The Wonders of Moss Lawns
Moss lawns-my latest obsession. I recently became aware of this practice, although it became a trend in the U.S. around 2013. It originated in, and has been a tradition in Asian countries for hundreds of years – cultivating moss lawns.
Why am I so obsessed? Well, after conducting research on the subject I came to learn that moss lawns are carbon-negative. To understand the significance, we must first understand the following terms:
Carbon Neutrality
Carbon neutrality, or having a net zero carbon footprint, refers to achieving net zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. By balancing carbon emissions with carbon removal (often through carbon offsetting). Or simply eliminating carbon emissions altogether (the transition to the “post-carbon economy“).
Carbon negative or Carbon dioxide removal
Carbon negative or carbon dioxide removal. Is the reduction of an entity’s carbon footprint to less than neutral; so that the entity has a net effect of removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere rather than adding it. It is also known as greenhouse gas removal. It usually refers to human methods of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and sequestering it; such that more carbon dioxide is sequestered than emitted in the process.
The Benefits & Ecology of a Moss Lawn
Mosses, plants in the Bryophyta division, have been around for more than 400 million years, making them old enough to have predated dinosaurs. Dinosaurs have since gone extinct, while moss is still thriving! If you are fed up with fussing over a high-maintenance lawn, explore the benefits of moss as an alternative.
Moss will grow practically anywhere–shade, sun, partial sun/shade, wet, semi-arid, etc. The only exception to this are extremely arid environments, such as deserts, where moss is generally not found.
Different species, are often specific to a particular substrate including, but not limited to; soil, trees, rocks, stream edges, even concrete and asphalt. If it can grow just about anywhere, what are the ecological benefits of encouraging it in our yards?
There are several ecological rewards of a moss garden. One of the most spectacular‒moss can be a lightning bug nursery.
Birds and Moss
Many other insects will also live in or under moss, such as spiders, ants, mites, worms, etc. These insects provide a valuable food resource for numerous other animals, such as birds, amphibians, and reptiles.
Some birds will use moss in their nest construction, creating soft, green, living-nests for their offspring. Growing moss provides a low-maintenance, insect-rich, useful wildlife habitat.
Moss is also a bioindicator, meaning that the presence (or absence) of moss speaks of the air quality. Moss is sensitive to particulate pollution in the air such as carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and nitrogen oxides.
Most of these pollutants come from combustion engines in motor vehicles and some manufacturing industries. If you have moss growing in your yard, you likely have cleaner air than sites where moss is not found.
Watering Moss
A moss lawn can help your soil retain water. By acting like a sponge, the moss will quickly absorb water and slowly release it into surrounding soil and air. As a bonus, you are rewarded with a visual color-eruption of photosynthesizing moss, even after a modest misting.
Moss is also a viable choice to minimize erosion on portions of earth prone to being washed away during rains. The rhizoids of the moss anchor to the soil which helps hold the soil in place. Moss is a great match for erosional zones that are nutrient poor. Because moss doesn’t absorb nutrients from the soil.
RHIZOIDS
Rhizoids are “root-like” structures used for attachment instead of absorption. Nutrient-poor soil, free of loose rocks, leaves, and miscellaneous forest confetti, is a perfect environment for native moss.
Moss is relatively easy to care for once it is established. No fertilizers or pesticides will be required to encourage growth or keep unwanted visitors away. Omitting these chemical treatments makes your lawns safer and more ecologically beneficial to the wildlife that use them.
Mosses take carbon out of the atmosphere and store it in their plant tissues. Having a moss lawn contributes to decreasing carbon dioxide from our atmosphere.
Replacing a traditional lawn with a moss lawn minimizes the amount of carbon emissions released in mowing. One hour of lawn mowing emits the same amount of pollution as running 40 new cars for an hour. If you don’t like to mow, you can put your mower away and start reducing your emissions.
Two Kinds of Moss
There are two types of moss as defined by their growth habits. Most people are familiar with mosses such as Acrocarps, which forms tufts in a pincushion-like growth habit. Upright growing mosses like these are slower to spread, but they usually provide a thicker moss carpet. Pleurocarps, are mosses that spread outward in a creeping fashion and usually grow faster than Acrocarps.
Moss reproduces by spreading spores. A stalk with a capsule on the end, like an unopened flower, will emerge. This capsule will release thousands of sporophytes, which the wind will disperse and attach onto surrounding surfaces. If you see your moss reproducing in your yard, you know it has found an ideal habitat to grow in.
Amazingly, mosses’ leaf-like structures are only one cell thick; yet, they photosynthesize and absorb nutrients in the same way as their vascular plant cousins. Imagine converting sunlight energy, carbon dioxide, and water to make food and oxygen. All in a single layer of cells. So cool!
My favorite moss is the evergreen Pleurocarpous Thuidium delicatulum, or Common Fern Moss. This beautiful delicate-looking, mat-forming moss is actually quite tough. The colors that it will exhibit, range from golden-light green to a darker green and everything in between.
Why keep a non-native, high maintenance lawn, especially in situations where nature gives you the perfect ground cover? It is difficult to imagine when out of dozens of choices of lawn grass, very few are native. You can save money on fertilizers and pesticides, minimize your carbon footprint by eliminating your lawn mower.
And help wildlife by replacing part of your grass lawn with a moss lawn. Think of it as a magnet for insects that adult birds (known as pollinators) use to feed their offspring. Meanwhile, you can sit back and enjoy the serenity of a moss lawn.
Moss Garden – Things To Keep In Mind – Total Landscape Care
Moss gardens are ideal for shady backyards full of trees. Most types of moss grow best in shady areas with high moisture content. However, there are some species, such as “Wallowa Mountain” desert moss, that can tolerant both full sun and drought conditions.
Sources:
Carbon negative or Carbon dioxide removal
https://en.wikipedia.org
https://www.edie.net
Carbon neutrality
https://en.wikipedia.org
Mad About Moss—The Simple Art of Moss Gardening
https://www.bbg.org
The Benefits & Ecology of a Moss Lawn
https://content.yardmap.org/learn/benefits-ecology-moss-lawn/