plus, sitting keeps your lens steadier!
• To take a photo, you can use just the zoom feature on your smartphone, or you can hold your phone camera up to your field lens (this takes some practice) or you can purchase a clip-on macro lens for your phone.
• While it’s not true that lichens grow only on the north sides of trees and boulders, it is the case for many moisture-loving and shade-loving species that the north sides are more hospitable.
• Look closely, because there’s a good chance that right next to the lichen you liked, there’s another species or two hanging out unnoticed! We call ‘em “Lichen Parties”. You’re invited.
• When you find a cool lichen, take your close-up, but then take a couple of wider-angle shots so that you can remember the lichen in context.

What we learned about the Lichens themselves:
• We like ‘em!
• Lichens are symbiotic collaborations between two or more organisms:
o Often a fungus and an alga
o Frequently a fungus and a cyanobacterium
o Sometimes even a fungus, an alga, and a cyanobacterium
• There are 19,000 varieties of lichens, because you can mix more of these organisms in different arrangements than you can toppings on pizza
• Lichens come in three (?) major categories:
o leafy-looking (foliose),
o crusty-looking (crustose), and
o hairy-looking (fruticose)
• Lichens have fruiting bodies, like other fungal things. The fruiting bodies release spores for reproduction. They’re also super cute.
• While lichens are not themselves destructive (they’re not killing your tree, your tree is dying), they are the very first living agent in the recipe for creating new soil. They can cleave rocks!
• While some lichens like sharing space, others release allelopathic chemicals to reduce competition from cousins.
• Scientists can draw on lichens to date young (<500 years old) objects, like gravestones.
• Dry lichens are in survival mode. Lichens want water.
• Scrubbing surfaces (bricks, stones, other hardscaping) destroys lichens. As Kenton put it, buildings that “look clean, look dead.”

Participate in the Minnesota Lichen Map Project:
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/minnesota-lichen-map

Join The British Lichen Society:
https://britishlichensociety.org.uk/

Looking for Lichens
Lichens are a pioneer species - geology meets botany. Lichens, over time, break down rocks and create soil or organic material and take nitrogen out of the atmosphere. Lichens are everywhere, from sea level to mountains, with over 19,000 different species, making up 8% of the world's biomass, so it's easy to see why it's a challenge to identify them. The more you learn about lichens, the more mysterious they become.
If you want to become a lichen-scout, here is some basic information to get you started. Look and learn. Get very close, observe, then read different books/reports on the structure of lichen. Repeat.
In its simplest form, a lichen is a fungi that has an alga living inside, in a mutually beneficial arrangement (symbiosis). The fungi provides the space to live (structure) and the alga photosynthesize the food for both. Lichens are not dependent on the host or substrate for nourishment. Lichens do not harm trees, but older trees may be covered in lichen while also at the end of their lifespan. Truth be told, the fungi and the algae can live independently, but together they form a lichenized fungi called a lichen.
First, identify lichens by shape or profile. These three growth forms can be subdivided further, but for now, this will suffice.
Crustose lichen - is embedded into the substrate it lives upon. It might look like spray paint or raised texture, but you cannot separate the lichen from the substrate without damage to either.
Foliose lichen - is firmly attached to the substrate, but you can lift an edge and look at a bit of the underside of the lichen. Notice the clues on the underside of lichen too, different textures and colors than the upper side.
Fruticose lichen - is hanging on by a central stem that may be obscured from the top view. It resembles a tiny shrub.
More often, lichens have additional components besides a single variety of fungi and algae, that create a more complex organism and add to the difficulty in reaching the species level of identification. It can contain additional fungi, yeast, or cyanobacteria. Lichen genus may be determined through careful observation, but frequently chemical spot-tests are needed to determine the species.
80% of lichen structure is not visible to the naked eye, so a jeweler's loupe or hand lens is necessary in the field. A lichen viewed with magnification reveals important structures that will assist you in lichen identification.You can even use your smartphone and shoot the image through the loupe for extended magnification.
Up close to the lichen specimen you can see, none, a few or many flat round disc-like reproductive structures called Apothecia. The shape, size and abundance of these ‘fruiting cups’ will be clues to the species identification of the genus and species you are observing.
No Apothecia? Look to the outer edge of the lichen structure for the presence of isidia or soridia, reproductive structures.
Where you find the lichen growing is another clue to genus and species. Where is referred to as the substrate. On a rock? On the ground? On a tree or bark chip? The substrate is not the same as a host, because the lichen is getting its nourishment from the sugars produced by the algae. The general habitat is also important, forest, wetland, desert and will determine the humidity that creates an environment needed for that specific lichen to thrive.
The introduction to most lichen books (some listed below) will have this information and more. Read every introduction so the information becomes clear and the jargon is second nature. Continue to search for lichens, photograph them and enjoy them as you learn. By observing and scouting for lichen you will begin to have a deeper appreciation for these slow-growing, beautiful organisms.
Lichen-scout, as you walk, crawl, and lay on the ground that is our home, Minnesota, be respectful to all Creation - especially slow-growing lichen. First Nation leader, Dr. Leroy Littlebear says that “The land is a sacred trust from the Creator. The land is the giver of life like a mother.” Some lichens grow only 0.5mm per year.- a sharp pencil point is 1mm. A lichen as big as your thumbnail could be decades old. Lichens are a wonderful way to explore Minnesota.
Basic Vocabulary
Lichen
Fungus
Algae
Substrate
Habitat
Crustose
Foliose
Fruticose
Apothecia
Isidia
Soridia
Basic Good Videos
Overview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crAXLSZZzXw
Lichen Structures:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJa1OlJ3vRs&t=760s
Good background information:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh3https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqHG7SOmtY4&t=889sxFOw62aU
Types of lichen growth forms:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2haTr0j4hk
Further Reading:
The Secret World of Lichens: A Young Naturalist's Guide
A beginner naturalist's guide to the wonderful world of lichens.
Written by lichenologist Troy McMullin
Urban Lichens: A Field Guide for Northeastern North America
Jessica L Allen & James C Lendemer
Lichens of the North Woods A Field Guide to 111 Northern Lichens
Joe Walewski
The Lichen Museum
An interdisciplinary look at the world of lichens.
Laurie A. Palmer
Common Lichens of Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin Herbarium
https://herbarium.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/205/2017/10/lichens-of-wi-web-20170515.pdf
Join:
British Lichen Society
Lesson plans and lichen walks
https://britishlichensociety.org.uk/

World-wide Lichen Study
https://microbeinstitute.org/lichen-adventure
Cheers! Zan

The Minnesota Lichen Map is a citizen-scientist project imagined by Minnesota Master Naturalists Z. Tomko and E. Larson, with the support of State-wide allies, to educate and enlighten citizens of Minnesota and protect Minnesota Lichens. The project is guided by traditional land-values of Minnesota’s Indigenous People, the Scientific community and naturalists who are working to understand Minnesota lichens and will use technology to map data about the lichen population throughout Minnesota.
We expect there will be a wide range of images in this citizen-scientist project, from casual to research grade observations, gathered from urban environments to open spaces. We encourage many in Minnesota to participate with this inventory and create a picture of the lichens in Minnesota. We especially encourage Minnesota Master Naturalists to take the lead in learning, discovering, documenting and appreciating this marvelous organism. As the data is gathered, we hope to design a series of digital Lichen Trails that will invite more people to stop and appreciate lichens.
We consider anyone who has ever discovered a lichen through their curiosity, past and future, as part of analliance of lichen lovers – won’t you join us?
Minnesota Master Naturalist Lichen Map Project
Instagram @ mnlichenalliance