Could come in handy on Mars, for terraforming, and the use of lichens was discussed for that purpose years ago.
Posted on 05/15/2023 7:10:09 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
More like a verdant rug than a forest or pasture, the humble moss packs a surprising lot of punch for being such a small plant. In an amazing new study, researchers have only just discovered how vital this diverse group of itty-bitty botanicals is to ecosystems around the world...
Sampling mosses from over a hundred sites across eight different ecosystems, Eldridge and colleagues estimated populations of the plant cover a staggering 9.4 million square kilometers in the types of environments surveyed. This is comparable to the size of China or Canada.
Ancestors of all today's living plants, these ancient organisms are more simplistic in their structure than their more modern descendents, with sprigs full of tiny leaves, typically just one cell thick. But that doesn't make them any less mighty.
"Mosses don't have the plumbing that an ordinary plant has, called a xylem and a phloem, which water moves through," says Eldridge.
"But moss survives by picking up water from the atmosphere. And some mosses, like the ones in the dry parts of Australia, curl when they get dry, but they don't die – they live in suspended animation forever. We've taken mosses out of a packet after 100 years, squirted them with water and watched them come to life. Their cells don't disintegrate like ordinary plants do."
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencealert.com ...
The rest of the "mosses" keyword, with the "Moses" topics edited out, sorted:
Could come in handy on Mars, for terraforming, and the use of lichens was discussed for that purpose years ago.
The global contribution of soil mosses to ecosystem services
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-023-01170-x
They never left......................
The ‘moss forests’ of Antarctica are dying
Say what?
If this is true, then our yard and roof in North Idaho must be keeping the entire planet alive.
Hmmmmmmm!? Does moss also love CO2?
Even bone dry Tatooine had Moss Eisley...
Our back yard is pretty much a moss carpet. The moss has endured and grown where the grass failed. Parts of the front yard are now a green moss carpet as well.
The moss does not need mowing
Informative portion of the original piece:
“We think mosses are sucking up six times more carbon dioxide, so it’s not one to one, it’s six times better.”
What’s more, the team found mosses seem to keep a lid on potential pathogens. The surveys counted fewer potential plant pathogens in soils where moss lived, and incredibly antibiotic resistant genes were less abundant in the microbiomes of mossy habitats compared to unvegetated areas.
Another evil plant trying to mess up “the plan”. 😃
The band at that cafe’ was the Moss Eisley Brothers...
Moss. Man’s first compass? Maybe
Without Foliose Lichens how could we ever manage to put model trees on
our model train layouts?
I bet you never asked yourself THAT important question before, eh?
.
Speerschneiderra euploca -
.
Model October hillside -
/Sarc
And don't forget Max Rebo!, who played for Jabba the Hutt...
I'm a nerd.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
