World traveler and lichen expert, Roger Rosentreter will take us
on a journey to Lebanon, a country well known for its symbolic
cedar trees which proudly appear on their national flag.
MK Nature Center, 600 S. Walnut, Boise
Thursday March 14, 7pm
A variety of environmental pressures are affecting the cedar forest habitats. Seven nature reserves have been established for forest protection but some individual cedars in the Ehden Reserve are not growing well.Their impaired health and slow growth is limited to specific sites and to young cedars growing in the shade of large deciduous trees. The abundant lichen cover on trees in the Reserve is an indication of unhealthy trees and are viewed as a symptom and not the causal agent of the tree’s problem. We believe that the presence of lichens themselves is not harming or killing the cedar trees. Rather, lichens are a symptom or indicator of other underlying stressors upon the cedars. Lichen cover is a good indicator of forest interactions and ecological processes (Rogers et al. 2011).