Plant Biosystems (An International Journal Dealing with all Aspects of Plant Biology: Official Journal of the Societa Botanica Italian) vient de proposer un article qui, bien que très en marge de la démarche archéologique habituelle des spécialistes des mégalithes, intéressera tous ceux qui s’intéressent à la conservation à long terme des dolmens et menhirs.

A travers l’exemple du complexe mégalithique de Sa Coveccda, à Mores, en Sardaigne, les auteurs abordent dans cette rubrique les détériorations physiques et chimiques que les lichens sont susceptibles de produire sur diverses sortes de pierres : « Lichen diversity on dolmen and menhir in the Megalithic complex of Sa Coveccada (Mores, Sardinia) » par A. Cossu, L. Zedda & I. Camarda,, du Department of Agriculture, Université de Sassari (Italie) pour le premier et le troisième auteurs et de BIO-Diverse, à Bonn (Allemagne) pour le second.

Pour en savoir plus, voici le résumé anglais proposé avec cet article :
This work describes the lichen diversity found on the megalithic Dolmen of Sa Coveccada (Mores, Sardinia) until 2010. After that year, a restoration with chemical removal of lichen crusts took place, which destroyed a great part of the lichen communities. These were studied again after removal and lichen communities occurring on rock outcrops in the surroundings of the Dolmen and on a contiguous menhir were investigated as well for comparison. Before the restoration, 33 species had been recorded on the Dolmen, most being crustose, followed by foliose and fruticose forms. Among these, eight species are regarded as rare in Sardinia and five rare at lower elevations. Most of the recorded species are typical for eutrophic substrates and for meso- to xerophytic conditions. Studies on lichen diversity on archaeological monuments in Sardinia are limited. This is the first report on the lichens of a Sardinian dolmen. This paper questions whether the lichen diversity of such monuments should be preserved as lichens have been an important part of the monument ecosystem and of the landscape for many centuries. This work also aims to improve collaboration among lichen and monument experts, in order to avoid hasty restoration decisions.