Economic importance of Bryophytes

Bryophyte is a traditional name used to refer to all embryophytes (land plants) that are non-vascular plants such as mosses, liverworts etc.
The defining feature of bryophytes is that they do not have true vascular tissue. Although some do have specialized tissues for the transport of water, they are not considered to be true vascular tissue since they do not contain lignin. 
There are about 25,000 different species of bryophytes in the world today.
Even though these plants are small in size, they are one of the largest groups of land plants and can be found almost everywhere in the world. 

1. ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF BRYOPHYTES

2. INTRODUCTION TO BRYOPHYTES Bryophyte  is a traditional name used to refer to all embryophytes (land plants) that are non-vascular plants such as mosses, liverworts etc. The defining feature of bryophytes is that they do not have true vascular tissue. Although some do have specialized tissues for the transport of water, they are not considered to be true vascular tissue since they do not contain lignin.  There are about 25,000 different species of bryophytes in the world today. Even though these plants are small in size, they are one of the largest groups of land plants and can be found almost everywhere in the world. 

3. OCCURANCES OF BRYOPHYTES

4. TYPES OF BRYOPHYTES There are mainly three types of bryophytes. They are: Mosses Liverworts Hornworts MOSSES LIVERWORTS HORNWORTS

5. ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF BRYOPHYTES

6. BRYOPHYTES AS A FUEL Liverworts and mosses have long been tried and used as a fuel in developed countries like Finland, Sweden, Ireland, West Germany, Poland and Soviet Union. Peat is a brown, soil-like material characteristic of boggy, acid ground, consisting of partly decomposed vegetable matter. Peat is suitable for production of gases like hydrogen, ethylene, natural gas and methanol . Peat mosses are best suited for the production of methane , and peat is likely to become an important source of fuel for production of heat, methane, or electricity in the future.

7. HORTICULTURE USES There is a long tradition of use of bryophytes in horticulture as soil additives , because of their high water holding capacity. Peat is an important soil conditioner and is commonly used for agricultural and horticultural purposes around the world. Burning sphagnum produces a smoke screen against frost.

8. V. R. Timmer contended that mosses accumulate potassium, magnesium and calcium during rainfall, but they do not compete for phosphorous in soil. These trapped nutrients maybe released slowly from the mosses to soil. When the mosses become dry its cell membrane undergoes some damage, so when the moss is rehydrated, it becomes leaky . while it repairs the damage it can release its more soluble contents ( eg . Potassium )into the soil, allowing other plant roots to absorb it, during the first stages of rainfall.

9. AS A PRESERVATIVE AGENT Bryophytes have excellent power to absorb moisture and can act as a good preservative agent. They also have a natural acidity that inhibits the growth of fungi and bacteria, therefore they are also used in shipping live shellfish and other organisms. Wet sphagnum is used to ship live plants.

10. MOSS INDUSTRY Moss industries in France manufacture moss carpets in various sizes. They are easy to fix along the: roads, lawns, play grounds, etc. In Sri Lanka, a wide range of eco-friendly products such as coir pots, moss sticks, hanging wire baskets and basket liners are made using bryophytes. Peat moss can be used for the manufacture of paper .

11. BRYOPHYTES IN HOUSE CONSTRUCTION These tiny plants are used in the construction of houses and their furnishings. At Kapkot in the Himalayas, villagers use moss mats with shrubs, grasses, and bamboo to make a pharki , a kind of door placed at the openings of their temporary huts. Sphagnum peat, peatcrete and peatwood are the new material use for making houses ,they are low cost and easy to transport. Some bryophytes are also used as furniture stuffing.

12. HOUSEHOLD USES Polytrichum juniperinum is a tall moss that holds soil in place, and its strong enough to make brooms, baskets and doormats . Some mosses are used as insect repellants when storing food. Local mosses and liverworts are dried, made into a coarse powder that is sprinkled over grains and other goods to be stored in containers.

13. FIBRE INDUSTRIES Mosses are mixed with wool to make cheap clothes. They are used in decoration of net bags and other objects. Women also wear their steam like structure in their hair and as decorations in bracelets . Used in hiking boots to absorb odour and moisture. Used in lining of diapers to improve absorbing power.

14. MEDICINAL USES chilblains, scabies, acne and other forms of skin diseases can be treated using bryophytes. Help to cure ringworms. Ash of moss is mixed with honey and fat to treat cuts burns and wounds. Used for curing allaying from insect bites. Medicines made of bryophytes can treat tonsillitis, cystis, bronchitis and tympanitis. Some mosses are antiseptic and can be used in wounds. This antiseptic effect was discovered during world war II. Marchantia polymorpha can be used for the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis.

15. USE IN BIOTECHNOLOGY Transgenic Physcomitrella are now being used to produce ‘blood-clotting factor IX’, for the treatment of haemophilia’ B and other proteins.

16. ROLE IN ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION Liverworts, mosses and lichens serves as pioneers in lithosere. They colonize bare rocks and similar habitats where other plants cannot get initially established. They initiate soil formation and gradually make these habitats ideal for colonization by other plants.

17. ROLE IN BOG SUCCESSION Mosses play an important role in bog succession from open water to climax forests. Plants like sphagnum establish themselves in open water bodies and cover their whole surface area. Due to the constant deposition of all plant debris, the bottom of the water body rises gradually. Sphagnum and other hydrophytes form a dense cover and convert the open water body into a quaking bog . Finally large trees colonize the area transforming the swamp into a forest.

18. ROLE IN SOIL FORMATION AND GROWTH OF VEGETATION Mosses play a significant role in soil formation. They grow in the cracks and crevices of rocks and cause weathering of rocks with the help of the acid they release. This leads to soil formation. The death and decay of these plants also help in soil formation and also favour the growth of vegetation.

19. ROLE IN SOIL CONSERVATION Some bryophytes like mosses check the sheet erosion of soil and thereby play an important role in soil conservation. They grow luxuriantly and form thick mat or carpet which can tightly hold the soil preventing soil erosion. They can also retain the impact of rainfall and hold most of the water.

20. ROLE AS POLLUTION INDICATORS Some live or sundried mosses, especially sphagnum, can absorb metals . The accumulation of heavy metals in mosses enables them to be used as indicators of atmospheric and aquatic pollution and also in mineralogical surveys.