Peat moss Sphagnum riparium follows a circatrigintan growth rhythm in situ: A case report

ABSTRACT

In situ growth of Sphagnum riparium Ångstr. shoots were monitored during the 2015 and 2016 growing seasons in Karelia, Russia. It was established that shoot growth rates fluctuated with a period of around 30 days, that is, showed a circatrigintan rhythm. Such rhythms from mosses have not been previously reported. Correlation of growth rates with the percentage of the illuminated portion of the Moon was statistically significant (p<0.01) in both years. Shoot growth rates were reliably higher around the new Moon compared to the full Moon. This phenomenon may be due either to causality or to a pure coincidence of processes with similar rhythms.

KEYWORDS:

• Growing season
• growth rate
• infradian rhythms
• length increment
• lunar synodic cycle
• mire site
• method of geotropic curvatures
• Sphagnum mat

Acknoweldgments

We are sincerely grateful to Olga S. Kislova for assistance in the preparation of the text. We are also thankful to Robert M. Riddle for the significant comments on the text.

Funding

The study was partly supported with funding from the federal budget for implementation of state ordered project № 0221-2014-0035.

Declaration of interest

The content of this article represents the contributions of the authors. No one has commercial interests of any kind to declare that are of relevance to the contents of this article.

Additional information

Funding

The study was partly supported with funding from the federal budget for implementation of state ordered project № 0221-2014-0035.