NEETBotanyPlant Kingdom
What effect do mosses have on soil erosion?
Options
- AThey increase soil erosion.
- BThey prevent soil erosion.
- CThey have no effect on soil erosion.
- DThey cause soil erosion in dry areas.
Correct answer
B. They prevent soil erosion.
Step-by-step solution
Bryophytes in general are of little economic importance but some mosses provide food for herbaceous mammals, birds and other animals. Species of Sphagnum, a moss, provide peat that have long been used as fuel, and as packing material for trans-shipment of living material because of their capacity to hold water. Mosses along with lichens are the first organisms to colonize rocks and hence, are of great ecological importance. They decompose rocks making the substrate suitable for the growth of higher plants. Since mo