A Forest Pool as a Habitat Island for Mites in a Limestone Forest in Southern Norway

Forest water bodies, e.g., pools, constitute ‘environmental islands’ within forests, with specific flora and fauna thus contributing considerably to the landscape biodiversity. The mite communities of Oribatida and Mesostigmata in two distinctive microhabitats, water-soaked Sphagnum mosses at the edge of a pool and other mosses growing on the medium-wet forest floor nearby, were compared in a limestone forest in Southern Norway. In total, 16,189 specimens of Oribatida representing 98 species, and 499 specimens of Mesostigmata, from 23 species, were found. The abundance and species number of Oribatida were significantly lower at the pool, while the abundance and species richness of Mesostigmata did not differ. Both the communities of Oribatida and of Mesostigmata differed among the microhabitats studied and analysis showed significant differences between the community structures in the two microhabitats. The most abundant oribatid species in Sphagnum mosses was Parachipteria fanzagoi (Jacot, 1929), which made up over 30% of all Oribatida, followed by Atropacarus striculus (C.L. Koch, 1835) and Tyrphonothrus maior (Berlese, 1910) (14% and 12% of Oribatida, respectively). Among Mesostigmata Paragamasus parrunciger (Bhattacharyya, 1963) dominated (44% of Mesostigmata), followed by P. lapponicus (Trägårdh, 1910) (14% of Mesostigmata). Most of these species, except P. lapponicus, were either absent or very uncommon in the other microhabitat studied. The specific acarofauna of the forest pool shows the importance of such microhabitats in increasing forest diversity. In addition, a quarter of the mite species found had not been reported from Norwegian broadleaf forests before, including five new species records for Norway and four new to Fennoscandia, all found in the medium-wet microhabitat. Most of these species are rarely collected and have their northernmost occurrence in the studied forest.

Extending a land-surface model with <i>Sphagnum</i> moss to simulate responses of a northern temperate bog to whole ecosystem warming and elevated CO₂

Mosses need to be incorporated into Earth system models to better simulate peatland functional dynamics under the changing environment. Sphagnum mosses are strong determinants of nutrient, carbon, and water cycling in peatland ecosystems. However, most land-surface models do not include Sphagnum or other mosses as represented plant functional types (PFTs), thereby limiting predictive assessment of peatland responses to environmental change. In this study, we introduce a moss PFT into the land model component (ELM) of the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) by developing water content dynamics and nonvascular photosynthetic processes for moss. The model was parameterized and independently evaluated against observations from an ombrotrophic forested bog as part of the Spruce and Peatland Responses Under Changing Environments (SPRUCE) project. The inclusion of a Sphagnum PFT with some Sphagnum-specific processes in ELM allows it to capture the observed seasonal dynamics of Sphagnum gross primary production (GPP) albeit with an underestimate of peak GPP. The model simulated a reasonable annual net primary production (NPP) for moss but with less interannual variation than observed, and it reproduced aboveground biomass for tree PFTs and stem biomass for shrubs. Different species showed highly variable warming responses under both ambient and elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations, and elevated CO2 altered the warming response direction for the peatland ecosystem. Microtopography is critical: Sphagnum mosses on hummocks and hollows were simulated to show opposite warming responses (NPP decreasing with warming on hummocks but increasing in hollows), and hummock Sphagnum was modeled to have a strong dependence on water table height. The inclusion of this new moss PFT in global ELM simulations may provide a useful foundation for the investigation of northern peatland carbon exchange, enhancing the predictive capacity of carbon dynamics across the regional and global scales.

Diversity and nitrogen-fixing activity of cyanoprokaryotes in the sphagnum cover of swamps in northeast European Russia

New knowledge has been obtained about the diversity and functional characteristics of cyanoprokaryotes associated with sphagnum mosses in bog complexes of the boreal zone of the European North and the Subpolar Urals. 19 species of diazotrophic cyanoprokaryotes were identified. The quantitative characteristics of nitrogen-fixing cyanoprokaryotes in epiphytic groups of sphagnum mosses and their seasonal changes were studied. It was revealed that Nostoc paludosum, N. punctiforme, Microchaete tenera form the basis of the dominant complexes of cyanoprokaryotes, actively fixing nitrogen in the studied communities. It was shown that N2 fixation in communities of the same type in the studied geographic regions had similar values. For a floodplain bog in the taiga zone, seasonal measurements of N2 fixation and quantitative indicators of cyanoprokaryotes associated with the sphagnum mosses Sphagnum riparium and S. angustifolium were carried out. N2 fixation in the season was more dependent on temperature conditions. On average, from 1.2 to 12.3 thousand colonies of nitrogen-fixing cyanoprokaryotes were recorded per 1 cm2 of sphagnum moss sod. The maximum values of the rates of N2 fixation, measured by the method of acetylene reduction, were noted in the range of 0.55–3.59 mg C2H4 m–2h–1. The maximum values of seasonal N2 fixations were 3,5 g C2H4 m–2 for S. angustifolium and 4,6 g C2H4 m–2 for S. riparium.

The status of Listera cordata cenopopulation in the nurgush state nature reserve

The census of Listera was conducted on routes with a total length of 11.05 km on 2020. The width of the recording transect was 10 m. In suitable habitats, plants were located in relatively dense groups, separated from each other by considerable distances. We have revealed 31 subpopulations of Listera with a total of 283 generative shoots and 1949 vegetative ones. The density of Listera in the surveyed habitats was 3.50 ind./ha, density in the subpopulations was from 5 to 13 ind./sq.m, on the average 6.81 ind./sq.m. All the Subpopulations were confined to areas of moss cover dominated by sphagnum mosses, but with the obligatory presence of Polytrichum commune and hypnum mosses. The setting and ripening of Listera fruits in 2020 were high: fruits were developed from 84% of flowers. The Tulashor site of the Nurgush State Nature Reserve plays an important role for the conservation of Listera cordata in the Kirov region.

Sphagnum mosses of the Male Polissya (Lviv region)

The article summarizes current data about the condition and spread of Sphagnum mosses on the territory of Male Polissya in Lviv Region based on the material from our own field research, materials of National Herbarium of Ukraine (KW), the Herbarium National Museum of Natural History of the National Academy of Sci­ences of Ukraine (LWS) and literature data. An annotated list of the species of the genus Sphagnum was compiled and it includes 15 species together with an indication of place and date of collection, the names of collectors, the spread in Ukraine and biotopes in which the species may occur according to The National Habitat Catalogue of Ukraine and EUNIS. Sphagnum fallax (Klinggr.) Klinggr., S. fimbriatum Wils. and S. palustre L. were determined as the most widespread species of the genus Sphagnum in the research area. Two species S. angustifolium and S. inundatum are indicated for the first time for the territory of Lviv region. Six regionally rare species were found: S. capillifolium, S. cuspidаtum, S. fаllax, S. fimbriаtum, S. obtusum and S. papillosum. The possible disappearance of a species Sphagnum centrale, S. contortum, S. flexuosum and S. obtusum on the territory of the Volytsky Botanical Reserve of national importance was established owing to the draining of wetlands. Ecological groups of sphagnum species on the research area were analyzed, where the predominance of subheliophytes (7 species, 46.7 %), hygrophytes (13 species, 86.7 %), cold tolerant species (13 or 87.7 %) and acidophiles (8 species, 53.3 %) was identified. The topicality of the study is determined by the fact that sphagnum mosses are spread much less frequently than other species from the division of bryophytes because they are confined to a narrow range of biotopes. With the drastic changes in the hydrological regime of the environment, which occurred during the second half of the twentieth century, due to the large areas of drained land, the processes of biotope dehydration became irreversible and some species of sphagnum could have disappeared from the territory of Male Polissya. Due to the sensitivity of bryophytes, in particular species of the sphagnum genus, and due to a disturbance of the hydrological regime of wetlands, the waterlogged mixed coniferous forest in the vicinity of the village Kulychkiv is a promising territory for the creation of a new environmentally protected site or the extension of the Volytsky Botanical Reserve of national importance for the purpose of wetlands preservation here.

Seismic Lines in Treed Boreal Peatlands as Analogs for Wildfire Fuel Modification Treatments

Across the Boreal, there is an expansive wildland–society interface (WSI), where communities, infrastructure, and industry border natural ecosystems, exposing them to the impacts of natural disturbances, such as wildfire. Treed peatlands have previously received little attention with regard to wildfire management; however, their role in fire spread, and the contribution of peat smouldering to dangerous air pollution, have recently been highlighted. To help develop effective wildfire management techniques in treed peatlands, we use seismic line disturbance as an analog for peatland fuel modification treatments. To delineate below-ground hydrocarbon resources using seismic waves, seismic lines are created by removing above-ground (canopy) fuels using heavy machinery, forming linear disturbances through some treed peatlands. We found significant differences in moisture content and peat bulk density with depth between seismic line and undisturbed plots, where smouldering combustion potential was lower in seismic lines. Sphagnum mosses dominated seismic lines and canopy fuel load was reduced for up to 55 years compared to undisturbed peatlands. Sphagnum mosses had significantly lower smouldering potential than feather mosses (that dominate mature, undisturbed peatlands) in a laboratory drying experiment, suggesting that fuel modification treatments following a strategy based on seismic line analogs would be effective at reducing smouldering potential at the WSI, especially under increasing fire weather.

Modeling the hydrology and physiology of <i>Sphagnum</i> moss in a northern temperate bog

Mosses need to be incorporated into Earth system models to better simulate peatland functional dynamics under changing environment. Sphagnum mosses are strong determinants of nutrient, carbon and water cycling in peatland ecosystems. However, most land surface models do not include Sphagnum or other mosses as represented plant functional types (PFTs), thereby limiting predictive assessment of peatland responses to environmental change. In this study, we introduce a moss PFT into the land model component (ELM) of the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM), by developing water content dynamics and non-vascular photosynthetic processes for moss. The model was parameterized and independently evaluated against observations from an ombrotrophic forested bog as part of the Spruce and Peatland Responses Under Changing Environments (SPRUCE) project. Inclusion of a Sphagnum PFT with some Sphagnum specific processes in ELM allows it to capture the observed seasonal dynamics of Sphagnum gross primary production (GPP), albeit with an underestimate of peak GPP. The model simulated a reasonable annual net primary production (NPP) for moss but with less interannual variation than observed, and reproduced above ground biomass for tree PFTs and stem biomass for shrubs. Different species showed highly variable warming responses under both ambient and elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations, and elevated CO2 altered the warming response direction for the peatland ecosystem. Microtopography is critical: Sphagnum mosses on hummocks and hollows were simulated to show opposite warming responses (NPP decreasing with warming on hummocks, but increasing in hollows), and hummock Sphagnum was modeled to have strong dependence on water table height. Inclusion of this new moss PFT in global ELM simulations may provide a useful foundation for the investigation of northern peatland carbon exchange, enhancing the predictive capacity of carbon dynamics across the regional and global scales.