Blog 5

So far, our experiment is going well! We are seeing that under the appropriate conditions, moss can really thrive. Moreover, we were surprised to see that moss is able to survive in some unfavorable conditions such as low humidity and lackluster natural light . In the temperate deciduous forests of upstate New York, it is most commonly found in damp, shady environments with high humidity. However, this plant is unique in that it can be found worldwide in many different environments whether they are damp or dry, warm or cool. Moss can be found near hot springs, in lakes and oceans, sand dunes, and on rocks and trees. It is dependent on moisture to grow and reproduce. One other major factor it depends on is accessibility to nutrients. Moss can easily grow and adapt in many places but it is vital that it will have a nutrient source, which comes from soil. Surprising to me, as I assumed all plants were the same in this aspect, was the fact that moss thrives in the winter when there is more water, lower temperatures, and less sunlight. In the summer it is hard for moss to retain enough moisture. In fact, its metabolic process completely slows down in the summer for this reason.
The most crucial ecological concept for my group to be aware of is that moss needs to stay moist to live and while it is a shade-favoring plant, it still needs light!

Here are some sources I checked out:
http://www.softschools.com/facts/plants/moss_facts/504/
http://bryophytes.science.oregonstate.edu/page3.htm