Common Alpine Lichens of the High Sierras – California
What are the common alpine lichens found in the High Sierras of California? This handy six page guide just might answer that question. Jason and I made it for naturalists, alpine enthusiasts, and citizen scientists, with the hope that it will be helpful in field identification of common alpine lichen species or species groups. Rarity […]
What’s in an Ecotone? Lichens living on the edge…
An ecotone is a transition zone between two ecological systems. Ecotones can range in size: in some places ecotones are wide (e.g. forest – grassland ecotones), in other places they are quite narrow (e.g. riparian – arid shrub steppe). In the ecotone, habitats from each ecosystem form a mixed patchy mosaic, often with species assemblages […]
Northern Mojave Lichens: Part I — Interesting notes and Yucca People
Last April, Jason and I surveyed lichens in the northern Mojave. It’s the second field season of a three year study involving lichen biodiversity along the ecotone of the Great Basin and Mojave Deserts in Southern Nevada. And what did we find? Lichens, yucca people, bizarre geology, and a new rock climbing area that’s being […]
Alpine Lichens – Mt Whitney: Part 2
Part 1 covered the hike, but we didn’t touch at all upon the lichens on Mt. Whitney! So let’s do that here. Firstly, you might be wondering – what’s the history of lichen collections of Mt. Whitney? Two words: its limited. Here’s the stats: Date […]
Alpine Lichens – Mt Whitney: Part 1
Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the conterminous U.S., looms over the Owens Valley, once a thriving agricultural area, now increasingly arid as its the major supplier of the Los Angeles water supply. It’s a striking landscape characteristic of the High Sierras, and the lichens on the summit were different than those we’ve found on […]
Kearsarge Pass, Sequoia National Park, California
Dear Kearsarge Pass, With your striking red furrowed bark of Foxtail Pines, cousin of the Bristlecone Pines. Soft rounded valley formed by the ancient lapping of glacial tongues. And alpine lichens slowly crawling on the teeth of giants. Loved every moment, Nastassja