International Association for Lichenology

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The International Association for Lichenology (IAL) is an organisation that encourages the understanding of lichens and lichenology, and promotes their study and conservation worldwide. It unites lichenologists across the globe, as well as national and regional organisations into one group. [1] It is affiliated to the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS). [2] The IAL organises field courses and excursions, as well as symposia which are the biggest events in lichenology on the international level. [3] The 8th International Symposium will be held in Helsinki, Finland, in August 2016. [4]

Contents

The IAL publishes a biennial journal, the International Lichenological Newsletter [5] which was the raison d'etre for the IAL being formed in 1967 in order to provide a forum for lichenologists worldwide to communicate with one other. [6] Nowadays the IAL also operates an online discussion forum for lichenologists known as 'lichens-L'.

History

The International Lichenological Association arose out of the 10th International Botanical Congress, held in Edinburgh in 1964, when a small group of lichenologists approved a motion to form an international association. The intention was to produce a newsletter to disseminate information quickly amongst lichenologists around the world, and a small committee comprising Rolf Santesson, Peter James and Vernon Ahmadjian was appointed to get it established. The association's official inauguration took place at the 11th International Botanical Congress in Seattle in 1969 when the General Assembly of the IUBS officially recognised the new organisation. [6]

Awards

The IAL currently hands out four awards to recognise significant contributions made to lichenology.

The Acharius Medal is awarded to distinguished lichenologists in recognition of their lifetime achievements. Recipients have included David Hawksworth (2002), Nina Golubkova (2000), Vernon Ahmadjian (1996), Irwin Brodo (1994), William Culberson (1992), Aino Henssen (1992), Hildur Krog (1992) and Hans Trass (1992). [7]

The Mason Hale Award is granted in recognition of excellence in research by young lichenologists, such as doctoral dissertations.

The Margalith Galun Award is presented for outstanding student contributions to an IAL meeting. [8]

The Sylvia Sharnoff Education Award is given to an outstanding web page devoted to lichens.

Symposia

The IAL organises major symposia every four years. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lichenology</span> Branch of mycology that studies lichens

Lichenology is the branch of mycology that studies the lichens, symbiotic organisms made up of an intimate symbiotic association of a microscopic alga with a filamentous fungus.

William Alfred Weber was an American botanist and lichenologist. He was Professor Emeritus at the University of Colorado at Boulder and former curator of the University of Colorado Museum Herbarium.

Vernon Ahmadjian was a distinguished professor at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. He specialized in the symbiosis of lichens, and wrote several books and numerous publications on the subject.

Chicita Frances Culberson was an American lichenologist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acharius Medal</span> Award for lifetime achievement in lichenology

The Acharius Medal is awarded by the International Association for Lichenology (IAL) for lifetime achievement in lichenology. The organization resolved at its 1990 meeting that it would simultaneously honor professional achievement and commemorate Erik Acharius by presenting a medal in his name.

André Aptroot is a Dutch mycologist and lichenologist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nina Golubkova</span> Russian lichenologist

Nina Sergeevna Golubkova was a Russian lichenologist.

Teuvo ("Ted") Tapio Ahti is a Finnish botanist and lichenologist. He has had a long career at the University of Helsinki that started in 1963, and then following his retirement in 1997, at the Botanical Museum of the Finnish Museum of Natural History. Known as a specialist of the lichen family Cladoniaceae, Ahti has published more than 280 scientific publications. A Festschrift was dedicated to him in 1994, and in 2000 he was awarded the prestigious Acharius Medal for lifetime contributions to lichenology.

Josef Hafellner is an Austrian mycologist and lichenologist. He was awarded the Acharius Medal in 2016 for his lifetime contributions to lichenology. Before his retirement, he was a professor at the Karl-Franzens-Universität in Graz. Hafellner started developing an interest in lichens while he was a student at this institution, studying under Josef Poelt. He earned a master's degree in 1975 and a PhD in 1978, defending a doctoral thesis about the genus Karschia. In 2003, Hafellner received his habilitation. By this time, he had studied with French lichenologist André Bellemère (1927–2014) at Saint-Cloud, where he learned techniques of transmission electron microscopy and how their application in studying asci could be used in lichen systematics. His 1984 work Studien in Richtung einer natürlicheren Gliederung der Sammelfamilien Lecanoraceae und Lecideaceae has been described as "probably the single most influential publication in lichen systematics in the latter half of the 20th century".

Rolf Santesson (1916–2013) was a Swedish lichenologist and university lecturer. He was awarded the Acharius Medal in 1992 for his lifetime contributions to lichenology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Galloway (botanist)</span> New Zealand botanist and lichenologist

David John Galloway, FRSNZ was a biochemist, botanist, and lichenologist.

Thomas Hawkes Nash III is an American lichenologist. His research is about the biology and ecology of lichens, and the effects of air pollution on plants and lichens. He is known as an authority on the family Parmeliaceae. During his long career at the Arizona State University, he helped develop the lichen herbarium into a world-class collection with over 100,000 specimens representing more than 5000 species. In 2010, the year of his retirement, he was awarded the Acharius Medal for lifetime achievements in lichenology, and the following year had a Festschrift published in his honor.

Per Magnus Jørgensen is a Norwegian botanist and lichenologist, and Professor Emeritus of systematic botany at the University of Bergen. He is known for his work on the lichen families Pannariaceae and Collemataceae. Jørgensen was awarded the Acharius Medal in 2021 for his lifetime contributions to lichenology.

Antonín (Toni) Vězda was a Czech lichenologist. After completing a university education that was postponed by World War II, Vězda taught botany at the Czech University of Life Sciences. In 1958, he was dismissed from his university position as a result of the restrictions placed on academic freedoms by the communist regime in power. He eventually was hired as a lichen researcher by the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, who allowed him to work from his apartment, which served also as an office and herbarium.

Leif Tibell is a Swedish lichenologist and Emeritus Professor at the University of Uppsala. He is known for his expertise on calicioid lichens. He was awarded the Acharius Medal in 2012 for lifetime achievements in lichenology.


Elisabeth Peveling was a German botanist. Her scientific research was largely specialized in the cytology and ultrastructure of lichens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siegfried Huneck</span> German chemist and lichenologist (1928–2011)

Siegfried Huneck was a German chemist and lichenologist. Much of his scientific career was hampered by the political situation in the former German Democratic Republic. He rejected pursuing a career in academia, and instead ended up working at the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry, a public research institute, from 1969 until his retirement in 1993. Despite his relative isolation and restricted freedoms in East Germany, Huneck had numerous professional contacts both in Germany and abroad, and was a highly published scholar. Many of his more than 400 scientific publications dealt with the chemistry of lichen products. He was awarded the Acharius Medal for lifetime achievements in lichenology in 1996.

Mark Richard David Seaward is a British ecologist and lichenologist. He was awarded the Acharius Medal in 2006 for lifetime contributions to lichenology.

Ludger Kappen is an ecophysiologist, botanist and lichenologist. He was Director of the Botanic Institute and Botanical Garden at the University of Kiel, and Chairman and Director of the University's Polar Ecology Institute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Lücking</span> German lichenologist

Robert Lücking is a German lichenologist. He earned his master's and PhD from the University of Ulm, focusing on the taxonomy, ecology, and biodiversity of foliicolous lichens. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the Mason E. Hale award for his doctoral thesis, the Augustin Pyramus de Candolle prize for his monograph, and the Tuckerman Award twice for his publications in The Bryologist. Since 2015, he has been serving as the curator of lichens, fungi, and bryophytes at the Berlin Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum, and several lichen species and a genus have been named in his honour.

References

  1. 1 2 Knudsen, Kerry (2007). "California Page". Bulletin of the California Lichen Society. 14 (1): 27. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  2. ↑ "Constitution". International Association for Lichenology. 6 September 2000. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  3. ↑ "IAL6: The 6th Symposium of the International Association for Lichenology and Annual ABLS Meeting". www.keytonature.eu. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  4. 1 2 "IAL8 Symposium in 2016". Lichens in Deep Time. Finnish Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  5. ↑ "International Lichenological Newsletter". International Association for Lichenology. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  6. 1 2 Kärnefelt, Ingvar; Thell, Arne (2007). "International Association for Lichenology: the early years" (PDF). Bibliotheca Lichenologica. 95: 75–100. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  7. ↑ "Acharius Medallists". International Association for Lichenology. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  8. ↑ "IAL6-ABLS Joint Meeting 2008". American Bryological and Lichenological Society. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  9. ↑ "IAL Symposium". www.lichenology.org. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  10. ↑ Peveling, Elisabeth (1987). Progress and problems in lichenology in the eighties. Bibliotheca Lichenologica. p. 497. ISBN   978-3-443-58004-9 . Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  11. ↑ "Ingvar Kärnefelt". Lund University. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  12. ↑ Türk, Roman; Zorer, Roberto (1997). Progress and Problems in Lichenology in the Nineties. Bibliotheca Lichenlogica. p. 252. ISBN   978-3-443-58047-6 . Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  13. ↑ Llimona, Xavier; Lumbsch, Thorsten H.; Ott, Sieglinde (2002). Progress and problems in lichenology at the turn of the millennium : proceedings of the fourth symposium of the International Association for Lichenology (IAL4). Stuttgart. ISBN   978-3-443-58061-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  14. ↑ "The 5th IAL Symposium". University of Tartu, Estonia. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  15. ↑ "The 7th IAL Symposium 2012" (PDF). British Mycological Society. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  16. ↑ Eventos, Boin. "International Association for Lichenology 9th Symposium". International Association for Lichenology 9th Symposium. Retrieved 2022-10-17.
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