泥炭藓: 一类具有重要生态、经济和科学价值的碳封存植物

全球气候变暖是人类面临最严峻的环境挑战。有效控制碳排放, 充分发挥生态系统的固碳能力是实现碳中和目标的重要手段。作为碳封存能力最强的一种湿地类型, 泥炭地是加快实现碳中和目标的关键陆地生态系统。作为泥炭地“有效的生态系统工程师”, 泥炭藓(Sphagnum)在泥炭地的碳汇功能、过滤淡水及保护土地免受洪水侵袭等方面具有极其重要的作用。100多年来, 泥炭藓广泛应用于医药保健、污染监测和废水处理等领域, 尤其是作为一类最值得信赖的土壤介质和保湿材料一直被广泛用于园艺产业。在全球气候变暖和“双碳”目标的大背景下, 泥炭藓已经成为生命科学和生态学研究的热点。该文主要从泥炭藓的形态、物种多样性和起源、生境与分布、繁殖和保护、培养与种植、环境指示和监测、用途和应用, 以及碳封存、储水和酸化能力等方面进行综述, 旨在为泥炭藓研究、泥炭地的保护和恢复以及泥炭藓开发利用和产业发展提供借鉴与参考。

Peat Mosses (Sphagnum): Ecologically,Economically, and Scientifically Important Group of Carbon Sequestration Plants

Global warming is the most severe environmental challenge that mankind is facing now. In addition to effectively controlling carbon emissions, making the ecosystem work at full capacity of carbon sequestration is an important means to achieve the goal of carbon neutralization. As one of the wetland types with the highest carbon sequestration capacity, peatland is the key terrestrial ecosystem to accelerate the achievement of carbon neutrality goals. As the ‘effective ecosystem engineer’ on peatlands, peat moss (Sphagnum) plays an extremely important role in peatlands, such as carbon sink, freshwater filtering, and land protection from flooding. For more than 100 years, peat mosses, as the most economically valuable group of bryophytes, have been widely used in the fields of medicine and health care, pollution monitoring and wastewater treatment, especially in the horticultural industry as one of the most reliable soil media and moisturizing materials. In the context of global warming and the ‘two-carbon’ goal, peat moss is a research hotspot in life sciences and ecology. This paper mainly reviews the morphology, species diversity and origin, habitat and distribution, reproduction and protection, cultivation and planting, environmental indication and monitoring, usage and applications, capabilities of carbon sequestration, water storage and acidification. It provides a reference for peat moss research, peatland protection and restoration, as well as development, utilization, and industrial development of peat moss.