Secret world of moss, ancestor of plants and vital for planet health

Katie Field, professor in Plant-Soil Processes at the University of Sheffield in the UK, and Silvia Pressel, senior researcher lead in Life Sciences at the Natural History Museum in the UK, write about the resilience of mosses, and their importance for the sustainability of habitats around the world.

- Katie Field, Silvia Pressel

When people consider extraordinary plants, most probably don’t spare a thought for moss. It blends in against the green background of plant life, and seems to grow everywhere – whether you want it to or not.

But this group of plants, which actually comprises between 12 000 and 15 000 species, is astonishing. Their almost unique resilience allows them to grow practically everywhere on Earth. They are helping scientists understand the evolution of life, and are one of the most ancient plant groups alive today.

A recent study by an Australian research team found that mosses are the lifeblood of habitats around the world, with plants and soil in better shape almost everywhere they grow.

Despite their importance, mosses are often overlooked due to their diminutive size. The smallest mosses, known as micromosses, measure only a few millimetres in length. Even the largest moss, Dawsonia superba, a species native to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, only reaches heights of up to 50cm – a giant among mosses, yet still smaller than the average houseplant.

But in fact, mosses help hold up entire ecosystems.

Many people think of plants as nice-looking greens. Essential for clean air, yes, but simple organisms. A step change in research is shaking up the way scientists think about plants: they are far more complex and more like us than you might imagine.

DRIVERS OF CRITICAL ECOSYSTEM SERVICES 

The contributions of mosses to the structure and function of modern ecosystems are often overlooked, lagging behind our understanding of more complex plants. The Australian study examined mosses’ relationship to their habitats in detail, and found they are critical to soil health.