Lichen air-quality bioindication survey (growth-form presence/absence) — site / national.

Air-quality monitors are sparse and expensive, but lichens are free, everywhere, and have no cuticle to filter what they absorb — they have tracked air pollution since Hawksworth & Rose's 1970 UK sulphur-dioxide scale. A keeper-level growth-form survey turns a walk through a park or yard into an honest bioindication record, with the field's own documented limit stated up front: species composition, not just lichen presence, is what modern nitrogen-pollution research actually reads.

Where

Any site with trees / national — public land collection/close approach only where permitted · Open the map

Pay

$115 proposed

This packet is not funded yet, so this figure is a proposed price and not money waiting in escrow. If a buyer funds it, approved proof settles that price onchain. If nobody funds it, approved proof earns provable credit toward the work instead of cash — recorded, and readable any time at vealth.net/labor/credit/(your wallet). You see which before you claim, never after.

Proof

A dated growth-form presence/absence survey across a sampled set of trees at the site, photographed for each growth form found, an honest statement of which pollution gradient the observed pattern could reflect, and zero calibrated air-quality index claimed

This is exactly what gets it approved. Nothing settles without it.

Level

entry

Open until

2027-01-27

Posted by

0x034F…6c89

The creator wallet. Its signature is what approves proof and settles the wage.

How this work is done

A documented method, so this packet comes out the same whoever does it.

Bring

• A phone camera for photographing each lichen growth form found
• A hand lens (10x) for close examination of growth form and substrate attachment
• A defined survey area or a fixed set of trees (e.g. 5-10 trees of the same species where possible, to control for bark-chemistry differences)
• A free iNaturalist account (or Mushroom Observer) for photo submission

Steps

1. 1. Choose a defined survey area (e.g. a park, yard, or block) and select a sample: ideally 5-10 trees of the same or similar species, since bark chemistry (pH, texture) affects which lichens grow independent of air quality.
2. 2. At each tree, examine the trunk from ground level to about head height and record which lichen growth forms are present: fruticose (shrubby, 3-D, attached at a single point), foliose (leaf-like, flattened, loosely attached), crustose (paint-like, fused tightly to the bark), or none (bare bark — a possible 'lichen desert').
3. 3. Photograph each growth form found, including a close-up with the hand lens where possible, plus a whole-trunk context shot.
4. 4. Record substrate/tree species and general site context (proximity to roads, industry, or agriculture) as observational context only — never a causal claim from this packet.
5. 5. Write an honest note on which gradient the pattern COULD reflect: a scarcity of fruticose/foliose lichens (a 'lichen desert') is consistent with the classic SO2-pollution pattern (Hawksworth & Rose 1970); a site dominated by crustose or visibly 'weedy' species near traffic or agriculture could instead reflect nitrogen-favoring dominance (Geiser & Neitlich 2007) — record this as a POSSIBILITY, never a determination, and never as a calibrated index.
6. 6. For any lichen photographed with enough diagnostic detail for a confident species-level guess, submit it to iNaturalist (or the FunDiS/regional lichen project) for community and expert verification; record uncertain IDs as uncertain.
7. 7. Repeat the same defined survey area/trees on a seasonal or yearly cadence to build a comparable trend, rather than treating a single visit as a conclusion.

What counts as done

• A defined sample (e.g. 5-10 trees of the same or similar species) surveyed for lichen presence/absence by growth form (fruticose, foliose, crustose) with photographs of each growth form found
• Substrate and tree species recorded for context (bark chemistry affects which lichens grow, independent of air quality)
• An honest note on which gradient the pattern might reflect (SO2-legacy 'lichen desert' vs nitrogen-favoring dominance of nitrophilous species) — recorded as a POSSIBILITY, never a determination
• Any confident species-level photo submitted to iNaturalist (or a FunDiS/lichen-focused project) for community/expert verification, with uncertain IDs flagged as such

Proof is measured against these, not judged by taste.