Comparison of habitat requirements of the mosses Hamatocaulisvernicosus, Scorpidium cossonii and Warnstorfia exannulata indifferent parts of temperate Europe

Abstract

Habitat affinities of the red-listed and EU Habitat Directive moss species Hamatocaulis vernicosus and the more widely distributed allied species were analysed in three different European locations. Warnstorfia exannulata preferred slightly acid conditions, about pH 5.6. Ecological behaviour of S. cossonii was very similar at all the locations, where it occupied base-rich habitats. The pH optimum of H. vernicosus, occupying habitats in the middle part of the base richness gradient, varied between locations from 6.0 in Bulgaria to 6.7 and 7.0 in the West Carpathians and Bohemian Massif. Niche diversification followed the gradient in Ellenberg nutrient indicator values and was similar at all the locations. In the Bohemian Massif and Bulgaria, the occurrence of W. exannulatawas further associated with a relatively high moisture.