Introduction to lichens

Participants may not have worked with lichens before, or may have worked only on a particular aspect of lichens, and wish to gain a broader general understanding of lichens as a subject of scientific research.

After successfully completing the course, participants will have an understanding of:

• current knowledge of lichen symbiosis, lichen morphology, and modes of reproduction and dispersal
• lichen ecology, ecophysiology and taxonomy
• lichen species that are common and characteristic, as well as species of conservation concern, in different habitats in the boreonemoral and boreal regions of Sweden
• key aspects related to lichens and nature conservation
• techniques for lichen identification, including chemical analysis using HPTLC.

Application: Applications, including a short CV (indicating the nature and stage of your research project, maximum five sentences; to be used if more than 15 applications are received), should be submitted by email to goran.thor@slu.se no later than August 31.

Course leader: Göran Thor, professor at SLU, will be moderating the course. Participants are expected to read literature prior to the course.

Fee: There is no course fee, but participants will need to arrange their own accommodation in Uppsala. Travel costs and accommodation during the excursion to Ludvika will be covered by the course.

Location: The course is hosted by the Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Uppsala. It will begin with an excursion to boreal forests near Ludvika on September 25–27. The more theoretical part of the course will take place at the Department of Ecology, SLU from Monday 28 September to Thursday October 1.

Examination: All students are required to give an oral presentation linking their own research to a lichenological topic. Students are also expected to participate actively in discussion groups and to attend all lectures.

To bring: All participants are expected to bring a hand lens of good quality.

Literature to read: see schedule. G. Thor will bring the flora below for sale (350 SEK): Moberg, R., Thor, G. & Hultengren, S. 2025. Lavar – en fältguide. Naturcentrums förlag. 6 ed. 365 pp. (in Swedish)