Mosses

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.

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.

This book serves as a guide for identifying Sphagnum mosses in both field and laboratory. Forty species, typical of more continental parts of Europe, but also commonly found elsewhere in the northern hemisphere, are presented. The primary emphasis is on the illustrations, mainly photographs, depicting both macroscoptic and microscopic characteristics of the species.

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.