News

Knowing Mosses, Understanding Peatlands

19/03/2026

With the Moss Flora of Austria, a new reference work is now available that is equally significant for peatland research and nature conservation. One of the authors is Christian Schröck, scientific director of LIFE AMooRe. A good opportunity to explain why mosses are indispensable to our work.

When mosses become an early warning system

Anyone who wants to know how a peatland is really doing should look at its mosses. These inconspicuous plants have no roots and absorb water and nutrients directly through their surface. They therefore respond immediately to changes in the water balance, nutrient inputs and climatic shifts. Hardly any other group of organisms indicates hydrological changes as early and as reliably. The composition of the moss flora can therefore reveal a great deal about the condition of a peatland and about developments that are already emerging in the ecosystem before other indicators respond.

Mosses are therefore indispensable in peatland research and nature conservation. They also play a central role within LIFE AMooRe, particularly in establishing a long-term monitoring programme across Austria. Changes in the moss flora provide early indications of hydrological shifts, nutrient inputs or other environmental changes, helping to better understand developments in peatland ecosystems over the long term.

Figure 1: Drepanocladus trifarius; Figure 2: liverworts

Scientific basis and practice

This work requires reliable identification literature, as mosses are not only ecologically sensitive but also taxonomically demanding. The Moss Flora of Austria is now available as exactly such a reference work. Leading Austrian moss experts have produced this comprehensive volume over five years of collaboration.

One of the authors is Christian Schröck, scientific director of LIFE AMooRe. This is no coincidence. It demonstrates that the scientific expertise underpinning the project does not begin in the project office. It extends into the fundamental research on which peatland conservation in Austria must be built for the long term. The Moss Flora of Austria is therefore not only a milestone for science, but also evidence of the depth of expertise with which LIFE AMooRe approaches its mandate. And an investment in the next generation of researchers who will study, understand and protect our peatlands.

Orders at: Moosflora von Österreich Teil 1 – 3