Lichen : friend or foe ?

G

Gareth

Location
Victoria , B.C.
We've all seen it before. Strands of lichen dangling off tree limbs / branches. To what extent does it become a problem ? Or is it ever a problem ? It appears to me to be a symbiotic relationship. Or does the tree actually gain anything from its presence. Any one out there know any more on the subject ? Am interested to learn.
 

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Dr. Shigo had a pretty good article on lichens a while back in TCI magazine. One thing I have noticed is that lichen will hold moisture on a tree longer. Sometimes that could be less than optimal, like when you step on it and slip....
 
Populations verberate from air quality changes, I look at the epiphites more as a canary in a coal mine that help determine a broader picture when assessing forest health.
 
i dont know much about "bugs and crud" but i figure to much of any thing is bad so if im pruning a tree that is loaded i pull it off where it seems to be over loaded
 
educated guess? seems in gareths photo to be "over whelming" that branch, maybe interfering with the trees photosynthisis (sorry i spell terrible!) and like zac mentioned retaining moisture. also aesthetics. if im up there it wont take much longer as i wouldnt take it all,just where it "appears" heavy. does that make sence. im not good at getting my point across
 
The rain forest researchers are finding some very interesting and beneficial relationships between moss/lichen and trees. Evergreen St. Col. in WA seems to be one of the centers for RF research. Everything that I have read shows that the moss matts are good for the trees and shouldn't be disturbed. I can't site chapter and verse but Google would be able to answer the question more definitively.

Don't worry about spelling, it's the typing that we concern ourselves with :)Mark and I have talked about getting a spell checker but have found that typing checkers are easier to integrate. Maybe in the next software upgrade ;)
 
i thought i replied to this:{ any way i dont usually bother the moss (never relly think about it much. but i think ill keep with my lichen habits till shown that it is helpfull. some things unknown either feel right or dont you know? like greg's cut back to a small lateral. i dont know how to run the spell checker either! if its important ill say "honey, how do i spell ....?" :)
 
always been told that the 'hairy' lichens are evidence that the air quality is top notch as they dont tollerate pollution. i always leave lichens on. having said that sometimes you cant help but pull a bit off for a closer look.

we did an intersting unit at uni about dating buildings (and i'm assuming also trees) by the types of lichen on them as some take hunderds of years to 'grow'

jamie
 
A study in KY showed carbohydrate flow from lichen to host tree, so yes symbiosis happens. If lichens grew here like in the picture, I would pull it oof where it was shading the tree's foliage too.
 
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Hey guy- do you know if that study is available online, or where it was published? I'm interested in reading it.

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Sorry can't recall. Don't think it was JoA.
 
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