Alpine wetlands also have "SpongeBob", with water holding capacity up to 2000%

The cartoon "SpongeBob SquarePants" tells the story of a yellow rectangular sponge living on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. There is also such a cute "SpongeBob SquarePants" among mosses, which is peat moss.

Peat moss is a general term for plants of the genus Sphagnum, and its horticultural product name is sphagnum moss. It can quickly absorb and store large amounts of water, and therefore has a super strong ecological function of absorbing and storing water.

(Photo of peat moss community provided by the author)

Widely distributed, small in area and with a tendency to degenerate

Wetlands are the main habitat for most sphagnum species, and high-altitude cloud forests also provide a place for sphagnum to live. Sphagnum swamps are communities composed of plants of the genus Sphagnum as the absolute dominant species, with a coverage of 100% sphagnum, some of which form moss hills above the ground, accompanied by a small number of shrubs and herbaceous plants.

In China, peat moss swamps are distributed in Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains, Xishan in Jiangxi, Mount Emei in Sichuan, Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and other places. Although they are widely distributed, their area is not large and there is a tendency to degradation.

The growth of Sphagnum plants can maintain the normal operation of the Sphagnum swamp wetland ecosystem, so the protection of Sphagnum swamps has begun to attract people's attention. For example, the Guizhou Duliujiangyuan Wetland Provincial Nature Reserve established in 2013 mainly protects the biological resources, forest resources and ecological environment of the original Sphagnum swamp wetland.

At present, there are about 250-450 species of peat mosses in the world. In 2022, the "List of Biological Species in China" included 47 species of peat mosses in my country. The "Red List of Biodiversity in China - Higher Plants Volume (2020)" was released during the global promotion of the International Day for Biological Diversity in 2023. Among them, Pseudo-sphagnum mosses were listed as vulnerable, broad-margined peat mosses were listed as near threatened, and 31 species (subspecies) such as Pseudo-sharp-leaved peat mosses were listed as slightly concerned. In addition, there are 14 species such as truncated peat mosses for which there is insufficient data, so the research on the biology of peat mosses in my country is still relatively weak.

Strong water absorption capacity, up to 18 times its own weight

How strong is the water absorption capacity of peat moss? The test results show that 10 peat mosses with a length of 10-20 cm have a dry weight of 4 grams and a saturated water absorption capacity of 67.5 grams. On average, one peat moss absorbs about 6.75 grams of water. A bottle of ordinary mineral water is about 550 ml, which can be easily absorbed by more than 80 peat mosses.

A small piece of peat moss community in its natural state was selected and weighed. The saturated water absorption capacity was 812.39 grams and the dry weight of peat moss was 45 grams . The water absorption capacity of the peat moss community can reach 18 times its own weight.

The thickness of the peat moss plant body, the size and number of strong and weak branches, the spaces between leaves, branches and the plant body, and the shape, size and number of transparent cells in the leaves determine the amount of water it absorbs and stores. Therefore, different species of peat moss have great differences in their ability to absorb and store water.

(Photo of peat moss community provided by the author)

"Reservoir" with water holding capacity up to 2000%

Plant residues can form peat, which can be divided into herbaceous peat, woody peat and moss peat according to different plants. Sphagnum moss can grow to a height of 20-30 cm. The plants at the base gradually die and accumulate. Under suitable climate, geological and hydrological conditions, peat moss peat will be formed, which is an important type of moss peat.

Peat has large pores and is sponge-like, and also has a strong water-holding capacity. The water-holding capacity of herbaceous peat is generally 300%-600%, while the water-holding capacity of sphagnum peat is amazing, up to 2000%, so it contains a large amount of water resources.

Sphagnum moss and peat resources have been given the reputation of "super sponge" and "water reservoir", which is indeed well-deserved.