F EB 2020
Clarke
As the Crow Flies
SHENANDOAH SEPTIC, INC.
Reindeer Moss, An Environmental Quality Indicator
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Story and photo by Doug Pifer I climbed the top of the hill where the woods thinned out to a scattering of red cedars. I was delighted to see clumps of gray green “reindeer moss” growing in cloud-like mounds on the ground. Reindeer “moss” isn’t really a moss. It’s a Cladonia lichen. Lichens consist of two organisms, a plant and a fungus, that grow as one, in a natural partnership that defies easy description. Reindeer lichen, Cladonia rangiferina, is one of the most interesting lichens. “Rangifer” is the scientific name for reindeer. The substrate or base of the reindeer lichen is an alga, a green plant formed of scales that produce chlorophyll from sunlight. A graygreen, branched fungus grows above the green alga, protecting it. The entire structure is interdependent — the fungus gets its nourishment to grow from the green plant, while the plant is protected from drying out by the fungus. Scientists used to call a lichen a cryptogam, meaning “secret marriage.” That’s my favorite description. Reindeer lichen has a long history of uses by indigenous people throughout the world. Native Americans gathered it to start fires, but also valued its nutritive properties, and brewed it as a drinkable tonic. The acid content of such a tea is very high. After the acid is boiled out, Scandinavians dry reindeer moss and use it to thicken soups and desserts. Reindeer moss is widely harvested and dried for the craft industry. Clumps of dried reindeer moss are favored by model train enthusiasts. Dyed green or left natural, they make realistic, beautiful trees and bushes in miniature landscapes. Crafters often incorporate reindeer moss into wreaths and other decorative items. The lichen’s name, “reindeer moss” fits in many ways. The structure of the lichen consists of a network of stalks that fork into increasingly slender, Y-shaped branches at the tips, like clumps of tiny reindeer antlers. And reindeer really do eat the lichen, which prospers in the barren tundra regions where few other plants grow. In winter, herds of reindeer (called Caribou in North America) habitually paw deep craters into the snow with their hooves to reach the lichen. The animals won’t gain weight eating it, but nonetheless depend upon its highcarbohydrate content to get them through arctic winters.
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Reindeer and caribou numbers have plummeted by more than 60 percent over the past three decades. An article by Rebecca McCullough on the website of The Climate Institute, climate.org, describes the role of their chief food source, reindeer lichen, in the dilemma: “The reindeer are stressed by numerous effects of global warming. Most worrisome is their increasing inability to obtain lichen and moss, the staples of their diets. A recent study by Jaakko Putkonen of the University of Washington traces the increasing rain in the Arctic to a reduced food supply for reindeer. The heavy rain falls onto the snow due to warmer atmospheric temperatures, and then seeps down into the soil where it freezes into ice. The ice layer covers the lichen and moss in such a way that the reindeer cannot access their foods, and even when they can get through the ice, the lichen and moss are often joined by toxic molds and fungi.” Reindeer lichens prefer to grow in open areas with little vegetation. They require direct sunlight to survive. This makes them vulnerable to any impurities in the air, which means they can die if the air becomes polluted with toxic gases and chemicals. Scientists use lichens as an indicator of pollution as well as climate change. The future of people who live near the top of the world is most gravely threatened by changing climate and polluted air. Their economies will suffer if these lichens can no longer sustain the caribou and reindeer they depend upon for their livelihood. This should serve as a reminder of the fragility of our natural world.
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