Lichens and bryophytes of shingle surfaces

The open vegetation of the terrestrial shingle and transitions to the more exposed maritime habitat include a wide variety of lichens and bryophytes. The former include species normally found growing on trees inland (epiphytic) as well as species growing on the surface of the pebbles. These can develop into Cladonia heath and grassland and on exposed sites (Lambley & Hodgetts 2001). The last, exposed situation occurs at only a few sites such as Orfordness where large areas of the surface are covered in a matrix of Silene uniflora and an abundance of lichens (see picture below).

Caption: Lichens growing on shingle with sea campion Silene uniflora.

References

Lambley, P.W. & Hodgetts, N.G. 2001. Lichens and bryophytes of British coastal shingle. In: Ecology & Geomorphology of Coastal Shingle, eds.Packham, J.R., Randall, R.E., Barnes, R.S.K. & Neal, A.Westbury Academic and Scientific Publishing, 380-392.