The taxonomy of
Indian lichens including monographic, revisionary and floristic
studies, survey and assessment of lichen diversity in different
Phytogeographical regions of India. Other aspects covered are
as follows:
Ethnobotanical studies on lichens
utilized by the different ethnic groups of India.
Studies on lichens growing on different
Indian monuments, buildings and causing damage to them.
Epiphytic lichens of different forest
types for biomonitoring studies.
Environmental pollution monitoring
studies.
Morphotaxonomic and heavy metal accumulation
studies on Antarctic lichens.
Antibiotic properties of lichen substances.
Leptogium pedicellatum
Objectives
To get better acquaintance of Indian lichen
flora by studying morphology, anatomy, chemistry and ecology,
To conduct various studies utilizing lichen.
Achievements
About 2000 species of lichen from the Indian subcontinent
are well worked out and details of their morphology, phytogeography
and ecology are available.
Lichen herbarium consists of more
than a lakh specimens, including the personal collection
of Dr. D. D. Awasthi (AWAS) and Lucknow University (LWU),
representing almost all the phytogeographical regions
of India.
The herbarium consists of 100 type specimens,
exsiccates from different European herbaria, excellent material
of Pyrenocarpous lichens, lichens of East Antarctica, Andaman
Islands and The Himalayas.
More than about 50 new species of pyrenocarpous
lichens are described from this laboratory.
The laboratory is pioneer in India conducting air pollution
studies utilizing lichens, working on the Antarctic lichens,
lichens of historical monuments
and anti-fungal properties of lichen substances.
The laboratory has the honour of
being first in participating in the Indian Antarctica
expedition (1991-92), for lichenological investigation
in East Antarctica.
Usnea stigmatoidea
Global Contributions: India is a center of high level of lichen
diversity in the world. A detailed account of vulnerable lichens
from this area was provided to the International Association
of Lichenology Committee for conservation of lichens (IALCC),
Sweden, in developing a "Global Red List of Lichens"
Heterodermia diademata
Publications
About 200 research papers and four
books regarding Indian lichenology have been published.
Copyright(c) 2002
National Botanical Research Institute. All rights reserved.
