The Vital Role of Moss in Ecosystems and Climate Change Mitigation

A global study of soil mosses published in Nature Geoscience reveals that soil mosses play critical roles in sustaining life on Earth. Mosses affect all major soil functions, increasing carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, and the breakdown of organic matter. Mosses store 6.4 gigatonnes more carbon than soils without plant cover. Losing just 15% of the global cover of soil mosses would be equivalent to global emissions of carbon dioxide from all land use changes over a year. Mosses are under increasing threats globally, and we need to acknowledge the services that soil mosses provide for all life on this planet.