Biology · Plant Kingdom · NEET
The moss Sphagnum gives peat. Peat is partly decomposed plant matter that has built up over a long time in wet places. NCERT says peat has 'long been used as fuel'. So the two peat uses to remember are: (1) fuel, and (2) Sphagnum itself is used as packing material for shipping living plants. Do not mix them up — Sphagnum is the living moss, peat is the old material formed from it.
Because Sphagnum can hold a very large amount of water. When you pack roots or living plant material in Sphagnum for trans-shipment (sending over long distances), the moss keeps them moist so they do not dry out and die on the way. NEET can ask 'why' — the answer is its high water-holding capacity, not any nutrient it gives.
Mosses grow close together and form dense mats on the soil surface. When rain falls, these mats reduce the force (impact) of the falling raindrops hitting the soil. Because the soil is not hit hard and is held by the mat, it is not washed away. So the mat both softens the rain and binds the soil, preventing erosion.
NCERT states that mosses, along with lichens, are the first organisms to colonise rocks. They start breaking down (decomposing) the rock, slowly making soil. This makes the surface suitable for bigger, higher plants to grow later. This is why they are ecologically very important — they are pioneers in ecological succession.
No. NCERT clearly says 'bryophytes in general are of little economic importance.' Only a few uses exist: some mosses provide food for herbaceous (plant-eating) mammals, birds and other animals, and Sphagnum gives peat and packing material. Algae, in contrast, give agar, algin and carrageen — much more commercially important. Do not over-claim bryophyte uses in NEET.
Sphagnum is a MOSS. NCERT lists common mosses as Funaria, Polytrichum and Sphagnum. It is a bryophyte, and within bryophytes it belongs to the moss group, not liverworts. This matters because NEET matching questions often place Sphagnum wrongly.
Try the real previous-year questions from this chapter — each with the answer and a full solution.
Sphagnum. It is a moss (bryophyte). Peat formed from it has long been used as fuel, and Sphagnum itself is used as packing material for shipping living plants.
Mosses, with lichens, are the first organisms to colonise bare rocks and decompose them, preparing the ground for higher plants. They also form dense mats that reduce rain impact and prevent soil erosion.
Some mosses provide food for herbaceous mammals, birds and other animals. This is one of the few economic uses NCERT lists for bryophytes.
1) As a source of peat, used as fuel. 2) As packing material for the trans-shipment of living material, because of its high water-holding capacity.
No. NCERT says they are of little economic importance. Only a few uses exist, mainly through Sphagnum (peat, packing) and as animal food.
