The Scientific Group for the Study and Conservation of Lichens has become a partner of the FunDive initiative for the research of fungal and lichen diversity in Armenia.
FunDive is a pan-European initiative that brings together 33 prominent organizations across 22 countries. The goal of the initiative is to fill the knowledge gap related to the distribution and diversity of fungi and lichens in order to improve their conservation and mapping across the continent.
With the help of professionals and citizen scientists, the monitoring results will raise awareness and improve the conservation of fungal and lichen diversity. Despite years of research on fungi and lichens, many species remain poorly studied. Global distribution patterns are often missing or incomplete, and there are significant gaps in effective conservation practices.
How to support this initiative:
FunDive consists of various projects, each focusing on specific target groups of fungi and lichens. You can participate in two projects considered priorities for Armenia by registering and collecting samples belonging to the Geastrum (fungi) and Dermatocarpon (lichens) genera.
The process is very simple: find a species from the target genus, take a photo, register the sample in the PlutoF GO mobile app, and submit the sample to our team. Your sample will be processed in the database and species identification will be carried out. You can track the results of your fungal and lichen sampling on the FunDive website.
Do not collect fungal samples if you are in specially protected nature areas or if the species is listed in the Red Book of Armenia. In these cases, only register species from the target genera.
For more details: