by Mosses, which consist of approximately 12,000 species and cover an area equivalent to the size of Canada, play a crucial role in the environment. They help retain rainwater, decrease plant pathogens, increase carbon sequestration in soil, and protect long-term carbon storage systems like bogs and permafrost. Understanding the growth patterns of mosses is essential for accurately predicting climate change, particularly in relation to elevated CO2 (eCO2) levels.
Unlike most other land plants, mosses experience eCO2 levels differently due to their small size and proximity to the soil surface. They are exposed to higher CO2 levels released during the decomposition of soil organic matter. Additionally, mosses do not use stomata to take in CO2 like flowering plants, potentially limiting their CO2 uptake. These factors raise questions about how mosses will respond to eCO2 and whether they will benefit from it.
To address these questions, a collaborative research team from the Pandey and Allen labs at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center conducted a study on the model moss, Physcomitrium patens (P. patens). The researchers found that P. patens gained three times more biomass in elevated CO2 conditions by adjusting its growth, metabolism, and physiology. The increase in biomass occurred through improved photosynthesis and a delicate balancing of the moss’s life cycle transition, which depended on the availability of nitrogen and carbon.
In addition to their ecological importance, mosses are critical for sustaining natural long-term carbon storage systems like permafrost and bogs. The moss cover over permafrost helps insulate it from direct sunlight, preventing thawing. Sphagnum mosses in bog ecosystems have been sequestering carbon for thousands of years. Therefore, understanding moss growth patterns is vital for addressing the climate emergency.
This study utilized state-of-the-art facilities at the Danforth Center, such as the Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics and Plant Growth facilities. The collaboration between the two research labs enabled the production of impactful and rigorous science.
The research also provides insights that can benefit climate change models. The findings can be used as a framework for comparing the responses of P. patens to eCO2 with other plant groups. This study is part of a larger program supported by the NSF Rules of Life program, which aims to decipher the epigenetic inheritance mechanism of eCO2 responses across various plants.
While the study focused on P. patens, further research is necessary to assess the growth patterns of other moss classes and their response to eCO2 in different ecological niches. However, based on the results obtained, it is likely that the eCO2 environment will enhance moss biomass accumulation and prevent the thawing of permafrost by reducing solar heat transfer to the soil.
Expanding our understanding of how mosses respond to projected climate change scenarios, considering soil nitrogen and CO2 regimes, will be crucial for assessing their survival, spread, and carbon assimilation capacity in the future. By gaining insights into moss growth patterns, we can improve climate change models and develop strategies to mitigate the effects of rising CO2 levels.
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1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
Money Singh is a seasoned content writer with over four years of experience in the market research sector. Her expertise spans various industries, including food and beverages, biotechnology, chemicals and materials, defense and aerospace, consumer goods, etc.
