Bryophytes

The European Red List is a review of the status of European species according to IUCN regional Red Listing guidelines. It identifies those species that are threatened with extinction at the regional level – in order that appropriate conservation action can be taken to improve their status. This publication is a summary of the conservation status of the European species of mosses, liverworts and hornworts, collectively known as bryophytes.

The Encyclopedia of the Swedish Flora and Fauna is a project which will publish circa 120 volumes in the 20-25 years from 2005 onward. It constitutes a series of identification handbooks in Swedish. The 50,000 species which can be identified without highly advanced equipment will be described in detail, including information on distribution and biology. For most of them, distribution maps as well as illustrations e.g. watercolours will also be provided.

A brioflora de Portugal Continental integra um total de 704 taxa (incluindo espécies, subespécies e algumas variedades consideradas taxonomicamente importantes). Compreende cerca de 40% das espécies europeias e quase 65% de todos os briófitos ibéricos sendo estes organismos indicados como um dos grupos de plantas mais antigo, com grande importância ecológica, fundamentais para a manutenção da biodiversidade dos ecossistemas.

Bryophytes are of great importance in their ecosystems and for human well-being. They stabilise soil crust through colonisation of bare grounds and rocks; they are essential in nutrient recycling, biomass production, and carbon fixing; they control water through an effective retention mechanism; and they have economic value as peat for fuel, horticulture, oil absorption, and as sources of a wide variety of chemical compounds.