Do lichens and mosses drink from tree bark?
- Author:
- Porada P. & Giordani P.
- Year:
- 2022
- Journal:
- Frontiers for Young Minds
- Pages:
- 10: 704022 [8 p.]
- Url:
- doi: 10.3389/frym.2022.704022
Lichens and mosses often live on tree branches in the forest canopy.
They store large amounts of rain, fog, or dew, because they cannot
reach water in the soil. However, we do not know what their most
important source of water actually is. For example, is water uptake
from wet bark important? This is hard to answer, because these
lichens and mosses live high above us, so it is difficult to make direct
measurements. Computer mathematical simulations can be useful
to answer this question. We used a computer model of lichens and
mosses to calculate how much water these organisms may take up
from bark. We found that water from bark supports about 20% of the
growth of lichens and mosses per year, so it is important for their
survival. We also found that lichens and mosses are well adapted to
taking up water from bark.
- Id:
- 34757
- Submitter:
- zdenek
- Post_time:
- Friday, 11 November 2022 23:11