peat moss
- Also called:
- bog moss or sphagnum moss
peat moss, (genus Sphagnum), genus of more than 300 species of moss (division Bryophyta). The taxonomy of Sphagnum species has been controversial, and various botanists accept quite different numbers of species. Peat mosses form dense clumps around ponds, in swamps and bogs, on moist acidic cliffs, and on lakeshores from tropical to subpolar regions.
The pale green to deep red plants grow up to 30 cm (about 12 inches) tall. The veinless phyllids (leaflike structures) and stem cortex contain many interconnected enlarged dead cells, which have external openings through which water can enter. The plants hold up to 20 times their weight in water. Each spherical brown sporangium, or spore case, shrinks as it dries, creating internal pressure that casts off the lid (operculum) and shoots the spores as far as 10 cm (4 inches) from the plant. The metabolic processes of growing peat moss cause an increase in the acidity of the surrounding water, thus reducing bacterial action and preventing decay.
Peat moss is a key component in the formation of several types of bogs in northern areas. Over time, the compression and chemical breakdown of dead plants and other vegetable debris cause formation of the organic substance known as peat, which is harvested and dried for use as fuel. Dried peat moss has been used for surgical dressings, diapers, lamp wicks, bedding, and stable litter. It is commonly employed as a packing material by florists and shippers of live aquatic animals and as a seedbed cover and soil additive by gardeners, who value its ability to increase soil moisture, porosity, and acidity. Peat mosses are valuable in erosion control, and properly drained peat bogs provide useful agricultural land. However, the harvesting of peat moss and peat is damaging to delicate bog ecosystems, and some gardeners and others have deemed the use of peat unsustainable and unethical. Given that peatlands play an important role in the sequestration of carbon, ecologists have urged their protection as a climate change mitigation strategy.
