LICHENS OF ANTARCTICA AND SOUTH GEORGIA. D.O. OVSTEDAL AND IN SOUTH AFRICA

  Lichens of Antarctica and South Georgia: A Guide to their Identification and Ecology (Hardback) D.O. Ovstedal, R.I. Lewis-Smith   CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, United Kingdom, 2001. First Edition. Hardback. Pictorial Boards, no dust jacket. Book Condition: Very Good, ex high school library, with usual stamps, but appears never read.  231 x 152 mm. 411 pp.   Antarctica's severe climate and restricted area of ice-free habitats limit the biodiversity and biota of its terrestrial ecosystems. Throughout much of this wilderness, lichens are the predominant visible life form, yet relatively few descriptive accounts of Antarctic lichens have been published. Research on these enigmatic organisms is increasing rapidly and there is a growing need for a comprehensive guide to the identification of Antarctic lichen-forming fungi. This volume provides the first modern detailed compilation of their taxonomy, ecology, distribution and relevant published literature. As such, it represents a major contribution to global lichen taxonomy and biogeography. The systematic accounts provide sufficient descriptive information to allow specialists to identify taxa to species level, and are structured so that even non-specialists can use them to identify specimens to at least the generic level. (From Back cover)   Botany. Studies in Polar Research.