Tolerance of Sphagnum to water level

AbstractFour species of Sphagnum which occur on ombrotrophic mires were grown at different levels above the water table. In one experiment the species were grown at constant water levels in a bog pool and, in another, at fluctuating water levels in a transplant experiment. A general trend was found of decreasing photosynthetic capacity with increasing height above the water table. This indicates that the hollow species (S. balticum and S. tenellum) are unable to tolerate the hummock sites, whereas the hummock species (S. fuscum and S. rubellum) could well survive the environmental conditions of the hollows but are absent because of biotic factors.