18 December 2024
The end of the vascular plant chauvinism?
Publication
In a recent Nature Plants Correspondence article, Kathrin Rousk from the section for Terrestrial Ecology and co-author Juan Carlos Villarreal speak up for the small, inconspicuous, and often overlooked bryophytes - a plant group that includes mosses, liverworts and hornworts.
These small plants have no vascular system and no roots, yet, they are key for nutrient cycling, carbon storage and water balance. They hold large potential for biotechnology and climate mitigation and are used as bioindicators for heavy metal pollution. They can be found where no vascular plant can grow and can be found in almost any environment. Though small, they harbor infinite wonders to be discovered.
It is indeed time to end the vascular plant chauvinism.