Mosses and liverworts are everywhere in Taiwan, adding color and interest to both the most mundane and the most extreme of habitats.
A survey of the nation's flora over two years, conducted by a research team at the Council of Agriculture's Endemic Species Research Institute, has revealed that the country is home to a wide variety of moss and liverwort species, with more than 1,500 different species identified.
Some of the nation's species are rare globally, while others are found in isolated pockets in only a few regions, a researcher said yesterday.
Yang Chia-tung (楊嘉棟) said the institute launched a six-year moss and liverwort species survey project in 2005 and that the first phase of the research had recently been completed.
Over the past two years, Yang said, the research team has collected more than 3,000 moss and liverwort specimens. An analysis of those samples reveals that Taiwan has more than 1,500 moss and liverwort species, comparable to the number documented in Japan, which is famous for its flora conservation efforts, he said.
An especially encouraging finding is that Taiwan is home to 300 moss and liverwort species listed as rare, Yang said, adding that 150 of them are only found in Taiwan.
Since Taiwan's land area is only a quarter of that of Japan, Yang said, Taiwan is a world leader in terms of moss and liverwort diversity and density.
Mosses and liverworts are classified as bryophytes. They are usually green and small and are among the simplest of land-dwelling plants. Only a few species are aquatic.
Bryophytes lack some of the complex structures seen in other types of plants. For example, they do not produce flowers or seeds and most have no internal means for transporting water or nutrients. Most are confined to damp, sheltered areas.
Bryophytes have "an important and subtle ecological role, both in water-retention and the stabilization of mobile surfaces, such as landslips, scree slopes and sand dunes," Yang said.
Examination of any handful of moss will also reveal another important ecological role. These simplest of plants provide shelter and humidity for a remarkable diversity of tiny invertebrates, Yang said, adding that this constituted an integral part of the food chain in many important habitats.
Among the rare moss species found in Taiwan is the Riccio carpos, Yang said. In most areas around the world, this strain can now only grow in greenhouses with attentive care. The species is found in the wetlands of Puli Township (
An even more precious liverwort species is Takaki, which flourishes on the northern peak of Yushan at an elevation of more than 3,000m. Takaki is considered a "living fossil" because it has existed for tens of millions of years. The species can now only be found in a few isolated pockets across the globe at high altitudes, Yang said.
Another rare liverwort species found in certain mountainous areas is Lejeuneaceae, which usually grows on tree leaves, he said.
With its abundance in moss and liverwort species, Taiwan has emerged as a "hot spot" for the study and appreciation of bryophytes, Yang said.
A botanical garden in Missouri sent research fellows to Taiwan last year to collect bryophyte specimens. They returned to the US with more than 400 moss and liverwort specimens for display at their exhibition hall.
"Many nature science museums in Japan have also sent personnel to Taiwan to collect moss and liverwort specimens, and they have often been amazed by Taiwan's biodiversity," Yang said.
However, Taiwanese are unaware of this unusual variety of species, Yang said.
Industrial development, air and water pollution, as well as global warming are all threatening the survival of many moss and liverwort species, he said.
Yang said the Council of Agriculture was planning to review its Red Book of threatened wildlife species next year, including certain rare moss and liverwort species.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan’s Liu Ming-i, right, who also goes by the name Ray Liu, poses with a Chinese Taipei flag after winning the gold medal in the men’s physique 170cm competition at the International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation Asian Championship in Ajman, United Arab Emirates, yesterday.
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
RSS