Study on water retention capacities of six moss species

Abstract

The saturated water absorption and retention rates of six mosses,namely Brachythecium albicans,Thuidium cymbifolium,Racomitrium japonicum,Taxiphyllum taxirameum,Entodon cladorrhizans and Hypnum plumaeforme,were determined and compared with those of Eremochloa ophiuroides and Sedum lineare.An integrated index to evaluate water regulation capacity was proposed.According to the integrated index concerning water regulation capacity from high to low,six moss species were ranked as H.plumaeforme (0.8215),T.cymbifolium (0.6727),B.albicans (0.5468),R.japonicum (0.5321),T.taxirameum (0.5285) and E.cladorrhizans (0.4374).The water regulation capacity of the six moss species were all higher than those of S.lineare (0.2843) and E.ophiuroides (0.2126)