I received this question and picture from a friend. Thoughts/answers from anyone?
I was wondering if you have been seeing an issue with lichens growing on everything. All of the trees on my mom’s property with the exception of pine trees have lichens overtaking the main trunk all the way to the new growth branch tops. It used to be to be only on the stone walls. It is on every section of all the wood lots on the 200 acres and from what I can see the surrounding neighbors properties. I assume it has something to do with the warmer weather/lack of snow weather change. Just curious if you have seen anything or know anything about it.
Tree lichen is perfectly normal and is a sign of good air quality as lichen does not grow well in air-polluted areas. I'm not sure if the increase in lichen you're seeing can be attributed to warmer weather, but it is certainly possible. Below is a link to some lichen information Rutgers released if you'd like further information.
Thank you for your comment.
Hi! Thanks for the link, Andrew. I found it quite interesting.
One thing it mentioned is that lichens thrive in sunlight, so if you're noticing more lichen on your trees, it may be because there's been a change in the forest canopy that is allowing more light to hit the tree branches and trunks - such as older/declining trees or trees affected by some sort of pest or disease. It's important to understand that lichens aren't hurting your trees but they may be expanding because something ELSE is negatively affecting your woods and letting in more sunlight.
Have you noticed any other changes to your trees?
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