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Net photosynthesis (NP) and dark respiration (DR) of thalli of the lichen species Umbilicaria grisea and U. freyi growing together in the same habitat the Sierra de Guadarrama, central Spain, were measured under controlled conditions in the laboratory and under natural conditions in the field over a range of photosynthetic photon flux densities (PPFD), thallus temperatures and thallus water contents. Laboratory experiments revealed that the photosynthetic response to PPFD at optimum thallus water content is very similar in both species. The light compensation points of NP increased from PPFD of c. 20 µmol m−2 s−1 at 0°C up to c. 100 µmol m−2 s−1 PPFD at 25°C. In both species light saturation was not reached up to 700 µmol m−2 s−1 PPFD except at 0°C. By contrast, the temperature dependence of CO2 gas exchange differed substantially between U. grisea and U. freyi. Both species gave significant rates at 0°C. Optimal temperatures of NP were always higher in U. grisea at various PPFD levels if the samples were kept at optimal thallus water content. NP showed maximal rates at 95% dw in U. grisea and 110% dw in U. freyi respectively. In U. grisea a much stronger depression of NP was observed with only 5% of maximal NP reached at 180% dw. At all PPFD and temperature combinations U. freyi showed higher rates of NP and more negative rates of DR if calculated on a dry weight basis. This was also true under natural conditions at the same site, when U. freyi was always more productive than U. grisea. The differences in the photosynthetic response to temperature between both species correlated well with the different distribution patterns of both species. The possibility of genetic control of the physiological performance of these species and its influence on their distribution patterns and autecology is discussed.