Student Journal: Tracking Lichen to Assess Air Quality at North Cascades National Park

Lichen are unique organisms found in forested ecosystems that can tell us a lot about air quality. Epiphytic lichens (lichen that grow on trees, off the forest floor) get all their nutrients from the air, making them natural air quality monitors.

It is difficult to use traditional monitoring equipment in remote locations. So, scientists use changes to lichen growing in these areas to study pollution.

Join a student intern as she tags along with a field crew collecting lichen tissue samples in North Cascades National Park by clicking the image below or viewing the full story map: https://go.nps.gov/18w2lo.

The story map was created by Kelly McCoy, a student intern with the NPS Air Resources Division from the University of Colorado Denver.

June 2020