Editing Lichenometry (section)

==Scope and limitations==
[[Image:Rhizocarpon geographicum on quartz.jpg|thumb|left|The [[map lichen]] (''Rhizocarpon geographicum''), the lichen most used in lichenometry]]
Lichenometry can provide dates for [[glacial]] deposits in [[tundra]] environments, lake level changes, glacial [[moraine]]s, [[trim lines]], palaeofloods,<ref>William Allen (2013) https://www.scribd.com/doc/156523915/A-Lichenometric-Study-of-Palaeofloods-in-the-Brecon-Beacons</ref> rockfalls, seismic events associated with the rockfalls,<ref name=LSN/> talus ([[scree]]) stabilization and former extent of [[permafrost]] or very persistent snow cover.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Olga |last1=Solomina |first2=Mikhail |last2=Ivanov |first3=Tom |last3=Bradwell |title=Lichenometric studies on moraines in the Polar Urals |journal=Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography |volume=92 |number=1 |pages=81–99|date=2010 |jstor=40661039}}</ref> It has also been explored as a tool in assessing the speed of [[Retreat of glaciers since 1850|glacier retreat]] due to [[climate change]].<ref name="lichens-global-warming">{{cite journal|author=Richard Armstrong |title=Lichens, Lichenometry, and Global Warming |journal=Microbiologist |date=September 2004 |pages=32–35 |url=http://www.sfam.org.uk/pdf/features/lichens.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225044120/http://www.sfam.org.uk/pdf/features/lichens.pdf |archive-date=2009-02-25 }}</ref>

Among the potential problems of the technique are the difficulty of correctly identifying the species, the delay between exposure and colonization, the varying growth rates from region to region, growth rates not always being constant over time and depend on substrate texture and composition, the climate, and determining the lichen that is the largest.<ref name="innes" />