Importance of Bryophytes

Bryophytes also play an important role in the environment: they colonise sterile soils, absorb nutrients and water, and slowly release them back into the ecosystem, helping to form soil for new plants to grow on.

Still, there is a lot to learn about bryophytes, especially in the tropics, where they are less common and thus less studied. There is a growing interest in expanding the study of bryophytes in the tropics to learn more about their evolution and role in the region’s biodiversity.

Each specie has a role in nature Villareal continue and each of the species demonstrates that biodiversity requires attention; we need to know how many species we have to understand their ecological function.

Bryophytes

The term Bryophyte is derived from the words ‘Bryon’ (mosses) and ‘Phyton’ (plants). Embryophytes such as mosses, hornworts, and liverworts are members of the Bryophyta family. These are small plants that thrive in shady and damp environments. They are devoid of vascular tissues. They do not produce flowers or seeds but instead reproduce via spores. Bryology is the study of bryophytes.

Some of the economic importance of Bryophytes are as follows

Ecological importance

Liverworts, mosses, and lichens are thought to be pioneers in establishing vegetation where other vegetation appears to be impossible.

By depositing humus soil and plant debris, they colonise barren rocks and exposed areas of hills, making them suitable for growing angiospermic and other plants. Initially, forms and grasses grow, and eventually, shrubs and trees establish, and the entire area transforms into the dense wood.

Sphagnum plants, on the other hand, are extremely important in terms of ecology. When these plants establish themselves in a lake or other body of water, they eventually cover the entire surface of the water. The surface may be raised as a result of plant debris deposition.

Sphagnum plants, in collaboration with other hydrophytes, form a dense surface covering the water below. This covering simulates the appearance of soil on the surface. These are referred to as quacking bogs. These bogs eventually turn into swamps. These swamps are eventually replaced by mesophytic forest growth.

A few bryophytes are important in preventing soil erosion. They can hold the soil in place with their extensive carpets and, to some extent, prevent soil erosion. (See also ‘ecology of bryophytes’.)

Packing material

After drying, the majority of the mosses are used as packing material. In the case of glassware and other fragile items, they make adequate packing material. Dried peat the mosses (Sphagnum spp.) in particular is used to pack bulbs, cuttings, and seedlings for shipment.

 Used in seedbeds

Peat mosses are widely used in seedbeds and greenhouses to root cutting because of their remarkable ability to absorb and hold water like a sponge. Peat mosses (Spagna) are also used to keep soil acidity high, which certain plants require.

As a source of fuel

Peat also has the potential to be a source of coal. Dried peat can be used as a fuel source. Peat is used as fuel in Ireland, Scotland, and other European countries. In colder parts of the world, where peat develops the most, the lower layers of peat become carbonised and, after the ages, become available to humankind in the form of coal.

Absorbent bandages

Sphagnum plants are slightly antiseptic and have a high absorption capacity. Because of these properties, they can be used in hospitals to fill absorbent bandages instead of cotton.

The benevolence of bryophytes

Despite their small size, these plants play a critical role in the ecosystem: absorption.

Salazar Allen explains, “They can capture humidity from rain or even fog, retaining excess rain and preventing floods and soil erosion.” “Cloud forests act as a sponge, storing water for the forest and subterranean waters.” They also capture, store, and recycle water and nutrients for the forests, as well as providing shelter and food for a variety of invertebrates,” she adds.

Furthermore, bryophytes help lay the groundwork for new plants to grow during the early stages of ecological succession, when an ecosystem experiences a disturbance and begins to regenerate, such as after a volcanic eruption, wildfire, deforestation, deglaciation, and so on; the bryophytes spread quickly due to their spores, and they stabilise the soil surface, reducing erosion and water evaporation.

Because of their abundance, bryophytes are the subject of many more studies, particularly in Canada and the United Kingdom. “There are more diverse groups in Nordic regions, they cover a lot more surface, and their ecological roles are more obvious,” Villarreal explains. “Peat moss, are the examples, of the particularly the species Sphagnum, covers the approximately 11 million hectares of the territory of the province of Québec,” he adds. Peat moss is an effective carbon sink, a natural reservoir that accumulates and stores carbon indefinitely, and it has received a great deal of attention in the fight against climate change.

However, while bryophytes are studied much more extensively and their ecological benefits are better understood in the northern hemisphere, they are not as popular among researchers in the tropics as flowering plants.

“They do not have to represent very abundant biomass, except in mountainous regions,” Villarreal observes, “giving the impression that their ecological role is smaller.” “There are fewer researchers studying bryophytes, and funding is limited.” Recently, some colleagues at the Universidad Autónoma de Chiriqui (UNACHI) have been begun to promote the study of the bryophytes in the Chiriqui region, where they are more abundant and diverse.”

Biologist Iris Fossati, a graduate student at the UNACHI, published a paper in the scientific journal Phytotoxic in 2020, describing a new liverwort of the genus Lejeuneaceae that she discovered Panamanian province of Chiriquí. Ceratolejeunea panamensis is the name she gave to the new species in honour of the country where it was discovered.

For the time being, bryophytes in the tropics are undoubtedly threatened due to a lack of information and research.

“They are an interesting model organism that we should study because of how they adapt to the current environments and the changes brought about by global warming,” Salazar Allen says. “We still have a lot to learn about their tropics diversity, evolution, development, ecology, and phylogenetic.”

Conclusion

Bryophytes also play an important role in the environment: they colonise sterile soils, absorb nutrients and water, and slowly release them back into the ecosystem, helping to form soil for new plants to grow on. The term Bryophyte is derived from the words ‘Bryon’ (mosses) and ‘Python’ (plants). Embryophytes such as mosses, hornworts, and liverworts are members of the Bryophyte family. These are small plants that thrive in shady and damp environments. By depositing humus soil and plant debris, they colonise barren rocks and exposed areas of hills, making them suitable for growing angiosperm and other plants. Initially, forms and grasses grow, and eventually, shrubs and trees establish, and the entire area transforms into the dense wood. Sphagnum plants are slightly antiseptic and have a high absorption capacity. Because of these properties, they can be used in hospitals to fill absorbent bandages instead of cotton. Peat also has the potential to be a source of coal. Dried peat can be used as a fuel source. Peat is used as fuel in Ireland, Scotland, and other European countries.