by Matteo Cavallito<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mosses<\/strong> are among the most underrated plants on the Planet. Yet they retain a crucial role in protecting soil health, laying the foundation for plant flourishing in ecosystems and contributing to climate change mitigation through carbon sequestration. This is supported by a study<\/a> conducted by the School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences at the University of New South Wales<\/strong> in Sydney. The investigation, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, was based on the collection of samples from 123 ecosystems around the world and quantified the presence of these plant species on a global scale.<\/p>\n In the observed environments, the researchers remark, the specimens cover 9.4 million km2 of land<\/strong>, an area comparable to that of Canada or China. “We wanted to look at a bit more detail about mosses and what they actually do, in terms of providing essential services to the environment,” explained<\/a> David Eldridge<\/strong>, professor and co-author of the study in a note released by the Australian university. “We were gobsmacked to find that mosses were doing all these amazing things.”<\/p>\n