| Ditrichum plumbicola | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Bryophyta |
| Class: | Bryopsida |
| Subclass: | Dicranidae |
| Order: | Dicranales |
| Family: | Ditrichaceae |
| Genus: | Ditrichum |
| Species: | D. plumbicola |
| Binomial name | |
| Ditrichum plumbicola Crundw., 1976 | |
Ditrichum plumbicola, also known as lead moss, is a moss species known for growing in lead rich soils. [1] It was formally described by Alan Crundwell in 1976. [2]
Ditrichum plumbicola will form dense narrow dense tufts or short turfs. The moss is dark green or yellowish green in colour. The shoots are 3–8 mm tall and possess short triangular leaves, which are less than 1 mm in length and are pressed closely to the stem. [3] The species is sterile [4] and spreads via vegetative propagation and stem fragmentation. [1]
Ditrichum plumbicola is endemic to Europe where it can be found growing in Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Isle of Man, [5] and the United Kingdom. [6] [1] It has been recorded growing at elevations up to 460 metres above sea level. [1]
Ditrichum plumbicola can only be found in close proximity to lead mines where human activity has caused the surrounding soil to become contaminated with high levels of lead. [3] Sites of lead contamination are largely devoid of vascular plants, [1] which allows D. plumbicola to grow without competition due to many plants not being able to tolerate such conditions. [7] The species grows in damp acidic lead rich soils, it can grow in exposed areas however is vulnerable to drying out during drought. [3] The species cannot colonize highly calcareous lead rich soils. [1]
Ditrichum plumbicola relies on lead contamination for suitable habitat to be created. Due to the closure of many lead mining sites new lead rich substrates are no longer being created for the species to colonize. [1] Locations of older habitat naturally leach lead into the surrounding area causing the concentration of lead to decrease. [1] As sites become less toxic the habitat can then be colonized by a broader range of plant species, which shade out the moss. [7]
D. plumbicola is also threatened by human activity. The sites where the species grows are often regarded as wasteland, which are only suitable for redevelopment. [7] Sites where the moss grows are also used for the illegal dumping of waste and for recreational off road motorcycling, [5] which has a negative impact on the species. [1]
Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophytasensu stricto. Bryophyta may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hornworts. Mosses typically form dense green clumps or mats, often in damp or shady locations. The individual plants are usually composed of simple leaves that are generally only one cell thick, attached to a stem that may be branched or unbranched and has only a limited role in conducting water and nutrients. Although some species have conducting tissues, these are generally poorly developed and structurally different from similar tissue found in vascular plants. Mosses do not have seeds and after fertilisation develop sporophytes with unbranched stalks topped with single capsules containing spores. They are typically 0.2–10 cm (0.1–3.9 in) tall, though some species are much larger. Dawsonia, the tallest moss in the world, can grow to 50 cm (20 in) in height. There are approximately 12,000 species.
Pioneer species are resilient species that are the first to colonize barren environments, or to repopulate previously biodiverse steady-state ecosystems that have been disrupted by natural disasters such wildfire, flood, mudslide, lava flow or a climate-related extinction event or by anthropogenic habitat destruction.
Xerosere is a plant succession that is limited by water availability. It includes the different stages in a xerarch succession. Xerarch succession of ecological communities originated in extremely dry situation such as sand deserts, sand dunes, salt deserts, rock deserts etc. A xerosere may include lithoseres and psammoseres.
Soil contamination, soil pollution, or land pollution as a part of land degradation is caused by the presence of xenobiotic (human-made) chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil environment. It is typically caused by industrial activity, agricultural chemicals or improper disposal of waste. The most common chemicals involved are petroleum hydrocarbons, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, solvents, pesticides, lead, and other heavy metals. Contamination is correlated with the degree of industrialization and intensity of chemical substance. The concern over soil contamination stems primarily from health risks, from direct contact with the contaminated soil, vapour from the contaminants, or from secondary contamination of water supplies within and underlying the soil. Mapping of contaminated soil sites and the resulting clean ups are time-consuming and expensive tasks, and require expertise in geology, hydrology, chemistry, computer modelling, and GIS in Environmental Contamination, as well as an appreciation of the history of industrial chemistry.
Ecological facilitation or probiosis describes species interactions that benefit at least one of the participants and cause harm to neither. Facilitations can be categorized as mutualisms, in which both species benefit, or commensalisms, in which one species benefits and the other is unaffected. This article addresses both the mechanisms of facilitation and the increasing information available concerning the impacts of facilitation on community ecology.
Priddy Pools is a 52.7-hectare (130-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest at Priddy in the Mendip Hills, Somerset, notified in 1972.
Hylocomium splendens, commonly known as glittering woodmoss, splendid feather moss, stairstep moss, and mountain fern moss, is a perennial clonal moss with a widespread distribution in Northern Hemisphere boreal forests. It is commonly found in Europe, Russia, Alaska and Canada, where it is often the most abundant moss species. It also grows in the Arctic tundra and further south at higher elevations in, for example, northern California, western Sichuan, East Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the West Indies. In Scotland it is a characteristic species of the Caledonian Forest. Under the UK's national vegetation classification system, pinewood community W18 is named as "Pinus sylvestris-Hylocomium splendens woodland", indicating its significance in this ecosystem.
Environmental effects of mining can occur at local, regional, and global scales through direct and indirect mining practices. Mining can cause erosion, sinkholes, loss of biodiversity, or the contamination of soil, groundwater, and surface water by chemicals emitted from mining processes. These processes also affect the atmosphere through carbon emissions which contributes to climate change. Some mining methods may have such significant environmental and public health effects that mining companies in some countries are required to follow strict environmental and rehabilitation codes to ensure that the mined area returns to its original state. Mining can provide various advantages to societies, yet it can also spark conflicts, particularly regarding land use both above and below the surface.
Campylopus introflexus, also known as the heath star moss, is a species of moss. The first description of the species was made by Johannes Hedwig as Dicranum introflexum in 1801.
Smitham Chimney is a chimney which was used for lead mining just outside the village of East Harptree, in the parish of Priddy, Somerset, England. It is a Grade II listed building.
Phoenix United Mine is a disused 19th century copper and tin mine in Cornwall, England, UK. Heavy metals left over in the soil from the mining operations have allowed mosses and lichens to flourish, and today the site is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), noted for its biological characteristics.
Calaminarian grassland is grassland where the process of seral succession has been halted due to the toxicity of soils containing high levels of toxic metal ions. These habitats may be semi-natural on naturally exposed deposits, or the result of mining, or from erosion by rivers, sometimes including washed-out mine workings.
Ditrichum cornubicum, commonly known as the Cornish path-moss, is a moss endemic to Cornwall, United Kingdom. First discovered in 1963, on a roadside west of Lanner, Cornwall by Jean Paton, it has since been found in two other places within Cornwall. It was published as new to science in 1976.
Pakihi or pākihi is a vegetation association unique to the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand, characterised by flat boggy land with infertile, waterlogged soil on which only rushes, ferns, moss, and mānuka grow.
Rumex rupestris, commonly known as shore dock, is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Polygonaceae. Its native range is Western Europe and is one of the world's rarest dock species.
An escaped plant is a cultivated plant that has escaped from agriculture, forestry or garden cultivation and has become naturalized in the wild. Usually not native to an area, escaped plants may become invasive. Therefore, escaped plants are the subject of research in invasion biology.
Polytrichum piliferum, the bristly haircap, is an evergreen perennial species of moss in the family Polytrichaceae. The bristly haircap moss is small-sized to medium-sized and forms loose tufts with wine-reddish stems. It is an acrocarpous moss that appears bluish-green to grey. This moss grows in clumps on erect shoots and becomes a red-brown colour as it grows older. The most distinguishing feature of P. piliferum is the long, white awn at the tips of the leaves, which also give this moss its grey colour. It is the only species in its genus where the awn is completely hyaline.
Andreaea blyttii, also commonly known as Blytt's rock moss, is a moss belonging to the family Andreaeaceae, commonly known as rock moss, granite moss, or lantern moss because of this family's unique sporangium. It is part of the genus Andreaea which is known for forming dark brownish or reddish-black carpets in high elevations. This species was first described by Schimper in 1855.
Jean Annette Paton is a British botanist, bryologist and botanical illustrator. She has written many books on the bryology of the United Kingdom and the flora of Cornwall, and described several new species.
