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It is small, often green, and separates spirits: moss. Traditional gardeners resort to rooting rakes, muscle wax and poison to temporarily remove small plants from well-groomed English lawns – in vain, they constantly regrow from the smallest pieces. Molecular biologists have long studied what longevity means. There may be a key to the genetic diversity of resistant plants: Algae carry more genetic material than we humans, and that’s why they’re fascinating.
Gardeners just want to get rid of the greenery. Biologists complain of opening research gaps in primitive plants. This is why the primitive plant: Green algae first developed in the sea and in fresh water. About 500 million years ago, they splashed onto land in the form of a kind of primitive algae, so to speak. Rootless took nutrients from this air and rocks, then, still soilless underground, rootless stored water and metabolized CO.2 and so it released oxygen into the atmosphere – and changed it that way.
At the same time, this primitive algae formed, so to speak, the organic pillow on the basis of which only various bacteria, and then microorganisms, could grow. So algae provided a large part of evolution on land on our planet.
To this day, moss, which still does not develop roots, but attaches itself to a very diverse, sometimes completely “bare” ground subsoil with so-called rhizoids, hair-like sticky organs, forms the basis of soil formation on it. other plants are eventually finding support as well. Without algae, we would not be us, nor would we have innumerable animal species.
Where other things rumble and give up the ghost, the moss survives
For this reason alone, we should actually value these visually delicate yet incredibly durable creatures. Ice ages, heat waves, changes in the composition of our atmosphere – the moss has survived it all and will likely outlive us.
Moss is also the most original plant to exist on earth today, with some species virtually unchanged for centuries: 50 million-year-old specimens preserved in amber are still identifiable today, allowing conclusions to be drawn about conditions at the time. the ability of organisms to adapt to climate changes. This fact alone should prompt research.
Two-thirds of Europe’s algae species can be found in Switzerland.
However, algae research, known as briology, has a kind of niche existence: “If we hold an international conference on the molecular biology of algae, maybe 200 will attend. In other plant species, there could easily be more than 3000 even if it’s just a single species,” says Ralf Reski (64). ). A professor of biology at the German University of Freiburg and head of the plant biotechnology working group regrets this: “Algae are the second largest group of plants after flowering plants, and there are up to 20,000 different species worldwide.”
More than 1,100 different pseudo-bryophytes have been known to date in Switzerland, most of them native, many still largely unexplored, says biologist Ariel Bergamini, 56, of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL). . That’s almost two-thirds of all known species in Europe. Therefore, Switzerland is an extremely rich country in terms of different types of algae. About a third of these are endangered. “Such a number would make headlines for birds, but not for algae,” Bergamini regrets.
It is nothing but a fallow treasure, hidden in wall niches, in cracks in the ground, in forests, in shady places, waiting to be rescued. That’s because algae has amazing properties, for example as a biodiversity multiplier. The number of microorganisms in one square meter of moss in the forest resulted in an incredible number of 60,000 small animals. These include rotifers, tardigrades, various species of springtails and mites – tiny creatures that form the basis of entire food chains and in turn feed amphibians, mammals and birds.
Or as a water reservoir and erosion protection: Depending on the type of algae, small leaves can absorb 8 to 22 times their dry weight in water. In this way, the moss regulates the moisture in the soil and protects it from drying out, being washed away by the wind and heavy rains.
Medicine, cosmetics, air purification – algae is a fallow treasure for research
There are numerous applications and areas of research when it comes to algae. Medicinal: Moss type sphagnum, namely peat moss, has a hemostatic, germicidal and fungicidal effect; this was somewhat forgotten with the advent of modern disinfectants, but I. because the wound compresses decreased, thus saving the lives of many wounded soldiers.
The cosmetic and health industries have already discovered algae: There are already seaweed ointments for anti-aging facials or eczema treatment, but scientific efficacy tests have been validated in the laboratory, but measured directly on facial skin, so it’s still largely lacking, so to speak.
Algae is also used as an air purification meter: as algae absorbs its nutrients from the air and moisture, it also absorbs airborne pollutants. The Federal Environment Agency takes advantage of this: every few years, researchers at more than 250 locations in Switzerland extract a few kelp shoots and analyze them for heavy metals. This makes it possible to see which pollutants are released into nature in what concentration: When leaded gasoline was banned in 2000, low-level airborne pollutants were soon reflected in algae.
Skilled businessmen are therefore already offering algae constructions as air purification filters. Initial applications, such as laying moss walls along motorways or on busy roads heavily polluted with fine dust, failed spectacularly: in 2017, a Stuttgart moss wall was installed in the crowded Neckartor to great media fanfare and at half the financial cost. million euros for air purification – but only to disappear again shortly. The algae could not stand the fine dust pollution, the salt scattered on the street in winter, the sun’s rays and the simultaneous drought and died.
However, German start-up Green City Solutions is far from giving up on the idea of air purification: the team of architects, biologists and engineers presents “Citytrees”, a kind of moss-filled, humidified column with seating that regulates both temperature and temperature. Filter out air pollutants as well as cool down to 4 degrees in the area. To prevent them from drying out, sensor-controlled nozzles water shady city trees.
40 copies already exist, including in Berlin. But experts still disagree on whether such algae solutions to combat fine dust and heat really work in the long run.
It’s their longevity and resilience that make algae so interesting, though: Forty-year-old dried algae specimens that the researchers kept in a cupboard revive and “re-live,” so to speak, after contact with water, he writes. US botanist and New York Times bestselling author Robin Wall Kimmerer (69), in his 2003 book “Algae Collecting”. The fact that interest in primitive plants has increased also shows that he has been invited to numerous specialist conferences with his book.
Peat bogs release tons of CO each year2
But what definitely has a global long-term impact is algae as CO.2to sink or – in the worst case unfortunately – as CO2-Sling. And at this point you should change your gaze from small to large. Because sphagnum, the previously mentioned type of hemostatic peat moss, characterizes all landscapes – peat bogs.
Sphagnum, of which there are about 250 species worldwide belonging to the genus Sphagnum, continues its growth upwards and creates a moist and acidic environment downwards. So that the dead parts do not rot, it becomes peat. “Marshes release thousands of tons of CO each year.2 permanently from the atmosphere,” says WSL’s Bergamini.
He explores on behalf of the federal government how the Swiss steppes have changed in recent years. There’s also reason to worry when it comes to sphagnum: the prairies are getting drier, not just in Switzerland but globally. Bergamini doesn’t play a major role in climate change in Switzerland, “but when, for example, the extensive peat bogs in Siberia dry up, a reverse process begins,” says Bergamini: “When peat layers dry out, a normal degradation process begins and CO2 that has been stored for thousands of years is released.2 released back into the atmosphere.”
As about 30 percent of CO is bound in soil worldwide2 it is found in layers of dead, moist sphagnum, that is, in peat bogs, which poses a significant threat to our climate. Draining the steppes so that they can then be used for agriculture currently generates about five percent of the CO2.2 responsible in the air.
The marshes that remain in Switzerland have been protected since the adoption of the Rothenthurm Initiative in 1987. Since then, additional efforts have been made to revitalize other areas, thereby preserving and preserving unique flora and fauna, including sphagnum as well as many rare species of algae found in the steppes.
Moss is also beautiful in the garden, where it reveals its positive qualities.
From a global perspective, protection of peatlands is therefore urgently needed. Looking back at the little things, everyone can do something for themselves. From an ecological point of view, it doesn’t really matter whether you remove algae from the lawn in your own garden, Bergamini says, “the species that occur on the lawn doesn’t matter much from an ecological point of view.” – A glance into the distance leads us to the East, but to enlightenment: In Japan, priests and private individuals have been cultivating moss gardens with various types of moss for centuries.
Roger Ingold (65), who works all over Europe and we reached out shortly before he went to Florence for business, says that interest in this is also increasing in Germany, although it is a bit too slow for his liking. The master gardener and his company of twelve employees specializes in horticulture and especially private greening, and works on greening projects for private gardens in Tuscany as well as large hotels and facades in Germany.
He says mossy areas are not only good for local ecosystems, but also for the human spirit: “Soft surfaces in rich green hues calm the mind, while the water storage and air purification properties of moss provide a pleasant, cool climate.”
For example, the youth psychiatric center in Basel had Ingold built a moss garden in its inner courtyard. And the moss garden at the Zurich-Altstetten station is recognized by the commercial press as one of the most beautiful in Europe. A number of books have also shown growing interest: For example, the German biologist Michael Altmoos gives tips for gardeners who want to try their hand at primitive plants in his book “Der Moosgarten.”
Still: It often fails due to know-how and technology for private individuals. Depending on the species, mosses need a different – almost always shaded – place, some like it more acidic than others, do not tolerate chalky tap water, they need regular watering, especially during the growing phase. And it won’t work even if rainwater from the barrel had previously flowed through a copper roof line. Admiring the rich green hues of filigree but extremely robust plants since childhood, Ingold still takes a stance against moss: “The moss kills fine dust and is simply beautiful.”
Source : Blick
I am Dawid Malan, a news reporter for 24 Instant News. I specialize in celebrity and entertainment news, writing stories that capture the attention of readers from all walks of life. My work has been featured in some of the world’s leading publications and I am passionate about delivering quality content to my readers.
