| Sphagnum fuscum | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sphagnum fuscum | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Bryophyta |
| Class: | Sphagnopsida |
| Subclass: | Sphagnidae |
| Order: | Sphagnales |
| Family: | Sphagnaceae |
| Genus: | Sphagnum |
| Species: | S. fuscum |
| Binomial name | |
| Sphagnum fuscum (Schimp.) H.Klinggr. | |
Sphagnum fuscum, the rusty bogmoss [1] or rusty peat moss, is a peat moss found commonly in Norway and Sweden, and can be found scattered across North America, the United Kingdom, and in southern to eastern Europe. [2]
Sphagnum fuscum is brown to greenish brown in color with slender brown stems. It is individually less robust than other peat mosses, especially when clumped into compact hummocks. The moss will form thread-like branches interwoven within hummocks. The leaves along the stem are tongue-shaped, while the leaves along the branches are pointed and lance-shaped. During the sporophyte stage, the moss will have a short stalk of around 1-2mm, with a brown capsule of about 1-1.5mm. Sphagnum fuscum prefers older, drier bogs to inhabit and will formulate hummocks in such conditions. In bogs dominated by black spruce, S. fuscum will form extensive ground cover. On average, S. fuscum inhabits more acidic soils with pH ranging from 3.6-7.5, and is also able to colonize at high elevations. The moss is circumpolar. [3]
Sphagnum fuscum faces endangerment across much of the globe. Due to reductions in wetlands and development of these areas, the moss is referred to as “high risk” in Germany, while being on several Endangered species lists within some German states. Switzerland has labelled S. fuscum as vulnerable. In the United States, S. fuscum is reported to be at risk in the state of North Carolina. Across Europe, S. fuscum’s habitats are under protection. Germany and Switzerland have both placed the moss under “special protection.”
This species is associated with Sphagnum angustifolium, S. fallax, S. magellanicum, S. papillosum, more infrequently with S. teres, and S. warnstorfii in richer sites. [4] Sphagnum fuscum is easily discernible from other species of Sphagnum, as it tends to be reddish brown in color, and is more likely to form hummocks.
Known occurrence of Sphagnum fuscus are on the map above. The moss inhabits boreal forests and marshlands primarily, and is more likely to be found in colder climates. The moss is also capable of inhabiting areas of relatively high elevation.
In recent studies performed in Eastern Europe, it was found that stable carbon and oxygen isotope ratios in α-cellulose of Sphagnum fuscum stems subsampled from hummocks and peat plateau profiles are useful indicators for summer temperature and winter precipitation at decadal to millennial timescales. [5] In another study conducted in Alberta, Canada, it was found that S. fuscum serves as an indicator of high depositions of sulphur and nitrogen in substrates. S. fuscum grows in areas with high sulphur and nitrogen depositions, which is concomitant with the decreased pH of the soil. [6] Sphagnum has also been used historically for medicinal purposes. The moss itself has antimicrobial properties, and was therefore used as an effective filler for wounds to prevent infection. It also retains large amounts of moisture, which was quite useful in keeping the skin around a wound moist to prevent tissue death.
A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires. The unique water chemistry of fens is a result of the ground or surface water input. Typically, this input results in higher mineral concentrations and a more basic pH than found in bogs. As peat accumulates in a fen, groundwater input can be reduced or cut off, making the fen ombrotrophic rather than minerotrophic. In this way, fens can become more acidic and transition to bogs over time.
A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials – often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; alkaline mires are called fens. A baygall is another type of bog found in the forest of the Gulf Coast states in the United States. They are often covered in heath or heather shrubs rooted in the sphagnum moss and peat. The gradual accumulation of decayed plant material in a bog functions as a carbon sink.
Askham Bog is small area of peat bog and Site of Special Scientific Interest situated within the Vale of York in North Yorkshire, England. It lies to the south-west of York, north of Copmanthorpe and near Askham Richard and Askham Bryan. It is regarded as one of the most ecologically diverse sites in Northern England.
Sphagnum is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, also bog moss and quacker moss. Accumulations of Sphagnum can store water, since both living and dead plants can hold large quantities of water inside their cells; plants may hold 16 to 26 times as much water as their dry weight, depending on the species. The empty cells help retain water in drier conditions.
Helodium blandowii, also known as Blandow's helodium moss, Blandow's tamarisk-moss, Blandow's bogmoss, and Blandow's feathermoss, is a rare plant in the Western U.S., including Oregon and California. It occurs all around the northern hemisphere in higher latitudes, and in some places is not as rare as in the Western U.S.
Meesia triquetra, the three-ranked hump-moss, is a moss that occurs all around the northern hemisphere in higher latitudes.
The white-faced darter or small whiteface is a dragonfly belonging to the genus Leucorrhinia in the family Libellulidae, characterised by red and black markings and a distinctive white patch on the head. It is found in wetlands and peat bogs from northern Europe eastwards to Siberia, and the adults are active from around April till September, which is known as the "flight period". It breeds in acidic bodies of water, laying its eggs in clumps of sphagnum moss that provide a safe habitat for larval development. The larvae are particularly vulnerable to predation by fish, and so are usually found in lakes where fish are not present. L. dubia is listed as a species of least concern (LC) by the IUCN Red List, however, it is potentially threatened by habitat destruction, pollution, and climate change.
Aulacomnium palustre, the bog groove-moss or ribbed bog moss, is a moss that is nearly cosmopolitan in distribution. It occurs in North America, Hispaniola, Venezuela, Eurasia, and New Zealand. In North America, it occurs across southern arctic, subboreal, and boreal regions from Alaska and British Columbia to Greenland and Quebec. Documentation of ribbed bog moss's distribution in the contiguous United States is probably incomplete. It is reported sporadically south to Washington, Wyoming, Georgia, and Virginia.
Raised bogs, also called ombrotrophic bogs, are acidic, wet habitats that are poor in mineral salts and are home to flora and fauna that can cope with such extreme conditions. Raised bogs, unlike fens, are exclusively fed by precipitation (ombrotrophy) and from mineral salts introduced from the air. They thus represent a special type of bog, hydrologically, ecologically and in terms of their development history, in which the growth of peat mosses over centuries or millennia plays a decisive role. They also differ in character from blanket bogs which are much thinner and occur in wetter, cloudier climatic zones.
Sphagnum magellanicum, commonly called Magellanic bogmoss, Magellan's sphagnum, Magellan's peatmoss or midway peat moss, is a widespread species of moss found in wet boreal forest in the far south and southwest of South America, North America and Eurasia.
Sphagnum palustre, the prairie sphagnum or blunt-leaved bogmoss, is a species of peat moss from the genus Sphagnum, in the family Sphagnaceae. Like other mosses of this type it can soak up water up to the 30-fold amount of its own dry weight thanks to its elastic spiral fibers. S. palustre is rather frequent and is spread almost all over the world. It mainly grows in wet forests and—compared to other specimens of this genus—rarely grows in moors.
Sphagnum capillifolium, the red bogmoss, northern peat moss, acute-leaved bog-moss, or small red peat moss, is a species of peat moss native to Canada, the northern United States, Greenland, and Europe. Small red peat moss can be distinguished by its sweeping, outward-curving branches that resemble tresses. Sphagnum moss can hold large amounts of water within its cells, up to 20 times its own weight! This capability is due to its dead, empty cells called hyaline cells that fill up with water. This allows the moss to survive in wet boggy habitats around rivers and lakes
Vaccinium oxycoccos is a species of flowering plant in the heath family. It is known as small cranberry, marshberry, bog cranberry, swamp cranberry, or, particularly in Britain, just cranberry. It is widespread throughout the cool temperate northern hemisphere, including northern Europe, northern Asia and northern North America.
Sphagnum cuspidatum, the feathery bogmoss, toothed sphagnum, or toothed peat moss, is a peat moss found commonly in Great Britain, Norway, Sweden, the eastern coast of the United States, and in Colombia.
Sphagnum fimbriatum, the fringed bogmoss, is a slender Sphagnum moss.
Lough O'Flynn is a freshwater lake in the west of Ireland. It is located in west County Roscommon and is the source of the River Suck.
Polytrichum strictum, commonly known as bog haircap moss or strict haircap, is an evergreen and perennial species of moss native to Sphagnum bogs and other moist habitats in temperate climates. It has a circumboreal distribution, and is also found in South America and Antarctica.
Sphagnum papillosum, the papillose peatmoss, is a species of peat moss distributed throughout the northern hemisphere. Although sometimes confused with Sphagnum imbricatum and Sphagnum palustre, it is distinguished by its yellow-green to brown short, blunt branches and papillose chlorophyllose cells.
Dale Hadley Vitt is an American bryologist and peatland ecologist, recognized as a leading expert on peatlands. From 1989 to 1991 he was the president of the American Bryological and Lichenological Society.
