''Sphagnum magellanicum'', commonly called Magellanic bogmoss, Magellan's sphagnum, Magellan's peatmoss or midway peat moss, is a widespread species of

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...

found in wet

boreal forest Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by pinophyta, coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. I ...

in the far south and southwest of South America and in northern North America and Eurasia.

Description

The red-purple colour visible all or parts of the leaves is very distinctive. It forms low cushions and mats within freshwater bogs.

Conservation

In the 2010s ''Sphagnum'' peat in Chile has begun to be harvested at large scales for export to countries like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the United States. Given ''Sphagnum''s property to absorb excess water and release it during dry months harvesting of ''Sphagnum'', means that

overexploitation Overexploitation, also called overharvesting or ecological overshoot, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to ...

may threaten the water supply in the

fjords and channels of Chile The southern coast of Chile presents a large number of fjords and fjord-like channels from the latitudes of Cape Horn (55° S) to Reloncaví Estuary (42° S). Some fjords and channels are important navigable channels providing access to ports like ...

. Extraction of ''Sphagnum'' in Chile is regulated by law since August 2, 2018. Since 2018 Chilean law allows only for the manual extraction of Sphagnum using only pitchforks or similar tools as aid. In a given area (polygon) at least 30% of Sphagnum coverage has to be left unharvested. Harvested ''Sphagnum'' fibers may not exceed 15 cm in length and the remaining ''Sphagnum'' after harvest may never have a length less than 5 cm over the water table. In the regions of Los Ríos (40°S) and Los Lagos (41–43°S) the same plots may be harvested after 12 years, while further south in Aysén (44–48°S) and

Magallanes Magallanes may refer to: * Ferdinand Magellan (1480–1521), Portuguese explorer who led part of the first expedition around the world * Strait of Magellan, the strait between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, located in Chile Places * Magallanes ...

(49–56°S) 85 years have to pass before the same area is harvested again. In

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

, the species is found at only two locations and has the conservation status of a

vulnerable species A vulnerable species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened species, threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatened species, ...

(VU).Náttúrufræðistofnun Íslands celandic Institute of Natural History(1996).
Válisti 1: Plöntur.
' (in Icelandic) Reykjavík: Náttúrufræðistofnun Íslands.

Response to herbicide exposure

In a study of the effect of the herbicide

Asulam Asulam is a herbicide invented by May & Baker Ltd, internally called M&B9057, that is used in horticulture and agriculture to kill bracken and docks. It is also used as an antiviral agent. It is currently marketed, by United Phosphorus Ltd - UP ...

on moss growth, ''Sphagnum magellanicum'' was shown to have intermediate sensitivity to Asulam exposure.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q135173 Flora of Chile magellanicum Plants described in 1798