This project is the first inventory of tropical lichens on a continental scale, focusing on small epiphytic lichens. The inventory is expected to document approximately 3,000 species in 160 genera and 30 families. Using an innovative approach, the inventory is carried out by means of local workshops involving students and professionals in twelve countries (Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil) and offers the possibility of undergraduate and graduate theses at the participating institutions and a PhD thesis at the University of Chicago or University of Illinois Chicago. Results will be published online and as monographs and in international journals.
Lichens occur in virtually all ecosystems, where they play an important role in water and nutrient cycles and in the vegetation succession on soil, rock, and bark surfaces. This project will set a baseline for advanced studies of tropical lichens, their importance in understanding the evolutionary history of Fungi, their biogeography and paleogeography, and their use as bioindicators of environmental pollution and ecosystem health and in biochemical screening. The strong training component and the various tools created through the project ensure broad distribution of knowledge at all educational levels, from high school to university to professionals.
