On-Line Documentation of Lichen Biodiversity

Abstract

The Internet has dramatically accelerated the exchange of scientific information during the last decade and biodiversity research in particular is a field that substantially benefits from the distribution of data on the World Wide Web (WWW). More specifically, this chapter discusses the various methods available for documenting lichen biodiversity on the Web. Such information is of interest for lichenologists involved both in basic research or in applied approaches, e.g. where biomonitoring with lichens is used in studies of ecological continuity, air pollution and its long term changes and in identifying regions of elevated risks to health (Löscher et al. 1990, Cislaghi and Nimis 1997).