Oh... ! Pankaj:)... finally enlarged the pic and ha ha..
You are right at a deep level.. but study of MYCORRHIZA would need dedicated lab etc... but lichen colonies can be seen and detected by a lay man/woman even when just strolling thru a garden... for example... at the hort there is only one small are where lichen is present on the tree bark, and only in one third to a little more of the girth in one particular direction on those trees, regardless of the species... no where else in the hort's garden are there lichens? our ethnobot teacher many years ago ... thought it must be the "clean" microclimate in that miniforest ... I was more interested in hormonal mimicry in the lichens in those days... so my notes only reflect that... not the environmental imperatives,,,cause and effect and hence the question... BY the way.. I have not seen any orchids growing spontaneously on any of the trees at the hort... sometimes a dendrobium pops up on old mango or pepul trees in odd places, even road side... but never at the hort..wonder why... Usha di =============== On Dec 16, 7:21 am, Pankaj Kumar <[email protected]> wrote: > Today a very old post by Prasad popped up on my screen through > efloraofindia so I felt like sharing my thoughts on this matter. > His topic was "LICHEN AS BIOINDICATOR > -http://groups.google.com/group/indiantreepix/browse_thread/thread/3a4..."; > > Just wanted to share this with all..For me what is a good indicator of > a habitat's health? > Find a plant which depends on more than one plant for its survival. > For example, Orchids. They need a particular mycorrhiza to help them > germinate whether its terrestrial or epiphytic and then a particular > host on which they prefer to live if they are epiphytic. > Lichens as suggested by you are a good example too. But according to > my perception, the best examples are mycoheterotrophic plants (earlier > known as saprophytes) are the best examples for monitoring health of a > terrestrial ecosystem. If the concerned plant is an Orchid then they > need atleast three or more associates. FIRST, a MYCORRHIZA which will > help the seed in germination. SECOND, another MYCORRHIZA that will > help it make connection with a host tree or shrub or herb to extract > its food material. THIRD is the plant from which it will extract its > food. So here FOUR different biological entities are envolved for the > survival of this orchid. Please rememebr I am not counting those > insects which will help in pollination of the orchid and at the same > time i am not counting those organisms which will help in pollination > (if required) of the host trees and also in fruit and seed dispersal. > Best wishes....Pankaj > -- > ********************************************************************** > "Taxonomists getting Extinct and Species Data Deficient !!" > > Pankaj Kumar Ph.D. (Orchidaceae) > Conservation Officer > > Office: > Flora Conservation Department > Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (KFBG) Corporation > Lam Kam Road, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong. > > Residence: > 36c, Ng Tung Chai, Lam Tseun > Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong. > > email: [email protected] > [email protected] > [email protected] > Phone: +852 2483 7128 (office - 8:30am to 5:30pm) > +852 9436 6251 (mobile) > > PERCEPTION.jpg > 129KViewDownload
