Completion of the Greater Sonoran Desert Lichen Flora Project

地衣是一种鲜为人知的共生生物，存在于世界各地的树皮、岩石和土壤中。在北极以外，没有全面的身份识别书籍可用。目前的调查涉及来自15个国家的70多名科学家历时10年的合作，为墨西哥西北部和美国西南部开发一本现代身份手册，该地区占地60万平方英里，被指定为大索诺兰沙漠地区。邻近的山脉和沙漠都包括在这个地区。虽然涉及十多次重大科学考察的收集阶段现已结束，但标本分析仍在继续。目前的资金将使最终分析和制定适当的分类能够编入身份查验手册的第二卷，也就是最后一卷(第一卷基本完成)。此外，目前的资金将允许开发一个基于该地区公认的近2000种物种的互联网识别系统。最终的产品将包括两本涵盖2000个物种的书籍，包括物种描述、分布图、物种识别的关键和广泛的介绍。另一个版本将在互联网上提供。这项处理将覆盖北美已知的近50%的地衣物种，因此将在直接覆盖的地理区域之外具有重要意义。由于地衣是众所周知的对空气污染敏感的植物，是许多生态系统的重要组成部分，预计其结果将引起土地管理者、空气污染专家、科学家和关注自然生态系统的公共利益团体的极大兴趣。

Lichens are poorly known symbiotic organisms that occur world-wide on bark, rocks and soil. Outside of the Arctic there are no comprehensive identification books available. The current investigation involves a 10-year collaboration among over 70 scientists from 15 countries to develop a modern identification book for northwestern Mexico and southwestern USA, a region covering 600,000 square miles and designated the greater Sonoran Desert region. Adjacent mountains as well as the desert are included in the region. Although the collecting phase involving over a dozen major scientific expeditions is now concluded, analysis of specimens is still on-going. Current funding will allow final analyses and development of appropriate classifications to go into the second and final volume of the identification book (the first one is essentially complete). In addition, current funding will allow development of an internet identification system based on the almost 2000 species recognized from the region. The final product will include two books covering the 2000 species and include species descriptions, distribution maps, keys for identification of the species and an extensive introduction. An alternative version will be available over the internet. The treatment will almost 50% of the lichen species known from North America and as a consequence will have significance beyond the immediate geographic region covered. Because lichens are well known to be sensitive to air pollution and are important components of many ecosystems, it is anticipated that the results will be of considerable interest to land managers, air pollution specialists, scientists and public interest groups concerned with natural ecosystems.