STOP THE CHEVIOT MINE!
The importance of mosses to the ecosystem
By Dale H. Vitt, Devonian Botanical Garden
Common Salix Bata Hiane Photo:Allison Dinwoodie
Mosses: these small, inconspicuous, and seemingly unimportant plants can, in fact, be dominant parts of the boreal forest and in some ecosystems they are very important economically (peat moss) and ecologically (feather mosses), controlling water balance, nutrient flow, and acidity. At Mountain Park, they are common and species rich. There has been reported to be a refugium for plants during at least a part of the last glaciation. This makes the area a rich geological teaching area. But perhaps more importantly, the area hosts a rich assemblage of rare plants. In the Province of Alberta, some of these occur only in the Mountain Park area; others occur only at 2-3 other places in the province.
Common Salix Bata Hiane Photo:Allison Dinwoodie
One rare moss is known only from one waterfall near Whitehorse Creek and from one other locality in Jasper National Park where it was originally collected in the early 1800's and has not been refound since.
Several other mosses reach their southernmost station in North America at Mountain Park. Although the area has certainly been studied over the years through casual collections and observations, really no one with specialized expertise in these plants has done a detailed inventory of the area. So, without a chance to study the area in some detail, we will never know what might be there. Surely other significantly rare species occur in the area and await discovery. Mass disturbance of this area would eliminate these critical habitats that no restoration effort can replace.
If Alberta and Canada is to have any international respect after signing the Rio de Janiero treaty on endangered species, then how can species known in the country from less than five localities in Canada be destroyed by such developments as planned here? It is time we upheld our international agreements and set an example for other countries to follow.
Moss often is the first indicator that something is wrong with an ecosystem. As survivors from a time before the last ice age more than 10,000 years ago, they provide special insight into what life might have been like back then and they can continue to provide insight into what life is like now. They are necessary.
