A quantitative scanning electron microscope study of evidence for lichen weathering of limestone, Mendip Hills, Somerset

Many saxicolous lichens may cause physical and chemical weathering of limestone substrates, but their geomorphological importance has not been fully determined. A simple method of producing quantitative descriptions of lichen material and petrographic evidence of weathering using the SEM has been developed and tested on samples from the Mendip Hills, England. The technique reveals a variable and often sparse distribution of lichen material and associated weathering effects below a thin, clearly defined lichen thallus.