Lichens are organisms formed by the symbiotic relationship between fungi and algae or fungi and cyanobacteria (microscopic bacteria that use photosynthesis). This means that there is a cooperation between the fungi and algae or cyanobacteria on a microscopic, and both organisms get benefits from the cooperation.
Fungi is a group that includes yeasts, molds, lichens and mushrooms. It is the group that includes the mot diversity of species in the arctic but It is hard to study must fungi because they are mostly found underground or are microscopic. Only 2,600 fungi species are known and visible to the human eye in the arctic, but CAFF estimates more than 10,000 species in total. We will focus fungi attributes that can be seen above ground, particularly mushrooms, which are the fruiting bodies of some fungi.
Pictures
- "Cladonia asahinae. (pixie cup lichen)" by Bernard Spragg is marked with CC0 1.0.
- "Iceland moss - Cetraria islandica" by Björn S... is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
- "Dactylina arctica" by wanderflechten is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
- "Amanita muscaria." by Bernard Spragg is marked with CC PDM 1.0
- "Gorro de bruja * Hygrocybe conica" by jacilluch is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0