Economic Importance Of Lichens

Economic Importance Of Lichens: Structure, Reproduction

Edited By Irshad Anwar | Updated on Nov 11, 2024 06:04 PM IST

Lichens have a symbiotic relationship with fungi and algae or cyanobacteria and hold significant economic importance in various industries. They can survive in harsh environments making them valuable bioindicators for monitoring air quality and environmental health. Apart from this Lichens have a long history of use in traditional medicine, providing compounds with potential antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. Being part of the chapter Environmental Issues class 12th Biology it becomes one of the topics from where questions are expected in examinations.

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This Story also Contains

What are Lichens?
Importance of Lichens
Diversity And Distribution Of Lichens

Economic Importance Of Lichens: Structure, Reproduction

What are Lichens?

Lichens are defined as heterotrophic mycobionts and photoautotrophic photobionts in a mutually beneficial association. Variety in shapes and colours is also added in lichens; these are found growing even in the harshest conditions as in arctic tundras and even deserts.

They have environmental functions including the indicators of air quality, toilers in the soil building process, and food providers and shelter providers to many species.

Importance of Lichens

Thus, lichens are useful in industries providing products needed for the satisfaction of various human needs. These include:

Lichen-Derived Product	Explanation
Dyes and Pigments	Lichens have been used as natural colourants in cloth, cosmetics, and paintings, offering hues like red, violet, and yellow.
Medicines	Secondary metabolites from lichens show antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antiviral properties, being explored for drug development.
Perfumes and Fragrances	Essential oils from lichens, such as oakmoss and tree moss, are used in perfumes as fixatives and to provide earthy, woody undertones.
Nutritional Supplements	Lichens are being investigated for their potential as sources of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, offering functional and sustainable food options.
Biological Indicators	Lichens are sensitive to pollutants, making them valuable bioindicators for assessing environmental health and air quality.

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Role of Lichens in Nutrient Cycling

There is evidence that lichen plays a very important role in nutrient cycling.
Through this process, they contribute through biological weathering by breaking the rocks into the soil and then releasing friendly minerals.
Further, lichens still play a still important role since they can fix atmospheric nitrogen, which contributes to the enhancement of soil fertility and plant production, particularly in regions where nutrient scarcity is characteristic.

Economic Uses of Lichens

The economic uses of lichens are listed below

Lichens are currently used in the production of antibiotics and antiviral medication due to the fact many fight bacterial and viral infections
Some of the compounds obtained from lichens are being studied to be used in treatments for bacterial and viral infections and diseases.
Traditional treatments that incorporate lichens are as old as anyone’s memory.
Lichens prepared by indigenous communities proved useful in the treatment of cuts, breathing difficulties, and stomach ailments.
It is this difference in the aspect of bioactive compounds that remain contemporary inputs to modern medicinal research and practice.

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Biological Indicators in Pollution Monitoring

Many lichens are applied as biotickers since they are affected by changes in air quality, specifically SO2 and heavy metals.
The health and observation of lichens enjoy important statistical data on air health and pollution which will contribute to ecological investigations and legal actions.

Food And Nutrition

Historical and cultural uses as emergency food and some of them are listed below:

Lichens have been employed particularly as famine foods by different societies/tribes in the past especially when regular foods were inaccessible for one reason or the other.
For example, Eskimos rely on Iceland moss, Cetraria islandica that after proper preparation free carbohydrates essential to them in the time of famine.

Diversity And Distribution Of Lichens

Lichens also reveal very high levels of anatomical variation, currently estimated to lead to over 20,000 species which in terms of form, colour and size differ significantly.
They can be classified into three main types: of which three classes can be distinguished: crustose (crusty), foliose (leafy), and fruticose (shrubby).
This diversity is the reason they can exist in different environments.

Factors Influencing Lichen Distribution

This paper intends to discuss the effects of climate, substrate, quality of air, and the quality of light on the lichen.
They are dependent on changes in the environment, particularly air pollution, thus making them useful in bioindication.
Proper substrates such as stones, soil or trees are also important in the growth of these plants.

Also Read:

Fungus Life Cycle	Classification of Virus
Archaebacteria	Mycoplasma
Phylum Ctenophora	Amoebiasis

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What are lichens used for in industry?

Lichens are utilised in industries for dyes, both earthy colours and bright ones and in fragrances and cosmetics for scent-producing chemicals. They also help in air pollution monitoring since they are sensitive to variations in environmental factors; air included.

2. Are lichens edible?

There are records that in emergency lichens serve as the source of food – however, this should be done only with great precaution as some lichens contain certain toxins that can become deadly when ingested; in this regard, the identification of which type can be consumed and how it should be prepared are crucial.

3. How do lichens contribute to environmental health?

Lichens are air pollution-sensitive biomonitors, being affected by factors such as sulfur dioxide and heavy metals. The people’s health being in check assists in ascertaining the degree of pollution within the environment to assist in the management and formulation of policies.

4. Do lichens have medicinal properties?

Bioactive compounds in the lichens have antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory use in traditional and possible pharmaceutical usage.

5. What is the ecological role of lichens?

Using minerals, lichens play an important role in helping recycle nutrients: decomposing rocks and fixing nitrogen in the atmosphere that is vital in the formation of soil and support of other life forms mainly insects and small animals that feed on it.