Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 8.14 Some species of emergent aquatic plants. (A) arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia),
(B) great bulrush (Scirpus validus), (C) cattail (Typha), and (D) woolly sedge (Carex lanugi-
nosa). Scale bar
4 cm (reproduced with permission from Reimer, 1984).
Species of the genus Sphagnum are often a dominant component of the
vegetation in the shallow acidic waters of peat bogs and can be very im-
portant in many high-latitude wetlands. The total global biomass of Sphag-
num is greater than that of any other bryophyte genus (Clymo and Hay-
ward, 1982). Carbon deposition in these peat bogs may be important in
the global carbon cycle. The moss promotes acidic habitats because mi-
crobial breakdown of organic material produced by the Sphagnum pro-
duces organic acids. The acidity leads to a stable dominance by the moss
and slows breakdown of organic material. Thus, peat accumulations are
significant in the bogs where Sphagnum dominates.
The Bryales includes several interesting aquatic genera, including Fonti-
nalis, which is found to 120 m depth in Crater Lake, and Fissidens, which
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