Lichens, fungi and mosses in the spotlight
18 November 2008
Mosses, liverworts and fungi might often be overlooked in favour of more flamboyant plants – but Plantlife Scotland is hoping it can persuade more people to appreciate their beauty and their importance for biodiversity.
Scotland has a particularly rich population of these tiny plants, with almost 1,000 recorded types of moss and liverwort – more than 87% of European species. They often go unnoticed, however, and that can have serious implications for their conservation.
“It's about raising awareness and information,” says Matilda Scharsach who runs the Lower Plants and Fungi Project for Plantlife Scotland. She has been running a series of training courses to provide advice on managing key habitats for rare species of mosses, lichens and fungi, as well as training countryside rangers to run lichen walks for the public. She hopes that through raising awareness of these tiny plants, students may get inspired to move into the field. “We need to bring younger expertise in. There are not many experts in lower plants and fungi, and of those that exist, most are nearing retirement,” she says.
The charity is running several outreach days for the public, including lichen and fungi forays and walks with local rangers at parks and beauty spots throughout Scotland. There's also a series of leaflets accompanying the campaign.
The leaflets, and further details of activities, are available from Plantlife Scotland.