[CO2-gas exchange of mosses following water vapour uptake]

The CO2-gas exchange of dry mosses which were exposed to air of high water vapour content has been followed. Some moss species behave as do lichens and aerophilic green algae: they are able to take up enough water vapour to make a rather high photosynthetic activity possible. Other species lack this ability. They need liquid water for reactivation of photosynthesis, as do poikilohydric ferns and phanerogams. In this respect too the mosses are located between the real thallophytes and the cormophytes. From this point of view they are useful objects for studying the relationships between water vapour reactivation, morphological organisation and ecological capability.