Sphagnum Moss

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

Sphagnum mosses cover vast areas of the Paramo de Sumapaz, aiding in 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.

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 water, supplying essential nutrients and preventing the decay of dead plant material (IUCN,2020). As 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).

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.