Abstract:

Bryophytes have great application potential in urban greening due to their unique water absorption capacity, stress resistance and low maintenance requirements. To explore the species and cultivation conditions of bryophytes suitable for urban greening in North China, the mosses Brachythecium buchananii, Leptobryum pyriforme and liverwort Marchantia polymorpha, which are widely distributed in North China, were selected as experimental materials. The effects of cultivation conditions such as transplanting methods, substrate thickness and covered culture conditions on their coverage were studied. Compared to patch transplantation, the growth rate and magnitude of the coverage of the three bryophytes propagated by fragments were significantly higher. After the same period of cultivation, the coverage of the bryophytes in the substrate with a thickness of 3.0 cm was significantly higher than that in the substrate with a thickness of 1.5 cm. Moreover, only the B. buchananii survived in the substrate with a thickness of 1.5 cm, while the other two bryophytes died after 72 days of culturing. All three bryophytes showed a significantly higher increase in coverage under closed culture than that under open culture. Using deionized water for substrate preparation and irrigation resulted in significantly better growth status of the three bryophytes than using standing tap water. Therefore, for urban greening, it is recommended to use fragments for propagation, ensure appropriate substrate thickness, use deionized water for substrate preparation and irrigation, and implement closed culture to improve growth rate and coverage of bryophytes. For species selection, priority should be given to B. buchananii for greening in arid areas or environments with thin soil layers, while M. polymorpha is preferred in moisture-sufficient environments. In the future, it can be combined with matrix formula optimization and outdoor open field test to deepen the research of physiological mechanism of moss stress resistance and provide technical support for large-scale urban greening applications.

Key words: bryophytes, artificial cultivation, transplanting method, substrate thickness, water quality, closed culture, coverage