Sphagnum Moss [Atlas : Remains To Be Seen]

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====== Sphagnum Moss ======

**Páramo de sumapaz - vegetation - sphagnum moss - rainfall & groundwater &atmospheric water - soil**

[[28|Sphagnum mosses]] cover vast areas of the [[18|Paramo de Sumapaz]], aiding in [[08|water]] retention and playing a vital role in maintaining moisture levels throughout the region (Borawska-Melnyk, 2025). They also constitutes one of the principal components in the formation of the area's grassland-peatland ecosystem.

[[28|Sphagnum mosses]] also play an important role in the formation and continuation of peat bogs. Even when the surrounding soil has long since dried out, their spongy forms hold [[04|water]], supplying essential nutrients and preventing the decay of dead plant material (IUCN,2020). As [[28|Sphagnum mosses]] grows year on year, it becomes compressed into water-logged conditions where plant matter does not break down. It is precisely this organic material, compressed over centuries, that ultimately forms peat (FOREST CARBON, 2022).

{{:sphagnum_moss.png?400|}}

//The sphagnum moss plant (IUCN, 2020)//


__Bibliography:__

Borawska-Melnyk, A. (2025). Páramo, or water factories: a botanical phenomenon. [online] Wodne Sprawy. Available at: https://wodnesprawy.pl/en/paramo-or-water-factories-in-the-andes/ [Accessed 8 Jan. 2026].

IUCN (2020). Sphagnum moss | IUCN UK Peatland Programme. [online] Iucn-uk-peatlandprogramme.org. Available at: https://www.iucn-uk-peatlandprogramme.org/wildlife-explorer/mosses-and-liverworts/sphagnum-moss.

FOREST CARBON (2022). Sphagnum moss. [online] www.forestcarbon.co.uk. Available at: https://www.forestcarbon.co.uk/news/sphagnum-moss.