Response of some moss species to different controlled environmental conditions in order to use in Landscaping

Abstract

Nowadays, integrating moss among decorative plants in urban landscape architecture can be an important alternative to horticulture. Especially using moss design for covering roofs and walls it could be an interesting element to improve the life/-airquality. Introducing moss design using hydroponic systems requires finding the best technologies for cultivating the species that can be used by landscape architecture. The study has been performed at the University of Applied Science Osnabrueck, Germany, in 2015 and it consisted in testing several species of common moss in what concerns their behavior to environmental conditions controlled in the greenhouse, with the scope of hydroponic growing. 6 species of moss: Totula ruralis Hedw., Camptothecium sericeum Hedw, Ceratodon purpureus Hedw., Grimmia pulvinata Hedw, Racomitrium aciculare Hedw. and Bryum capillare Hedw., have been transplanted from a natural habitat to the greenhouse and their behavior to different water dosing and light intensity was checked. After the observations made using the principle of rating, it was concluded that the species Grimmia pulvinata and Ceratodon purpureus adapted the best to the controlled environment and this quality makes them suitable to be used in landscape design.