Bryophytes have several important economic uses. Sphagnum moss is used to make peat, which can be burned as fuel or used to improve soil fertility. It is also used as a surgical dressing and in wastewater filtration. Some bryophytes have medicinal properties and are used to treat skin diseases, tuberculosis, and tumors. They also have antibiotic properties and can inhibit bacterial growth. Bryophytes help prevent soil erosion, retain moisture, and play a role in bog and forest succession. They serve as pollution indicators and some fix atmospheric nitrogen. Bryophytes also have indirect ecological roles in soil formation and are used in Japanese moss gardens.
2. Economic Importance of Bryophytes
1. Use of sphagnum and peat:
• Sphagnum is most important and most used bryophyte.
• Sphagnum is also known as peat moss and bog moss.
• Peat is partially decomposed and hardened dead plant deposit.
Sphagnum (peat moss) Peat
As packing material for shipment. As fuel.
As surgical dressing. Prepration of ethyl alcohol.
As filtering agent for treatment of Peat-tar as preservative.
wastewater.
Sphagonal (a distillate of food).
In grafting.
Improving soil-fertility
9. 2. Medicinal uses:
• Sphagnum is used to cure skin diseases.
• Marchantia Polymorpha is used to cure tuberculosis.
• M.polymorpha , M.stellata , Polytrichum commune have antitumor properties.
• Sphagnum boiled in water is used for acute haemorrhage and diseases of eye.
• Tea from polytrichum commune is used to dissolve stones of kidney and gall bladder.
• Paste of riccia is used for treatment of ringworm.
3. Antibiotic properties:
• Madsen and Pates (1952-1955) report that 2 species of sphagnum i.e Sphagnum.portoricense and
S.strictum inhibited the growth of staphylococcus aureus and pseudomonas aeruginosa.
• Gupta & Singh (1971) reported that petroleum ether extracts from Barbula and Timmiela are antibiotically
active against 23 bacterial species.
• Klocking .et.al(1976) that peat humic acid have antiviral activity against herpes simplex virus type 1 and 2.
10. 4. As Food:
• Not directly use as human food.
• During scarcity of fresh food , bryophytes may be used as source of
• food for animals.
• Alaskan reindeer feed on polytrichum species and sphagnum.
• In some european countries , sphagnum contribute to flavour
• scotch and whisky.
5. Moss gardens:
• In Japan, US and other countries mosses are used to create gardens for providing a feeling of
calmness and peace.
• In japan moss gardens are associated with temples.
Buddhist temple
Kyotos kokedera (japan)
also known as moss temple
Sphagnum Floss
13. Indirect uses or ecological uses
1. Prevent soil erosion and holds moisture:
Bryophytes form a mat-like or carpet like structure and prevent soil erosion.
It protects from loss of top most layer of soil from water or air.
2. Formation of soil:
Rocks lichens grow Mosses helps in soil & humus formation forest formation
3. Bog succession:
• Bog succession is an area of wet , spongy ground consisting mainly of decaying peat moss and
other vegetation.
• Sphagnum and other bryophytes occurrs or grow at where moisture is present e.g at corner of
lakes and ponds.
17. 4. As pollution indicator:
• Cadium cause change in morphology of sphagnum.
• Zinc causes inhibiton of spore germination (50 ppm) in Funaria hygrometrica and marchantia
polymorpha.
• Dicranella heteromella helps in indicating or measuring the level of mercury in different areas.
• Bryometer or Moss bag responds to various levels of SO2.
5. Nitrogen fixation:
• In thalus of Anthoceros, there is nostoc present which helps in nitrogen fixation.
