The 10th Symposium of the International Association for Lichenology – IAL10, the world’s leading scientific meeting devoted to lichenology, opened today, Monday 27 July, at the University of Trieste. Organised every four years by the International Association for Lichenology, the symposium is being held in Italy for the first time and is bringing researchers from around the world to the University’s Piazzale Europa campus.

Lichenology is the scientific study of lichens, complex organisms that develop through a stable association between a fungus and one or more partners capable of photosynthesis. Found in a wide variety of environments, including some of the most extreme regions on Earth, lichens provide an important model for understanding the mechanisms of symbiosis, adaptation and evolution. Their sensitivity to environmental conditions also makes them valuable tools for monitoring air quality and ecosystems, while their interaction with rocks, buildings and monuments is studied in the field of cultural heritage conservation.

The scientific proceedings, which began today in Building H3, will continue until Friday 31 July. The programme includes five plenary lectures, more than twenty thematic sessions, four workshops, oral presentations and poster sessions. Contributions explore the latest developments in genomics and other “omics” sciences, taxonomy and systematics, symbiosis biology, ecophysiology and biodiversity. Considerable attention is also being devoted to the effects of climate change, ecosystem conservation, the monitoring of urban and natural environments, and the relationship between lichens and historical monuments and buildings.

The plenary lectures are being delivered by Nina Gunde-Cimerman of the University of Ljubljana, Pavel Škaloud of Charles University in Prague, Theo Llewellyn of Imperial College London, Daniel Stanton of the University of Minnesota and Gulnara Tagirdzhanova of Stockholm University. Their presentations address topics including symbioses capable of developing in extreme environments, ecological and evolutionary parallels between lichens and corals, the genetic mechanisms underlying the production of protective substances, lichen responses to climate change and the molecular interactions between the different organisms involved in lichen symbiosis.

The local organisation is coordinated by academics from the Department of Life Sciences at the University of Trieste. The symposium president is Lucia Muggia, Professor of Systematic Botany, while Mauro Tretiach, Professor of General Botany, serves as vice-president. The scientific and organisational secretariat also includes Stefano Martellos, Professor of Systematic Botany, and Fabio Candotto Carniel, Professor of General Botany. The Trieste team is working alongside a national organising committee and an international scientific committee composed of experts from Europe, Asia, Australia and the United States.

Trieste’s bid was selected in 2021 during the previous edition of the symposium, which was held online. The decision recognised the long-standing contribution of the University’s research group to Italian and international lichenology, as well as the city’s geographical position, multicultural character and particularly extensive network of scientific institutions.

The programme is complemented by scientific field trips devoted to observing lichens in their natural environments. Two itineraries took place before the symposium, crossing the south-eastern Alps and central Italy. A further excursion is scheduled from 1 to 3 August in the Italian and Slovenian Classical Karst, with stops including the Val Rosandra Nature Reserve, the Škocjan Caves area, the Trnovo Plateau and the Duino area.

The full programme and further information are available on the official IAL10 website.