Roman Türk

Roman Türk is an Austrian lichenologist and plant ecophysiologist noted for combining classical floristics with experimental physiology. He taught for decades at the University of Salzburg and became a central organiser of lichen research and mapping in Austria, especially the use of lichens as bioindicators of air quality. From 1994 to 2002, he served as the first chair of the . He co‑authored the national checklist of Austrian lichenised fungi and later worked on lichen ecology in continental Antarctica. By 2017 his bibliography comprised more than 270 publications, including several books and regional floras.

Life and career

Roman Türk was born on April 14, 1945 in Střemily in the Nazi Germany-annexed part of Czechoslovakia. He grew up in Steyr, Upper Austria. He studied biology at the University of Vienna and earned a Dr. phil. in 1971 with a dissertation on climatic effects on water potential in higher plants, supervised by the botanist.
Immediately after the doctorate he joined the University of Würzburg as a research assistant in Otto Ludwig Lange's group, investigating sulphur dioxide effects on lichens and their gas exchange; several early papers with Volkmar Wirth stem from this period. In 1975 Türk moved to the University of Salzburg, where he built an experimental laboratory on CO₂ exchange in plants and increasingly focused on lichens. He habilitated in 1980, became head of the Plant Ecophysiology unit in 1982 and was appointed associate professor in 1983. He later led the newly created Institute of Plant Physiology and, within the reorganised faculty, served as deputy chair of "Organismal Biology" and head of the group "Ecology and Diversity of Plants". Türk has been a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts since 2014 and served as president from 2011 to 2023 of Naturschutzbund Österreich.

Research and contributions

Türk's work spans two main tracks. First, he advanced applied lichenology in Austria: beginning in the 1970s he used lichens as bioindicators of air pollution, led surveys that underpinned air‑quality assessments in several cities, and helped launch systematic grid‑mapping of the country's lichen biota, producing atlases and provincial lists. Second, he pursued experimental and field studies on the ecophysiology of high‑mountain lichens, particularly CO₂ exchange and survival strategies at environmental limits, and from 2000 participated in international projects on lichen diversity and stress tolerance in continental Antarctica, where he documented some of the southernmost lichen sites.
Beyond research, Türk has been active in scientific service and public outreach. He was the first chair of BLAM, organised excursions and meetings, and for many years led the Salzburg branch of the, writing popular pieces on botanical conservation. He co‑authored the Austrian checklist of lichenised fungi and edited and compiled several regional syntheses and guides. According to a later biographical note, by 2017 he had produced over 270 publications, among them five books.

Recognition

In 2019, Türk was awarded the Josef Ressel Forestry Prize, with the laudation describing him as a leading figure in lichen research and an early adopter of lichen bioindication in Austria's forest damage work and protection strategy. The Bavarian Conservation Prize went to Türk in 2023, praising his bridge-building between academic lichenology and the conservation movement, and his public communication and education work.
Three lichen species have been named in honour of Türk: Gyalideopsis tuerkii ; Minutoexcipula tuerkii ; and Verrucaria tuerkii.