''Sphagnum magellanicum'', commonly called Magellanic bogmoss, Magellan's sphagnum, Magellan's peatmoss or midway peat moss, is a widespread species of moss found in wet

boreal forest Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruc ...

in the far south and southwest of South America, North America and Eurasia.

Description

The red-purple colour visible all or parts of the leaves is very distinctive. It forms low cushions and mats within freshwater bogs.

Conservation

In the 2010s ''Sphagnum'' peat in Chile has begun to be harvested at large scales for export to countries like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the United States. Given ''Sphagnum''s property to absorb excess water and release it during dry months harvesting of ''Sphagnum'', means that overexploitation may threaten the water supply in the

fjords and channels of Chile The southern coast of Chile presents a large number of fjords and fjord-like channels from the latitudes of Cape Horn (55° S) to Reloncaví Estuary (42° S). Some fjords and channels are important navigable channels providing access to ports like P ...

. Extraction of ''Sphagnum'' in Chile is regulated by law since August 2, 2018. Since 2018 Chilean law allows only for the manual extraction of Sphagnum using only pitchforks or similar tools as aid. In a given area (polygon) at least 30% of Sphagnum coverage has to be left unharvested. Harvested ''Sphagnum'' fibers may not exceed 15 cm in length and the remaining ''Sphagnum'' after harvest may never have a length less than 5 cm over the water table. In the regions of Los Ríos (40°S) and Los Lagos (41–43°S) the same plots may be harvested after 12 years, while further south in Aysén (44–48°S) and Magallanes (49–56°S) 85 years have to pass before the same area is harvested again. In

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

, the species is found at only two locations and has the conservation status of a

vulnerable species A vulnerable species is a species which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatening its survival and reproduction improve. Vulnera ...

(VU).Náttúrufræðistofnun Íslands celandic Institute of Natural History(1996).
Válisti 1: Plöntur.
' (in Icelandic) Reykjavík: Náttúrufræðistofnun Íslands.

Response to herbicide exposure

In a study of the effect of the herbicide Asulam on moss growth, ''Sphagnum magellanicum'' was shown to have intermediate sensitivity to Asulam exposure.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q135173 Flora of Chile magellanicum Plants described in 1798