Thor, Göran
- Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Abstract
Lichens consist of a partnership (symbiosis) between one or more heterotrophic fungi (mostly ascomycetes and basidiomycetes) and an autotrophic green alga (chlorolichens) or cyanobacterium (cyanolichens). Diverse communities of other bacteria are also associated with lichens (Spribille et al., 2016), influencing their function and fitness. The fungi (mycobionts) dominate, and their hyphae envelop the algae or cyanobacteria (photobionts). Photobionts provide carbohydrates by photosynthesis while the mycobionts provides both protection from high light, UV radiation and desiccation and facilitate water storage. This partnership has proved to be extremely successful, and lichens have evolved a large diversity of life forms and adaptations that are widely distributed in forests throughout the world.
Published in
Title: Routledge Handbook of Forest Ecology; 2nd Edition
Publisher: Routledge
SLU Authors
UKÄ Subject classification
Botany
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003324072-20
- ISBN: 978-1-032-34838-4
- eISBN: 978-1-003-32407-2
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/141826