Warnstorfia Fluitans Research Articles

Growth of floating hook-moss (Warnstorfia fluitans) differs with nutrient and water flow adjustments in greenhouse and cold room conditions

Floating hook-moss (Warnstorfia fluitans) is a bryophyte growing in northern aquatic and peatland ecosystems. W. fluitans uptakes metals and excessive amounts of nitrogen from wastewater, which suggests that it may have commercial potential for use in phytoremediation. Optimization of growth conditions would allow artificial cultivation of floating hook moss in large quantities for phytoremediation applications. We tested how application of combined nutrient (NPK 7-2-2 ranging from 0.1 to 1 ml per liter of water) and water flow (ranging from 0.15 to 1.9 ml/min) treatments affect growth of W. fluitans in greenhouse conditions. At the end of the experiment, all treatment combinations were subjected to an additional cold room condition at low temperature (0–2 °C) without constant water flow. The moss generally produced biomass in the various treatment combinations. However, contrary to our expectations, we found that increase of nutrients and water flow had a negative effect on the growth of W. fluitans. The highest growth rates in the experiment were detected in the control unit that had no nutrient addition or applied water flow. Our results suggest that cold temperatures are beneficial for W. fluitans growth. Our results show that the commercial production of W. fluitans may not require nutrient or water flow manipulation, at least in the tested scale. Instead, the growth conditions should mimic the natural cold climate conditions of W. fluitans habitats in northern peatlands and/or spring ecosystems.

Nitrogen removal of mine-influenced water in a hybrid bioreactor with floating hook-moss (Warnstorfia fluitans) in cold climate conditions

To remove nitrogen in cold conditions, we studied new nature-based treatment solutions using six pilot-scale reactors. The pilots were woodchip bioreactor (WBR), aquatic floating hook-moss (Warnstorfia fluitans) (MBR), and a combined woodchip and floating hook-moss hybrid unit (HBR) with an improved hydraulic design. The experiment was run in a climate room at temperatures of 10 °C and 5 °C and using mine water from two sites located in northern Finland. Unlike traditional horizontal flow woodchip bioreactors, in this study the hydraulic efficiency was improved from poor (λ = 0.06) in the woodchip bioreactor to satisfactory (λ = 0.51) in the hybrid unit by inserting two inner plates along the water flow and adding floating hook-moss. The hybrid bioreactor revealed the highest capability of nitrogen removal in all inorganic forms at T ≤ 10 °C with a mean HRT of 70.5 h. On average, 30–78 % of dissolved inorganic nitrogen was removed in the hybrid unit, which was 2 and 3 times more than in units consisting only of woodchip or floating hook-moss. The hybrid bioreactor revealed a maximum NO−3-N removal rate of 1.0–5.2 g m−3 d−1 and a 21.8–99.7 % removal efficiency for an average incoming NO−3-N load of 40 g d−1. The maximum NH+4-N removal efficiency of 75.6 and 53 % took place in HBR and MBR, respectively, when the incoming NH+4-N load was 23.6 ± 0.7 g d−1 at 10 °C. Over the 154 days of the experiment, the hybrid unit removed a total of 2.95 kg DIN-N, which was 0.8 kg higher than the sum of the DIN-N mass removed in the individual woodchip (1.7 kg) and moss units (0.55 kg). The nitrogen content of the aquatic moss was higher in the hybrid unit compared to the moss unit, showing a higher contribution of N plant uptake. Overall, our results suggest that combining woodchips and aquatic moss in a hybrid unit with improved hydraulic efficiency using inner walls may enhance nitrogen removal in cold climate conditions.

Potentially misleading phylogenetic signal and its explanation in single species studies – contrasting Loeskypnum badium, Sarmentypnum exannulatum and Warnstorfia fluitans

Incongruence among morphological and different molecular data sets can be troublesome for species and genus circumscriptions and may cause problems in interpreting intraspecific relationships. Based on the nuclear ITS1 and 2, and the plastid rpl16, trnG and trnL-trnF, it is shown that while such incongruence is not detected if the individual species Loeskypnum badium, Sarmentypnum exannulatum or Warnstorfia fluitans are studied, it may be striking when analyzed in a wider context within the Calliergonaceae. The wider context did not affect the interpretation of internal relationships within L. badium, but many specimens of the other two species were suggested to belong to different species by either marker set. For a large minority of S. exannulatum (8% of specimens), ITS suggested W. fluitans and for 28% of W. fluitans the plastid markers suggested S. exannulatum or (one case) S. sarmentosum. The found pattern agrees with a scenario where archegonia of female plants of S. exannulatum or S. sarmentosum were fertilized by W. fluitans spermatozoids. The produced spores all have the maternally inherited Sarmentypnum plastids, but nuclear genome portions from either the involved Sarmentypnum species or W. fluitans. If foreign plastids affect the functionality of plants less than foreign nuclear portions in plants with mixed genomes, morphological W. fluitans plants with Sarmentypnum plastids should survive to a higher degree than vice versa.

Restoration of Raised Bogs in the Khanty-Mansiysk Ob Region after Reclamation of Oil- and Salt-Polluted Peat Soils in 2003–2005

The process of natural remediation of oil- and soil-contaminated raised bogs reclaimed 14–16 years ago in Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug–Yugra (KHMAO–Yugra) is analyzed. Revegetation is generally successful, although mesophytic grasses sown during reclamation almost completely disappeared in the grass stand. There is a gradual desalination of peat soil in salt-contaminated areas; it is accompanied by a succession change of halophytic (hemihalophytic) vegetation by communities that dominated by Calamagrostis epigeios, Eriophorum angustifolium, and Phragmites australis; a certain contribution is also made by sphagnum, green mosses, and liverworts. A characteristic feature of these habitats is the colonizing by a number of rare protected species (Heterogemma laxa, Thelypteris palustris, and Triglochin maritimum). In oil-contaminated bogs, hydrocarbons often enter from the underlying peat soil horizons during revegetation, resulting in the formation of a surface crust. Under these conditions, grass–sedge–cotton-grass and other communities are replaced by grass stands of Eriophorum angustifolium and some other species with strong root systems. A certain role in the overgrowth of crusted surfaces is also played by mosses (Sphagnum riparium, Warnstorfia fluitans, etc.). Unsuccessful restoration is observed in hollows with restricted runoff for salt-contaminated bogs and in most significantly drained segments for oil-contaminated ones.

Растительная индикация термокарстовых образований бугристых болот в южной части парка Нумто (Западная Сибирь)

Currently, palsa mires in the southern limit of circumpolar permafrost zone are characterized by an increased intensity of thermokarst processes. In the south of Nature Park Numto the cyclic character of frozen mound formation was replaced by their unidirectional degradation as a result of thaw. We analyze plant indicators of various thermokarst forms occurring in mounds: denudation spots, slumps and funnels. Depending on the stages of thermokarst and type of palsas (flat mound or large mound ones) a number of plant indicators of thawing is revealed: “the drunken forest”, the loss of dwarf shrubs and lichens and their secondary colonization, eutrophication of communities, the emergence of the “ridges” of vegetatively mobile species and others. Brown mosses and secondary colonizing Cladonia lichens with cup-shaped and club-like podetia are indicators of slow thermokarst on patches of denudation in large mounds. Meanwhile, the role of Cladonia lichens with richly branched podetia is markedly reduced. Mesotrophic communities, dominated by mesotrophic sphagnum mosses, are formed in deep funnels on large mounds under the conditions of frozen bed existence. The development of eutrophic communities indicates the release of nutrients during the melting of peat. The stages of thermokarst on the flat palsa mounds correspond to the following succession row: lichens + dwarf shrubs → hygrophyte sphagnum mosses and / or brown mosses + liverworts → hygro-hydrophyte sphagnum mosses + Warnstorfia fluitans. Reliable and the most long-term indicator of thermokarst on large mounds is the downy birch (Betula pubescens).

Sphagnum mosses (Sphagnaceae, Bryophyta) of lake-mire complex of Verkhnyaya Balkariya (Central Caucasus)

The greatest species diversity of Sphagnum mosses for the Central Caucasus was found in the flora of Sphagnum floating mires in the vicinity of the settlement Verkhnyaya Balkaria, Cherekskiy District, Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, where 12 species of Sphagnum were recorded: Sphagnum angustifolium, S. balticum, S. fallax, S. flexuosum, S. fuscum, S. girgensohnii, S. magellanicum s. l., S. obtusum, S. palustre, S. papillosum, S. squarrosum, S. teres. The list of species collected by authors [7 VII 2017 Украинская, Якимов (Ukrainskaya, Yakimov)] with specimen numbers, references on collecting sites (table 1), frequency and data on distribution in Caucasus is provided. Sphagnum obtusum and S. papillosum are recorded for the first time for the Russian Caucasus, S. flexuosum is recorded for the first time for Kabardino-Balkaria. Distribution of every recorded Sphagnum species within the Sphagnum floating mire complex is discussed. The associated mosses, including rare for the mire communities of the Caucasus Meesia triquetra, Polytrichum commune, Tetraplodon mnioides, Warnstorfia fluitans, W. pseudostraminea are listed. It is suggested to include this lake-mire complex in the Kabardino-Balkaria Nature Reserve.

Effect of pH, temperature, and oxygenation on arsenic phytofiltration by aquatic moss (Warnstorfia fluitans)

Phytofiltration of arsenic (As)-contaminated water could reduce As in irrigation and surface water. In a previous study, we found that the aquatic moss Warnstorfia fluitans efficiently removes arsenic from water contaminated with arsenate and arsenite. This work investigates how factors such as pH, temperature, and oxygenation influence As removal, since these factors vary in the environment. Plants were grown in a medium with 5 or 10 μM arsenite or arsenate and: 1) a pH of 2.5, 6.5, or 9.5; 2) a temperature of 12, 20, or 30 °C; and 3) oxygenation of <2 or 13 mg O2 L−1. Removal of As was monitored over 48–96 h, and the content and speciation of As were analysed in moss plants at the termination of the experiments. Results indicate that As removal was faster in arsenite than arsenate solutions. Arsenic removal from arsenite solution was the fastest, i.e., 80–90% within 2 h, at pH 6.5 and 9.5 and at 20 and 30 °C. At pH 2.5, plants were stressed and the net removal was low throughout the treatment period. Arsenic removal was more efficient at low than high oxygenation levels. Besides this, no As net efflux process was seen in the water system except after 48 h in arsenate-treated medium in high-temperature (30 °C) regimes. Regardless of As species added, usually only arsenite was found in the plants after treatment. Most internal As, i.e., 95% in the arsenate and 85% in the arsenite treatments, was firmly bound to the tissue. The study found that at 20 °C, neutral pH, and low oxygenation, this aquatic moss has great potential for As phytofiltration.

Micropropagation of Peatland Bryophytes from Tierra del Fuego

There exists an increasing pressure on peatland ecosystems in southern South America due to extensive exploitation of Sphagnum and peat. A way to avoid the loss of bryophyte diversity is the establishment of micropropagation protocols. In South America only few studies have assessed the tissue culture of native bryophytes under axenic conditions. The main objective of our work was to assess different conditions to propagate bryophytes, focusing on species from fuegian peatland ecosystems. Four fertile species of mosses (Sphagnum fimbriatum, Conostomum pentastichum, Warnstorfia fluitans, Polytrichastrum longisetum) and one liverwort (Blepharidophyllum densifolium) in vegetative state were collected in bogs of Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve. Cultures were initiated from protonemata obtained after spore germination and from gametophyte fragments. Explants were exposed to four different culture media. Coverage area of the in vitro explants and the number of regenerated shoots were quantitative variables measured after 12 weeks of culture. Overall, small pieces of protonemata (ca 1 mm2) were a suitable explant for the micropropagation of mosses, whereas liverwort regeneration was successfully achieved from apical portions of stems. Media with low mineral concentration or supplemented with a mixture of IBA/BA produced statistically similar effects on the coverage area of mosses. Low mineral medium systematically induced the regeneration of elongated shoots in mosses and liverworts, and the combination of sucrose and IBA/BA systematically induced the production of calli in mosses and liverwort species. This study provides new insights into the propagation of species from poorly known peatland ecosystems of southern South America.

Chemical Composition of Lipids from Peat-Forming Leafy Mosses of Eutrophic Swamps of Western Siberia and Altai

The molecular composition of lipids in three samples of leafy mosses (Aulacomnium palustre, Warnstorfia fluitans, and Calliergon giganteum) has been determined. The revealed acyclic compounds included normal and isoprenoid alkanes, isoprenoid alkenes, normal and isoprenoid ketones, carboxylic acids and their esters, alcohols, and aldehydes. Among cyclic compounds, bi-, tri- and tetracyclic polycycloaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), bicyclic and pentacyclic terpenoids, steroids and tocopherols have been observed. The identified organic compounds consisted mainly of carbocyclic acids and n-alkanes with the prevalence of C27 homologues. A. palustre is characterized by a reduced content of isoprenoid compounds, alcohols, and ketones, while the content of unsaturated acids, pentacyclic terpenoids, and aldehydes is rather heightened. A. palustre differs from W. fluitans and C. giganteum in the steroid composition and contains eremophylene, a sesquiterpenoid, which is absent in the mosses of the family Amblystegiaceae. Compared to C. giganteum, W. fluitans has a higher content of lycopadiene, carboxylic acids, n-alkanes, phyt-2-ene, aldehydes, esters, squalene, diploptene, α-tocopherol, and triphenyl phosphates.

Phytofiltration of arsenic by aquatic moss (Warnstorfia fluitans).

This work investigates whether aquatic moss (Warnstorfia fluitans) originating from an arsenic (As)-contaminated wetland close to a mine tailings impoundment may be used for phytofiltration of As. The aim was to elucidate the capacity of W.fluitans to remove As from arsenite and arsenate contaminated water, how nutrients affect the As uptake and the proportion of As adsorption and absorption by the moss plant, which consists of dead and living parts. Arsenic removal from 0, 1, or 10% Hoagland nutrient solution containing 0-100μM arsenate was followed over 192h, and the total As in aquatic moss after treatment was analysed. The uptake and speciation of As in moss cultivated in water containing 10μM arsenate or arsenite were examined as As uptake in living (absorption+adsorption) and dead (adsorption) plant parts. Results indicated that W.fluitans removed up to 82% of As from the water within one hour when 1μM arsenate was added in the absence of nutrients. The removal time increased with greater nutrient and As concentrations. Up to 100μM As had no toxic effect on the plant biomass. Both arsenite and arsenate were removed from the solution to similar extents and, independent of the As species added, more arsenate than arsenite was found in the plant. Of the As taken up, over 90% was firmly bound to the tissue, a possible mechanism for resisting high As concentrations. Arsenic was both absorbed and adsorbed by the moss, and twice as much As was found in living parts as in dead moss tissue. This study revealed that W.fluitans has potential to serve as a phytofilter for removing As from As-contaminated water without displaying any toxic effects of the metalloid.

ХИМИЧЕСКИЙ СОСТАВ ЛИПИДОВ ЛИСТОСТЕБЕЛЬНЫХ МХОВ – ТОРФООБРАЗОВАТЕЛЕЙ ЭВТРОФНЫХ БОЛОТ ЗАПАДНОЙ СИБИРИ И АЛТАЯ

The paper describes the molecular composition of lipids in three samples of leafy moss ( Aulacomnium palustre, Warnstorfia fluitans and Calliergon giganteum ). Acyclic compounds such as normal and isoprenoid alkanes, isoprenoid alkenes, carboxylic acids and their esters, alcohols, aldehydes, normal and isoprenoid ketones were identified. Cyclic structures comprised of bi-, tri- and tetracyclic polycycloaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), bicyclic and pentacyclic terpenoids, steroids and tocopherols were detected. It was shown that carboxylic acids and n-alkanes with the dominance of C 27 homologue prevail among the organic compounds identified in mosses. It was found that A. palustre is characterized by a reduced content of isoprenoid compounds, alcohols, ketones and high content of unsaturated acids, pentacyclic terpenoids and aldehydes. A. palustre also differs from W. fluitans and C. giganteum in the composition of steroids. The sesquiterpenoid eremophilene was detected in A. palustre, but it is absent in the other mosses. The content of lycopadiene, carboxylic acids, n-alkanes, fit-2-ene, aldehydes, esters, squalene, diploptene, α-tocopherol and triphenyl phosphates is higher in W. fluitans in comparison to C. giganteum .

Growth Rate of an Aquatic Bryophyte (&lt;i&gt;Warnstorfia fluitans&lt;/i&gt; (Hedw.) Loeske) from a High Arctic Lake: Effect of Nutrient Concentration

The High Arctic is one of the regions most susceptible to climate change on a global scale. Increased temperature, precipitation, and cloud cover are anticipated in the region, with consequent increases in nutrient runoff to surface waters. Mosses are often the dominant submerged macrophyte in Arctic and High Arctic lakes. If the growth rate of mosses in these lakes is nutrient-limited, then production could increase with climate changes that result in higher nutrient concentrations. We conducted a laboratory study to 1) measure the growth response of Warnstorfia fluitans (Hedw.) Loeske from a High Arctic lake to nitrogen and phosphorus availability; and 2) determine whether growth rate was N- or P-limited by examining its relationship to internal P and N content. The growth rates of W. fluitans were generally low, ranging from 0.003 to 0.012 day-1. The growth rates increased with increasing plant P content, but not with increasing N content, indicating that moss growth was P-limited at low P availability in the experiment. Critical plant P concentration for maximum growth rate was 0.086% dry weight. This is the first time a critical P threshold has been calculated. The results imply that if climate changes result in increased P concentrations in surface waters, a higher production of moss could occur in High Arctic lakes.

Changes in nutrient availability from calcareous to acid wetland habitats with closely related brown moss species: increase instead of decrease in N and P

To test whether shifts in nutrient availability from calcareous to mineral-poor habitats could be a driving force in the evolution of seven closely related wetland brown mosses, we measured soil and vascular plant nutrients and conducted a laboratory incubation experiment with Swedish and some Dutch samples, in which net N and P-mineralization, respiration and microbial characteristics were measured. In spite of high respiration and microbial N, net N-mineralization appeared to be low for the calcareous Palustriella falcata and Scorpidium spp. Net N-mineralization significantly increased (and respiration and microbial N decreased) for the mineral-poor Sarmentypnum exannulatum, Straminergon stramineum and Warnstorfia fluitans, probably due to a decrease in microbial N-demand. Even though values were mainly negative, net P-mineralization showed a similar increase from calcareous to mineral-poor fens, probably due to lower precipitation of calcium phosphate. The calcareous habitat of the early wetland mosses may thus have been nutrient-poor instead of nutrient-rich. Adaptation to mineral-poor habitats, probably driven by expansion of mineral-poor wetlands when the boreal zone became colder and wetter, may have been associated with higher availability of ammonium and phosphate. However, this may have stimulated Sphagnum more than brown mosses, which may have been restricted to particular niches with perhaps some nitrification.

Seasonal changes in the surface phosphatase kinetics of aquatic mosses in northern England

The widespread occurrence of surface phosphatase activity in aquatic mosses, presumably synthesized to utilize organic phosphates in the environment, suggests the likelihood of strategies to optimize this process. Here we report seasonal changes in the kinetics of surface phosphatase in six moss populations, representing four species (Fontinalis antipyretica, Fontinalis squamosa, Rhynchostegium riparioides and Warnstorfia fluitans) from N.E. England. Kinetic parameters of shoots assayed within a few hours of sampling from the streams showed a summer/autumn increase in Km and Vmax corresponding to seasonal decrease in phosphate supply. The detection of phosphomonoesterases and phosphodiesterases with both low and high substrate affinities in all the populations studied confirms the widespread existence of this phenomenon in mosses. Similar two-phase kinetics were found for clonal, axenic isolates of two of the species (Rhynchostegium and Warnstorfia), indicating that any influence of epiphytes on the results with stream material was negligible. The seasonal changes in the kinetic parameters indicate that surface phosphatase activity is a dynamic response to seasonal changes in nutrient supply and/or requirement.

Phosphatase activities of the aquatic moss Warnstorfia fluitans (Hedw.) Loeske from an acidic stream in North-East England

A study was made of the aquatic environment, tissue nutrient composition and surface phosphatase activities of the aquatic moss Warnstorfia fluitans in Brandon Pithouse Stream, a small acidic stream in N-E England. The water, which originates from an underground spring, had been pH 2.6 for at least 30 years, but about 3.9 during the present study. The moss was by far the most abundant phototroph during all this period. Seasonal changes in aqueous nitrogen and phosphorus fractions were measured over a 2-year period near the source. Most of the filtrable N and P were at times organic, but the very high N:P ratio (even if organic N is excluded) suggests that only organic phosphate is likely to be important for the moss. There was a high peak in organic phosphate in late spring in both study years. Surface phosphomonoesterase (PMEase) and phosphodiesterase (PDEase) activities were highly correlated in the field and in axenic culture, though there were some differences in response to environmental factors. Axenic material showed higher PMEase and PDEase activities when grown with organic P than with inorganic P. Although the data suggest that internal P content is an important factor influencing phosphatase activities, PDEase activity was especially marked when the moss was grown with the diester, DNA, as P source, indicating that at least one of its surface phosphatases can also respond directly to the environment.

Surface phosphatase activity of the moss Warnstorfia fluitans as an indicator of the nutrient status of an acidic stream

Surface phosphatase activity of the moss <i>Warnstorfia fluitans</i> as an indicator of the nutrient status of an acidic stream