Photo of moss on a tree trunk by R. Hagerty and courtesy of USFWS
I’ve been looking into our options for helping with moss conservation and, honestly, the list is about as long as moss is tall, which suggests that moss conservation really isn’t on many people’s radars at this point.
Here’s what I did find-
- the Irish Peatland Conservation Council recommends gardening without using peat moss
- the Lancashire Wildlife Trust (and other local groups in the UK) has projects to restore mosslands
- Supporting forest reserves represents support for the moss species that live there- check out ‘What are forest reserves?’ from Mass Environmental Affairs for more info
- the Canadian Botanical Conservation Network has a list of mosses at risk, and you can get similar information from the IUCN
Slim pickings, right? So, after the reading I’ve done on moss research and conservation, I’d like to add a few more recommendations.
- When camping, consider leaving woody debris lying in the forest where it lies rather than collecting it for firewood
- Mosses are particularly sensitive to edge effects, so stay on hiking trails and use the same paths when walking through the woods in your area- that way you keep the disturbance localized
- When buying wood or managing a forest, push for long-term rotations in the cutting schedule so that a greater variety of moss species have a chance to recover before the next cutting
- When you find moss growing in your yard, consider it another microhabitat that enriches the ecosystem, rather than a weed
And keep your eyes and ears open- based on the trend in the literature, more and more people are paying attention to mosses, so it’s likely that there will be more opportunities for organized conservation work in the future.