Lichens of Antarctica and South Georgia
A Guide to their Identification and Ecology

Antarctica's severe climate and restricted area of ice-free habitats limit the biodiversity and biota of its terrestrial ecosystems. Throughout much of this wilderness, lichens are the predominant visible life form, yet relatively few descriptive accounts of Antarctic lichens have been published. Research on these enigmatic organisms is increasing rapidly and there is a growing need for a comprehensive guide to the identification of Antarctic lichen-forming fungi. This volume provides the first modern detailed compilation of their taxonomy, ecology, distribution and relevant published literature. As such, it represents a major contribution to global lichen taxonomy and biogeography. The systematic accounts provide sufficient descriptive information to allow specialists to identify taxa to species level, and are structured so that even non-specialists can use them to identify specimens to at least the generic level.

Reviews & endorsements

'The publication of an account of Antarctic lichens is long overdue … Lichens are the most abundant and diverse macro photoautotrophs in the region … the authors of the new book have brought together complementary, and probably unique, expertise in Antarctic lichenology to produce a benchmark volume … a major contribution both to lichenology and to Antarctic science … lichenologists will want to own this volume as a taxonomic and biogeographical reference work' P. Crittenden, Antarctic Science

Customer reviews

Product details

• Date Published: May 2001
• format: Hardback
• isbn: 9780521662413
• length: 424 pages

• dimensions: 236 x 160 x 28 mm
• weight: 0.875kg
• contains: 50 b/w illus. 32 colour illus. 8 tables
• availability: Unavailable - out of print August 2018