Lichens have specific requirements for their habitat and need special needs like water, air, nutrients, light, and substrates. The fungal, algal, or cyanobacterial component of a lichen can be grown by itself in culture. They are therefore the pioneer species in primary succession. Common groupings of lichen thallus growth forms are:Lichens often have a regular but very slow growth rate of less than a millimeter per year.A lichen growing on a rock in a Brazilian cloud forestDepending on context, "lichenized fungus" may refer to the entire lichen, or to the fungus when it is in the lichen, which can be grown in culture in isolation from the algae or cyanobacteria. Lichens that colonize bare rock secrete acids that break down the rock and start the soil-production process. Animals and humans cause the fragmentation of thalli on the ground by trampling and modifying chemically the environment as they enrich it with ammonia, nitrates, etc.
Some maritime lichens on the Chilean coast are covered with a salt crust that plays a hygroscopic role by tripling the rate of water absorption. Some algae and cyanobacteria are found naturally living outside of the lichen. These lichens are at least several decades old.Over time, this activity creates new fertile soil from lifeless stone.Lichen identification uses growth form and reactions to chemical tests.Crustose lichens on limestone in Alta Murgia-Southern Italy The development of each species requires particular ecological conditions determined by the types of supports, climatic factors and relationships with other living beings.The human organism is home to a whole community of microorganisms: bacteria, archaea, yeasts and…Lichens are installed on rocks by mechanical and chemical action:A very particular example is that of some folicose soil lichens from desert to semi-desert steppes. Also, as lichens die, they provide some organic matter that also contributes to soil. Their interactions can be classified according…Lichens have colonized almost every environment from sea rocks to the highest altitudes, from arid deserts to high latitude regions. Pioneer Species: Lichens By Emiliano Galicia How does it get its own needs? Since some uncolonized land may have thin, poor quality soils with few nutrients, pioneer species are often hardy plants with adaptations such as long roots, root nodes containing nitrogen-fixing bacteria, and lea… They can survive in some of the most extreme environments on Earth: arctic tundra, hot dry deserts, rocky coasts, and toxic slag he… Lichens cover about 7% of the planet's surface and grow on and in a wide range of substrates and habitats, including some of the most extreme conditions on earth.