April 2020 • Nebraskaland 41
forests to enhance soil quality and to increase the success of
tree plantings.
Lichens are used by a variety of wildlife as food, shelter
and nesting. Locally, hummingbirds and peewees both use
lichens to camouflage their nests. Lichens compose roughly
90 percent of the caribou's diet and are also eaten by mule
and white-tailed deer, mountain goat, moose, possibly
pronghorn, squirrels, chipmunks and numerous insects.
Native Americans also used lichens as food, as well as
medicine, clothing material, dyes and tanning agents.
Because lichens absorb most of their nutrients and water
from the air, rainfall and dew, they are especially sensitive
to air pollution. In or near cities or industrial sites, they
can accumulate lethal amounts of heavy metals, sulphur
and other compounds and their presence or absence is
an indicator of air quality. In addition, most lichens are
extremely sensitive to changes in precipitation, and climate
change can be indicated and tracked by monitoring lichen
community composition.
Lichens are evolution at its most creative and most practical.
Through eons, nature has spun two unique life forms, fungus
and alga, into one. The resulting organisms now span the
Earth fulfilling crucial ecological roles and impinging beauty
upon the land. Unfortunately, lichens are little known and
poorly understood by most people, so next time you are out
and about in the great outdoors, take notice of them.
N
Gerry Steinauer is a botanist for the Nebraska Game and
Parks Commission.
Caleb Morse, Kansas University, identified
the lichens shown in the photographs.
Golden moonglow lichen grows on a Sioux Quartzite glacial boulder in Jeff erson County. The color of this lichen ranges
from whitish (see photo on page 39) to grayish depending on the thickness the powdery covering on its exterior, which is
probably related to exposure.
