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Twenty nine South European specimens of Sphagnum centrale, S. palustre, S. papillosum and S. magellanicum were studied with 15 microsatellite markers. In contrast with eastern North American populations, our analysis showed a genetic overlapping between S. centrale and S. palustre in mixed populations. Moreover, Mediterranean species showed a genetic richness (total number of alleles) higher than that calculated in conspecific American samples. As Mediterranean Sphagnum bogs are remnant populations, microsatellites could well work for selecting source populations in order to recover Mediterranean peatlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]