ECHOES OF THE LAST MIND

ORIGIN: https://www.yourweather.co.uk/news/

The moss has been native to the Yorkshire region for over 6,000 years, but industrialisation nearly drove it to extinction. Now, it is slowly being introduced back to make the area climate resilient.

A moss native to Yorkshire is being brought back to build climate resilience

The National Trust has introduced a rare moss to two sites in Yorkshire to help create peat bogs and combat climate change. The moss is expected not only to help trap carbon but also to create diverse habitats for the region’s wildlife.

Sphagnum moss, whose formal name sphagnum austinii, is being reintroduced in the Yorkshire Dales and Marsden Moor near Huddersfield after being extinct in the area for hundreds of years. The purpose is to reintroduce peat formation and restore its many functions.

What is sphagnum moss?

Sphagnum moss is a peat-forming species that helps create bogs, where dead vegetation does not decay but accumulates, allowing carbon to remain in the ground.

Sphagnum austinii was the dominant sphagnum species of the Yorkshire region for over 6,000 years but was lost