Future climatic disturbances are expected to influence vascular plants in many ways, but how
these changes will impact the lichen flora is not clear. Being poikilohydric, lichens possess a
major advantage in habitats with highly fluctuating environmental conditions where vascular
plants are normally absent. At the same time, they are important components of the carbon
sequestration, nitrogen fixation, biodiversity and a wide array of environmental processes,
especially in northern ecosystems where warming effects are predicted to increase under the
ongoing climate change. Our study aims to assess the physiological responses of different
macrolichens and their stress tolerance during simulated cycles of desiccation-rehydration by
measuring representative species from arctic, sub-arctic and temperate ecosystems. We use real
time monitoring of gas exchange characteristics with a custom-made chamber which allows the
immediate rehydration of the samples after desiccation through a built-in spraying system
without interrupting the measurement, and simultaneously monitor fluctuations in volatile
organic compounds (VOCs) to evaluate holobiont stress response to desiccation and subsequent
rehydration. Additionally, algal strains of each lichen are identified to map symbiont phylogeny
to holobiont stress resistance levels. We describe different interspecific levels of stress tolerance
and their relation with their algal community from a compilation of species in a latitudinal
gradient. Our data improves the current knowledge of climate warming repercussions in the
lichen vegetation where future shifts are likely to occur under the current global change.
Complete tool for submission, evaluation and publication of proceedings for scientific events.
