Moor Mosses and Sphagnum Sorting...

This week the Community Science team was very lucky to be visited by ecologist Dr Ros Tratt from the University of Sheffield, who spent some time with us putting mosses under the microscope -  and putting us through our paces in the field.

We spent time separating small samples of vital peat forming Sphagnum mosses from other mosses, and then identified them to species level by looking at their typical characteristics - size, shape, colour, leaf shapes and orientations and other details which can be seen using a hand lens or a microscope.

All this activity was in preparation for our new citizen science survey of Sphagnum - The Big Moss Map, which will be launched this autumn. If you're interested in learning more about moss; why it is important and how to identify it, then watch this space...