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Everest, by 'Those Who Were There' 1921, 1922, 1924

Everest, by 'Those Who Were There' 1921, 1922, 1924

Everest: by 'Those Who Were There' - Exhibition Catalogue

Arctic-Alpine Lichens: Hiding in Plain Sight

Nathan Chrismas is an Aspirant AC Member and lichenologist. He studies the diversity and function of lichens in polar and alpine environments. His latest project, CryptFunc, involves understanding the functional ecology of Arctic-alpine lichens in the Cairngorms. Here he explains more about these remarkable organisms and how their distribution is being impacted by environmental pressures.

^{The elegant sunburst lichen (Rusavskia elegans) on the south-east ridge of the Weissmies (AC Aspirants Meet, 2023) - Nathan Chrismas}

Mountains can be inhospitable places. Biting winds, long cold nights, exposure to the sun, and lack of food are all familiar experiences to alpine climbers. Mountaineers tend to be hardy folk though and are happier than most to tough it out when conditions turn grim. But even the most resilient among us don’t come close to another group of mountain enthusiasts: the lichens.

Lichens are a paradox. They are incredibly abundant, having found ways of colonising almost every terrestrial habitat on the planet. By some estimates they are dominant organisms on as much as 8% of the Earth's surface. Yet to our eyes they are often invisible, obscured by their ubiquity. It is only when they are at their most flashy that lichens draw our attention - a bright orange splash on the tip of a boulder, a fluorescent yellow tangle on the trunk of a tree - but look closer and you will begin to see lichens everywhere you look. This is no more true than for climbers and explorers. The most exposed sea cliffs, the highest mountains, and wide expanses of Arctic tundra; all are home to a rich diversity of lichens growing on rocks, soil, moss, and plants.

Their biology is fundamental to their versatility. It’s almost impossible to find anything living in complete isolation, and lichens quite literally embody this principle. They are a fungus and algae living in close coordination with each other; the algae generating enough sugar through photosynthesis to nourish both themselves and the fungus, while the fungus provides a structure within which those algae can grow. It’s this symbiotic relationship that has allowed lichens to occupy such an incredibly diverse range of habitats. By ‘farming’ algae, the lichen fungus can survive in places nothing else can, including the polar regions and the high mountains. Interestingly, the word ‘symbiosis’ was first invented by Albert Bernhard Frank in 1877 to describe the relationship seen in lichens.

In the UK, mountainous lichen habitats are no more apparent than in the Cairngorms. These granite hills are a unique environment on our islands. Scotland’s latitude means that species associated with the high mountains in central Europe can survive here at much lower elevations. The relatively dry Cairngorm Plateau has characteristics reminiscent of Arctic tundra, the sort of landscape more readily associated with Finland or Svalbard. Just as reindeer roam the broad expanses of tundra in Finland, so the Cairngorm reindeer herd have made the plateau their home. When winter comes, both Scottish and Scandinavian populations turn to the only reliable source of food: reindeer lichens. These bushy species, like Cladonia arbuscular, cover huge areas of exposed and wind-clipped terrain, dominating in landscapes where flowering plants are at their limit.

^{The author examining lichen heath on Meall a’ Bhuachaille}

Both the mountains and the polar regions are changing, and the lichens along with them. The highlands of Scotland already support relict populations of lichen species that were once widely distributed at the end of the last ice age, creeping further northwards and to higher elevation at a literally glacial pace as the ice retreated. Today, as our climate warms more rapidly than ever before, these shifts in the distribution of lichen populations are happening right before our eyes. The white worm lichen (Thamnolia vermicularis) is a true arctic-alpine specialist that can be found fairly frequently in the Cairngorms. However, last year it was declared extinct in North Wales, presumed lost to warming, grazing, and trampling. Many more lichen species are likely to suffer a similar fate.

Of course, lichens will always be there in the hills. Whatever the environmental conditions, there will almost always be lichens adapted to them. But the species we see are not as fixed in stone as they might appear and the arctic-alpine specialists are important ones to watch as our global climate changes.

^{White worm lichen (Thamnolia vermicularis) growing amongst a bushy reindeer lichen (Cladonia arbuscular) on the Cairngorm plateau - Nathan Chrismas}

Lichens are amongst the most under-studied groups of organisms on the planet and there are still many open questions about the fundamental principles that underlie their biology and ecology. They play an as yet poorly understood role in global nutrient cycles, introducing and recycling carbon and nitrogen in otherwise nutrient depleted environments. Our new research project based in the Cairngorms hopes to shed some light on these processes and explore what lichens at home can tell us about the fate of a future Arctic.

Other projects are focusing on the mechanisms behind the interactions between fungi and algae, probing the very nature of mutualistic interactions; it’s an exciting time to be involved in lichen research. All of this, while the questions of how many lichens are even out there remains unanswered. New species are still being described here in the UK and, with no baseline estimates of lichen biodiversity in many of the planet’s most remote regions, the race is now on to document as much as we can about these remarkable organisms as they respond to their rapidly changing habitats.

If this has piqued your interest, below are a few species to keep an eye out for the next time you’re in the Cairngorms, the Alps or anywhere cold or high. You can also find more information on the lichens of the Cairngorms in The Montane Heathland Lichen Guide by Andrea Britton.

^{Alpine bloodspot lichen (Ophioparma ventosa): This eye-catching Arctic-alpine grows on rocks and gets its name from its bright crimson fruiting bodies.
It has a fairly broad distribution and can be found as low down as Dartmoor.}

^{Grey Witches hair (Alectoria nigricans): This dark lichen can be hard to spot and looks like a tuft of hair.
It grows near the ground in very wind-exposed environments like ridges.}

^{Iceland lichen (Cetraria islandica): This is a ‘shadow lichen’ of alpine heath; hard to spot, but when you know what to look for you’ll start seeing it everywhere!}

^{This lichen can be brewed into a tea and you can buy it in corner shops in Iceland.}

^{Map lichen (Rhizocarpon geographicum) photographed on Skye’s Inaccessible Pinnacle (AC Highlands and Islands Meet, 2023)}

 ^{Crinkled snow lichen (Flavocetraria nivalis): This pale yellow leafy lichen is a common sight on alpine heath, but in the UK is only found in the Cairngorms.}

^{Its colour works as a sunscreen to protect it from exposure to UV radiation.}

You can follow Nathan Chrismas on Twitter, Threads, Facebook and Instagram.

You can also catch him in the new BMC series The Landscape Project which explores the natural history (including lichenology) of UK climbing venues.

The Long Legacy of ‘53

Incoming Chair of the Mount Everest Foundation’s Committee of Trustees, Rebecca Stephens, reflects on the history of the MEF and considers how its past helps point the way to an active future for this vital grant-giving body.

^{Rebecca Stephens welcomes the opening of MEF grants to Nepali applicants at the Embassy of Nepal, London}

Several remarkable charitable bodies sprung from the 1953 Everest expedition, not least the Mount Everest Foundation (MEF). Founded on the generosity of the expedition members who donated proceeds from lectures, a film, and in Col. John Hunt’s case, his best-selling book, The Ascent of Everest, (a must-have for every stocking that Christmas), to collectively raise an astounding £100,000, equivalent to almost £3.5m in today’s money. All this went into a pot to encourage the ‘exploration of the mountain ranges of the Earth’, an objective that is still honoured seven decades on.

Another charity that sprang from that extraordinary expedition of 1953, was the Himalayan Trust, founded by Ed Hillary to give back to the Sherpas who had played such an instrumental role in making the expedition a success. The two charities, though with different objectives, share values – a love of the mountains, the mountain people and cultures, a sense of gratitude and a desire to give back. So it comes as no surprise that they’ve joined forces to celebrate decennial anniversaries of Everest’s first ascent.

As a trustee of the Himalayan Trust UK, I’ve had the opportunity to get to know many MEF trustees over the years. Thanks to Duncan Sperry I now step into his shoes as Chair, a decision not difficult to make – anything to counter our risk-averse, screen-obsessed culture where a neighbour anxiously informs me that my daughter is up an apple tree.

^{A Piolet d'Or-winning line. Paul Ramden on the MEF-backed first ascent of Jugal Spire - Tim Miller}

I wonder if the founders would recognise much of the world we live in today, particularly if they cared to venture to Everest.  But I think they’d be pleased that the Mount Everest Foundation upholds its initial ethos: to encourage and celebrate the spirit of the pioneer, to take initiative and forge something new. To lead, not just to follow. In climbing, that’s evolved into purer alpine tactics, and, as the impact of tourism increasingly puts pressure on local communities, so it calls for increased sensitivity to the mountain environment and the people who inhabit it, always remembering that we’re visitors in someone else’s land. As such it seems entirely fitting that as well as donating money to young climbers keen to develop skills and awareness in extreme environments, the MEF also makes periodic donations to charities that support local people and the environments in which they’re likely to climb.

^{Hillary and Norgay climbing on Everest - The Royal Geographical Society}

I’m quite sure, too, that the founders would endorse the MEF’s latest initiative, passed under Duncan’s leadership, to extend the eligibility of MEF grants to Nepalis as well as Brits and New Zealanders. After all, it was the citizens of three nations, not two, that put Hillary and Tenzing on the summit, and as the ambassador Gyan Chandra Acharya pointed out at a celebratory gathering at the Embassy of Nepal, “better late than never.” I’m happy to report that, following this announcement, we have already received our first application from Nepal.

^{MEF-backed scientists at work on the Dona glacial lake in the Nepalese Himalaya}

Another timely shift is a renewed emphasis on science; currently, around one third of the MEF’s grants are allocated to scientific research in mountain regions. There was a time when the environmental impact of climbing and trekking was measured for the most part as local: rubbish, pollution of rivers, and the felling of trees for firewood with resultant erosion of thin mountain soils. Today, what happens in the mountains is of global interest. The high mountains of the world are humanity’s water towers. With temperatures at altitude rising faster than at sea level, glaciers are retreating, the bedrock left bare, which in turn amplifies the warming rate and has consequences far beyond the immediate vicinity of the mountains.

The MEF now finds itself at the epicentre of the biggest existential threat to humankind. We are in a position to play a part in supporting scientific research. We support the pioneers – those pushing the limits in mountaineering, and intrepid young scientists in remote and lofty mountain regions who are the spokesmen and women of the effect of climate change. Never has the Mount Everest Foundation found itself in such an important position. As incoming Chair, I hope to see that it continues to rise to that challenge.

- Rebecca Stephens