Their ability to store water, reflect changes in canopy openness, and mark areas used for the extraction of wood products are some of the reasons why forests should be considered. bryophytes –scientific name for mosses– as a vital part of forest ecosystems, the doctors highlighted Amelia Merced and Tamara Heartsill Scalleyof the International Institute of Tropical Forestry.
Both Merced and Heartsill Scalley led research on bryophytes, a set of small terrestrial plants that grow on rocks, logs and other surfaces that are abundant in humid environmentswhich took place in the forests associated with the El Verde Biological Stationin it El Yunque National Forestparticularly in the “Luquillo Forest Dynamic Plot”.
The study, titled “Habitat preferences and distribution of some common bryophytes in a tropical forest of the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico,” It covered an area “that has been studied since the 1980s. Since that time, never, to our knowledge, has a study of this type been done,” said Merced, an expert researcher in bryophytes and professor at the Río Piedras campus of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR).
For her part, Heartsill-Scalley, associate professor of the Graduate Program of Environmental Sciences at the UPR of Río Piedras, clarified that bryophytes were not excluded due to past studies. However, “when we are saying how many species there are in El Yunque, for example, those numbers do not consider bryophytes,” she commented.
The ecological scientist asserted that the research they developed “breaks the ice” by looking, with a more detailed lens, at these organisms that have an important function in the water cycle. For example, Bryophytes play a vital role during periods of drought, because they can store up to 1,400% of their dry weight in water.
“We are beginning to document it in an ecological way and “This will help us rethink things as important as changes in rainfall patterns in Puerto Rico, the so-called droughts and rains at different times.”said Heartsill Scalley.
One of the findings of the study suggests that The bryophytes carry in their structure and composition the traces of previous disturbances and historical uses of the land.. In this regard, the bryophyte specialist explained that the study area consists of 16 hectares, of which approximately half was used for forestry or agriculture.
“One of the findings was that in the area that had higher past land use, there were fewer (bryophyte) patches and those patches are smaller. The presence of the organisms responds to that use of land,” Merced added.
Furthermore, the study revealed that The presence and distribution of moss may reflect changes in the openness of the canopy (habitat formed by the treetops of a forest), which are related to the impact of hurricanes.
“At the historical moment when these data were taken (2019), the forest had not yet recovered from the Hurricane Maria, in the aspect of structure. “This study, in addition to collecting these very interesting findings on the long-term effect of how the land is used, we have these very valuable observations of bryophytes after the hurricane,” said Heartsill Scalley.
The ecological scientist said that, as the years go by, leafy canopies return and the forest closes, they can look at the area again and see how the species has responded to these changes.
“We have realized that there are many other plants that are important for us to have the forests functioning at their highest capacity. (With bryophytes), we have added value to our existing biodiversity”said Heartsill Scalley.