North American Lichens and Bryophytes - Sensitive Indicators of Environmental Quality and Change

Digitization TCN: North American Lichens and Bryophytes: Sensitive Indicators of Environmental Quality and Change

Project Summary

Lichens and bryophytes (mosses and their relatives) are sensitive indicators of environmental change, and are dominant organisms in arctic-alpine and desert habitats, where the effects of climate change are well-documented. This project will image about 2.3 million North American lichen and bryophyte specimens from more than 60 collections to address questions of how species distributions change after major environmental events, both in the past and projected into the future. Large-scale distribution mapping will help identify regions where such changes are likely, fostering programs designed to protect these organisms. Awardees plan to build and enhance a national volunteer community, and provide online seminars, extensive online training materials, and local workshops and field trips.

Current Research

Flora projects include:

Arctic lichen flora and of the Southern Subpolar region

Bryophyte flora of Fiji

Bryophytes of Illinois, Main, Missouri, North Carolina and Pennsylvania

Frullania species

Lichens of Alaska, Arizona, California, Coloroado, FLorida, Massechusetts, North & South Carolina, and Wisconsin

Lichens of U.S.National Parks

Project Leadership

Project Sponsor: University of Wisconsin - Madison

Principal Investigators (PIs): Corinna Gries (PI), Thomas Nash (Co-PI)

Collaborating Award PIs: Andrew Miller, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Edward Schilling, University of Tennessee Knoxville; Meredith Blackwell, Louisiana State University & Agricultural and Mechanical College; Donald Pfister, Harvard University; Francois Lutzoni, Duke University; Robert Luecking, Field Museum of Natural History; Bruce Allen, Missouri Botanical Garden; Timothy James, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Larry St.Clair, Brigham Young University; Stefanie Ickert-Bond, University of Alaska, Fairbanks; William Buck, New York Botanical Garden; John Freudenstein, Ohio State University; Tatyana Livschultz, Academy of Natural Sciences Philadelphia; David Giblin, University of Washington; Alan Fryday, Michigan State University; Brent Mishler, University of California, Berkeley

NSF Award Number

1115116

Project Websites

http://lbcc1.acis.ufl.edu
http://lichenportal.org/
http://bryophyteportal.org/
http://symbiota.org/nalichens/index.php
http://symbiota.org/bryophytes/index.php

Collaborators Map

https://www.idigbio.org/content/digitization-tcn-north-american-lichens-and-bryophytes-collaborator-map

Project Collaborators

Auburn University
Boise State University
Botanical Research Institute of Texas
Brigham Young University
California Academy of Science
Cornell University
Drexel University, Academy of Natural Sciences
Duke University
Field Museum of Natural History
Harvard University, Farlow Herbarium
Idaho State University
Louisiana State University & Agricultural and Mechanical College
Michigan State University
Michigan Technological University
Missouri Botanical Garden
Montana State University
Morton Arboretum
New York Botanical Garden
North Dakota State University, T. L. Esslinger Herbarium
Ohio State University
Oregon State University
Pittsburg State University (Kansas)
Rutgers University
San Francisco State University
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
Southern Illinois University
State University of New York, Binghamton
Towson University
Tulane University
University of Alaska, Museum of the North
University of Arizona
University of Arkansas
University of California, Berkeley
University of Connecticut
University of Hawaii, Manoa
University of Idaho
University of Illinois
University of Illinois, Natural History Survey
University of Maine
University of Maine at Ft. Kent
University of Michigan
University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln
University of Nebraska at Kearny
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
University of New Hampshire
University of New Mexico
University of North Alabama
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
University of Richmond
University of Tennessee
University of Texas, El Paso
University of Vermont
University of Washington
University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire
University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point
University of Wyoming Rocky Mountain Herbarium
Utah Valley University
West Virginia University
Western Washington University
Yale University, Peabody Museum

PENs:
Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden
University of Central Florida
University of Cincinnati
University of Colorado, Museum of Natural History
University of Florida, Florida Museum of Natural History
University of Minnesota, Bell Museum of Natural History Herbarium
University of South Florida
University of West Florida

Unfunded participants:
Arizona State University
Evergreen Natural History Museum
Indiana University Herbarium
Iowa State University
Natural History Museum of Denmark: The Herbarium of Lichens
Patricia Ledlie Herbarium
Uppsala University Exsiccati
University of Kansas
University of Nebraska, Omaha
Utah State University, Intermountain Herbarium
Valdosta State University