Lessons from Lichen: What Usnea Lichen Can Tell Us About Species Declines and Forest Health

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC | Join us in welcoming Caroline Witherspoon from SUNY ESF. Caroline will be discussing how Usnea lichens are useful bioindicators for monitoring air quality and forest health, but they are understood to be imperiled and rapidly declining. Her masters research at SUNY ESF has been dedicated to figuring out the drivers of the distribution and ecology of these beautiful lichens with the goal to better understand their sensitivities for informing management and conservation. This involved mapping distributions, surveying a blown-down forest stand, and some unexpected discoveries along the way!