Eastern Ghats (EG) contributes significantly to both species richness and endemicity of the Indian region. However, the forests of EG are relatively under-studied and have received less attention for conservation compared to the relatively better-known Western Ghats. Ultimately EG is left with insufficient data for several groups of organisms.

The habitat loss, increasing air pollution, changes in the microclimatic conditions and uncontrolled harvest have become the major detrimental factors for lichen diversity in India. Propagation of lichens by means of tissue culture method proved to be uneconomical and their re-introduction into the field has been unsuccessful. Hence declaring lichen-rich areas as