Abstract

MERCHAN-GAITAN, JULIA B.; ALVAREZ-HERRERA, JAVIER GIOVANNI  and  DELGADO-MERCHAN, MIRYAM V.. Evaluation of the water retention in mosses of moor of Siachoque, Toca and Pesca (Boyaca). rev.colomb.cienc.hortic. [online]. 2011, vol.5, n.2, pp.295-302. ISSN 2011-2173.

Mosses fulfill an important role in ecosystems, due to their morphologic structure that helps retain considerable amounts of water and improve soil moisture. The hydric capacity of samples collected in the moors of Pesca, Siachoque and Toca (Boyaca, Colombia) from different substrates (rock, soil and tree bark or epiphytes) was evaluated, using a completely randomized design. The most representative family was Sphagnaceae with the highest number of samples collected in the moors of Pesca and Siachoque. Moss samples collected with the highest water content were found in the moors of Pesca, whereas the samples collected in Toca had a great variety of moss families (Leucomiaceae, Dicranaceae, Orthortrichaceae, Bartramyaceae) with a smaller presence and lower water content. Also, the samples collected from the soil substrate presented higher water content than those collected from rock and epiphytes; therefore, indicating the importance of the climatic conditions of each of the zones in the studied municipalities, as they affect water retention by the mosses.

Keywords : briofits; humidity; substrates; improvement; ecosystem.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in English     · English ( pdf )