Treborth botanical garden to study Sphagnum

This was our second visit to Treborth botanical garden.  From our first visit, I was able to recognize various plant species of wetlands, but this time our focus was to address certain questions regarding Sphagnum:

Why sphagnum plays pivotal role in bogs ecology?

·      What are various characteristics of Sphagnum, which enable them to sustain in water logged conditions?

 Sphagnum is most dominant flora of bogs. I believe, it’s really important to get appropriate answers of those questions in order to understand bogs’ ecology adequately. The idea of visiting Treborth botanical garden again was to differentiate various types of Sphagnum moss in the laboratory of Treborth Garden with Prof. Nigel Brown. Unfortunately, due to certain reasons we could study only one species.  

Sphagnum species

We reached there at 9.30 am. But, we started our work around 11 am as we had to wait Professor. We observed one species with full understanding.  The most exciting part of the visit was to observe TS of sphagnum under the electronic microscope and sketch it on a paper.After lunch time, Prof. Nigel Brown gave a lecture about Sphagnum. The discussion concluded that:  

1) Sphagnum species adapt to a certain habitats, but also create environments of nutrient poor, wet, anoxic and acidic.

2)  Sphagnum species need low concentrations of nutrients and minerals.

 3)  Sphagnum species are resistant to decay.

Lastly, we were introduced to the UK Biodiversity Action Plan Priority Habitat Descriptions.