Mosses & Lichens
It all begins with Sphagnum
Sphagnum mosses thrive in wet, acidic, and nutrient-poor environments like peatlands, bogs and wetlands. In good conditions, they grow in dense carpets and can adsorb and retain 15-20x its dry weight in water, creating waterlogged, acidic conditions essential for peat accumulation. The moss’s acidic and antiseptic properties slow decomposition, allowing dead organic matter to accumulate into peat deposits over millennia, which can be several meters thick. Upland and lowland peatlands across the Isle of Man, particularly on moorland hills (e.g. Beinn-y-Phott) and wetlands (e.g. Ballaugh Curragh), have developed peat layers over ~5,000 years under cool, wet conditions.
Sphagnum moss acts as a critical ecosystem engineer in many ways, absorbing water, acidifying its environment, reducing decay, and driving peat formation. It therefore enhances a range of ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration, water management, biodiversity support, and cultural value.
Healthy peatlands are champions of achieving hydrological stability, but only because of the key role Sphagnum moss plays. Sphagnum’s sponge-like retention aids drought, flood and wildfire resistance. It keeps the peatland saturated, even during dry spells, maintaining the hydrological balance. It reduces downstream flood risk by holding back water on the hills during rainfall events, maintains stable water tables, and supports drinking water filtration, holding onto nutrients and sediments, including peat. Saturated peat is non-flammable, reducing weather-related, accidental or intentional ignition. It helps maintain cooler, humid conditions at ground level, shielding sensitive species from heat stress and insulating the peat, reducing evaporation. This spongy network helps to prevent soil erosion, especially on steeper slopes. It preserves land stability across the uplands, reducing the risk of landslips and loss of habitat.
Healthy sphagnum creates healthy peatlands, which offer crucial habitat for many peatland specialist fauna and flora species, such as carnivorous round-leaved sundews.
Lichen
In upland areas, the presence of diverse lichen communities suggests good air quality and ecosystem health. They are sensitive to pollutants and climatic conditions.
Reindeer lichen is characteristic of moorland soils and bare peat typical of upland habitats. It thrives in bright, open, well-drained acidic habitats, including heathland. It occurs where peat is thin or exposed, and drainage is increased, creating a mosaic of vegetation alongside sphagnum mosses and heather species, supporting a broader upland ecosystem.
Although this lichen species doesn’t grow directly on blanket bog and good condition peatlands, it can be found on the edges, especially where peat is exposed or degraded.
British soldiers lichen, or matchstick lichen, is effective at colonising disturbed or nutrient-poor areas, such as damp acidic heathland soils, on mossy scree, well-rotted wood, fence posts and tree stumps in open habitats. This species produces distinctive bright red spore-bearing structures on greenish-grey, thin, upright stalks that can be branched.
This lichen is an indicator of degrading and recovering peatland. Early colonising community, helping stabilise exposed peat and contribute to soil formation.
