#313: Lichens and Gravestones

Following a previous post from April.

This Guardian article describes a Church of England project.

It is a Citizen Science project.

The article includes the following really useful information:

Graves are a haven for lichen, with more than 700 of the 2,000 British species having been recorded in English churchyards and cemeteries so far. According to surveys by the church, many sites have well more than 100 species on the stonework, trees and in the grassland.

This summer, the church is running a nature count in burial grounds across the country. 

Between the 8th and the 16th of June, they are asking people to visit their local graveyard, record which species they find and send them in.

A lichen is a complex life form, made up of a stable symbiotic association between a fungus and algae or cyanobacteria. They are very important as habitat for small invertebrates, and they stabilise soil pH as well as carrying out water and nutrient capture and cycling. They play a crucial role in the environment but many of their preferred habitats, including ancient trees, are under threat.

In order to take part:

To submit records during the week, the easiest way is to use a free app called iNaturalist and join the Beautiful Burial Grounds project. This doesn't appear to be ready quite yet.

The app enables you to take a photo and it helps with identification.

I've got this app myself.

See the previous project outcomes.

A useful guide to Lichens has been produced and can be downloaded as a PDF.

Top image: Gravestones in Lexham Churchyard, Alan Parkinson - shared under CC license.