Baseline results from the Lichen Community Indicator Program in the Pacific Northwest: Air quality patterns and evidence of a nitrogen pollution problem
This article is part of a larger document. View the larger document here.Abstract
Why Are Epiphytic Lichen Communities Important? Lichens are one of the bioindicators used by the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program to monitor forest health. To obtain data for use in its Lichen Community Indicator Program, FIA samples a regular network of permanent field plots to determine the composition of epiphytic, i.e., tree dwelling, lichen communities. The FIA lichens dataset is an important reservoir of information with many potential biomonitoring applications. The composition of a lichen community reflects various aspects of the local forest environment such as stand age, disturbance history, local climate, and stand structure. Perhaps the best known and most tested application of the Lichen Community Indicator data, however, is its utility for describing and monitoring air quality.