Mosses, as a topic, encompass the study of non-vascular bryophytes within the phylum Bryophyta, focusing on their morphology, life cycles, ecology, and evolutionary significance. Research addresses their dominant haploid gametophyte stage, specialized structures such as rhizoids and sporophytes with sporangia, and their reliance on water for fertilization. Topics include desiccation tolerance, carbon and nutrient cycling in ecosystems, roles in soil formation and water regulation, and use as bioindicators of pollution and climate change. Molecular and genomic studies investigate phylogenetic relationships, adaptation mechanisms, and developmental regulation in these structurally simple but ecologically important land plants.
Most of the carbon fixed by plants through photosynthesis is ultimately stored in the cell wall, primarily in the form of polysaccharides such as cellulose, xylan, and glucomannan. Yet how plants efficiently synthesize these ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 23, 2026
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The structure of the plant communities that grow on the thawing permafrost in the Arctic is changing, with grasses displacing slower-growing shrubs. Although these grasses bind more carbon dioxide than previous plant communities, ...
Earth Sciences
Mar 26, 2026
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Across Europe, many banks alongside motorways are planted with grass to stabilize soil and keep roadside landscapes tidy.
Environment
Mar 22, 2026
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26
In 2009, a scandal was exposed at a cemetery just outside of Chicago. Workers at Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois, were accused of exhuming old graves, dumping the remains elsewhere on the cemetery grounds, and reselling ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 4, 2026
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68
UC College of Arts and Sciences Professor Thomas Algeo has been studying the planet's five major mass extinctions since the Ordovician Period, when global sea levels were much higher than today. In a paper published in Nature ...
Evolution
Mar 3, 2026
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62
New research indicates that restoration of peatlands can result in climate mitigation within just a few decades. In Finland, some 60,000 hectares of previously forestry-drained peatlands have already been restored, comprising ...
Environment
Jan 27, 2026
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Research on using Marchantia polymorpha, commonly known as liverwort, a plant closely related to moss, for food and as an ingredient in medicine and supplements is being conducted at Kobe University.
Plants & Animals
Jan 22, 2026
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102
Right now, many of us have a bit of moss sitting in our Christmas decorations at home. Some of us picked it ourselves in the forest, others bought it in a shop. But few have probably thought about the fact that moss can be ...
Ecology
Dec 16, 2025
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New findings shed light on the mechanisms behind a natural purification process and identify the key microbial "teammates" that enable mosses to remove metals from water. A promising moss species was discovered in abandoned ...
Ecology
Dec 15, 2025
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19
If you were to wander along the parts of Antarctica that are ice-free, you might be surprised to see something soft and luxurious growing right at your feet: deep green carpets of moss that look like draped green velvet nestled ...
Ecology
Dec 2, 2025
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