Sphagnum mosses cultivated in outdoor nurseries yield efficient plant material for peatland restoration

Sphagnum mosses are often reintroduced for peatland restoration or needed for the initiation of cultivation basins for Sphagnum farming. Finding Sphagnum dominated peatland where plant collection is permitted can be challenging and hampers peatland restoration in some regions. Theoretically, starting from small initial collections in natural areas, Sphagnum could be multiplied at Sphagnum cultivation sites and then be used as donor plant material for restoration. However, it is uncertain whether cultivated Sphagnum possesses the same regeneration capacity as moss fragments originating from natural peatlands. In this study we compared the establishment of Sphagnum mosses and peatland plant diversity on experimental plots that were revegetated with cultivated Sphagnum and Sphagnum originating from natural peatland. We found that reintroducing cultivated Sphagnum carpets of thickness > 5 cm and carpets collected from natural peatlands resulted in the same Sphagnum establishment. The cover of vascular plants and the diversity of peatland plants were similar in plots restored using cultivated Sphagnum and plots that were revegetated with plant material collected from natural peatland. If the cultivated plant material is to be used for restoration purposes, the donor site for initiating the Sphagnum cultivation site should contain a high peatland plant diversity.