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The utility of elevational gradients as tools to test either ecological hypotheses and delineate elevation‐associated environmental factors that explain the species diversity patterns is critical for moss species conservation. We examined the elevational patterns of species richness and evaluated the effects of spatial and environmental factors on moss species predicted a priori by alternative hypotheses, including mid‐domain effect (MDE), habitat complexity, energy, and environment proposed to explain the variation of diversity. Last, we assessed the contribution of elevation toward explaining the heterogeneity among sampling sites. We observed the hump‐shaped distribution pattern of species richness along elevational gradient. The MDE and the habitat complexity hypothesis were supported with MDE being the primary driver for richness patterns, whereas little support was found for the energy and the environmental factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Haplodontium zangiiX.R.Wang & J.C.Zhao, a new moss species from Xizang, China, is described and illustrated. Previously, specimens ofH. zangiihave been identified asMielichhoferia himalayanaMitt. However,H. zangiiis distinctly different fromM. himalayanain having excurrent costae with short awns (vslong denticulate awns), short-pyriform capsules, 0.8–1 mm (vslong-pyriform capsules, 2.5–3 mm), and densely papillose exostome teeth (vssmooth or vertically striped exostome teeth).Haplodontium zangiiis similar toH. macrocarpum(Hook.) J.R.Spence, which was traditionally placed inMielichhoferiaNees & Hornsch. asM. macrocarpa(Hook.) Bruch & Schimp. The main differences betweenH. zangiiandH. macrocarpumare in the morphology of the leaves, capsules, guide cells, and stomata.Mielichhoferia himalayanaand another Chinese species ofMielichhoferia,M. sinensisDix., are also transferred toHaplodontiumHampe, a new genus in the bryoflora of China, asH. himalayanum(Mitt.) X.R.Wang & J.C.Zhao andH. sinensis(Dix.) X.R.Wang & J.C.Zhao. A morphological comparison and a key to the three species ofHaplodontiumin China as well as toH. macrocarpum, a species that is likely to be found in China, are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) with the attenuated total reflectance technique was used to identify Rhodobryum roseum from its four adulterants. The FTIR spectra of six samples in the range from 4000 cm−1 to 600 cm−1 were obtained. The second-derivative transformation test was used to identify the small and nearby absorption peaks. A cluster analysis was performed to classify the spectra in a dendrogram based on the spectral similarity. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to classify the species of six moss samples. A cluster analysis with PCA was used to identify different genera. However, some species of the same genus exhibited highly similar chemical components and FTIR spectra. Fourier self-deconvolution and discrete wavelet transform (DWT) were used to enhance the differences among the species with similar chemical components and FTIR spectra. Three scales were selected as the feature-extracting space in the DWT domain. The results show that FTIR spectroscopy with chemometrics is suitable for identifying Rhodobryum roseum and its adulterants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of a literature survey and examination of specimens, we believe that the identification of three species of propaguliferous Pohlia in China, Pohlia flexuosa, Pohlia proligera, and Pohlia leucostoma needs to be clarified. Pohlia flexuosa has two differing types of propagule: one short and oblong and the other long and thread-like; both propagules have inconspicuous leaf primordia, and can occur on the same stem. Propagules of P. proligera are shortly clavate to long vermicular, with one to three unicellular or multicellular prong-like leaf primordia arising at the apex of the propagule, and the leaf primordia are approximately one-fourth of the total length of the propagules. Pohlia leucostoma has long filiform propagules, with two or three short peg-like leaf primordia about one-tenth of total propagule length. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on Gymnostomiella vernicosa var. acuminata, a new variety of moss from Taihang Mountain Range in China. It says that the Gymnostomiella vernicosa is somewhat similar to the species of Splachnobryum plants in terms of areolation and leaf shapes. It also discusses the ecology and distribution of Gymnostomiella vernicosa in China.

The biological soil crusts (BSCs) in the Gurbantunggut Desert, the largest fixed and semi-fixed desert in China, feature moss-dominated BSCs, which play an indispensable role in sand fixation. Syntrichia caninervis Mitt. (S. caninervis) serves as one of the most common species in BSCs in the desert. In this study we examined the morphological structure of S. caninervis from leafy gametophyte to protonema using light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We also examined the relationships between the morphological structure of S. caninervis and environmental factors. We found that: (1) this moss species is commonly tufted on the sand surface, and its leaves are folded upwards and twisted around the stem under dry conditions; (2) the cells on both upper and lower leaf surfaces have C-shaped dark papillae, which may reflect sunlight to reduce the damage from high temperature; (3) the leaf costa is excurrent, forming an awn with forked teeth; and (4) the protonema cells are small and thickset with thick cell walls and the cytoplasm is highly concentrated with a small vacuole. In addition, we also found that the protonema cells always form pouches on the tip of the mother cells during the process of cell polarization. Our results suggest that S. caninervis has, through its life cycle, several morphological and structural characteristics to adapt to dry environmental conditions. These morphological features of S. caninervis may also be found in other deserts in the world due to the world-wide distribution of the species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]