Physical and chemical interactions between epiphytic macrolichen (Ramalina menziesii) and fog on Santa Cruz Island, California

The occurrence of fog along the California coastline is recognized as a legitimate water resource and potential contributor of nutrients to the environment. Essential to the ecological significance of fog-water is the mechanism by which it is integrated into the ecosystem and the nutrient load it delivers. Epiphytic lichen, Lace lichen (Ramalina menziesii), grows pendulously in the canopy of trees where fog is dense and frequent. Because fog-water becomes available when intercepted by a depositional surface, vegetation structure is essential for fog-water to contribute to ecosystem function via fog drip to the soil surface. While studies have demonstrated that conifer trees are often effective at intercepting fog-water given their needleleaf structure and high leaf area, to my knowledge, no study to date teased apart the contributions of non-vascular epiphytes to ecosystem fog-water inputs. Epiphytic macrolichen can account for a significant portion of canopy biomass, and should increase depositional surface area.The aim of this study is to discern the fog-harvesting capabilities of this lichen species and to measure its potential impact on fog-chemistry. The timeliness of this study is highlighted by rapid climactic changes.