This book provides a critical and selective review of lichen physiological ecology.This book, originally published in 1985, provides a critical and selective review of lichen physiological ecology. The book will be of interest to students and research workers in plant ecology, plant physiology and lichenology.This book, originally published in 1985, provides a critical and selective review of lichen physiological ecology. The book will be of interest to students and research workers in plant ecology, plant physiology and lichenology.This book was originally published in 1985. In the twenty years preceding publication very considerable advances were made in our understanding of the physiology and ecology of lichens and of the functional nature of the symbiosis between the algal and fungal partners. This book provides a critical and selective review of lichen physiological ecology. The approach is a broad one, with consideration given to all the major factors in the lichen's environment and to the important processes of nitrogen fixation, photosynthesis and respiration. The book will be of interest to students and research workers in plant ecology, plant physiology and lichenology.Preface; 1. The lichen environment: temperature; 2. The lichen environment: moisture; 3. The lichen environment: ionic criteria; 4. Nitrogen fixation in lichens; 5. Photosynthesis in lichens: its measurement and interaction with thallus hydration; 6. The interaction between net photosynthesis, light and temperature; 7. Net photosynthetic optima and thermal limits; 8. Respiration and growth; 9. Phoneotypic plasticity and differential strategies; References; Index.