India’s First Moss Garden Emerges Near Nainital

Dehradun: India’s first moss garden was developed in Khurpatal in Nainital district, authorities said Saturday. Approved in July last year under the CAMPA scheme by the Uttarakhand Forest Department Research Advisory Committee, the moss garden, the first in the country, was inaugurated on Friday by renowned water conservation activist Rajendra Singh, Chief Conservator of the Sanjiv Chaturvedi Forest, he said.

The main goal behind the development of the garden was to conserve the various species of moss and other bryophytes and to make people aware of their importance in the environment, as well as to create a recreation center for tourists, said Chaturvedi, who runs the wing of state forest department investigation. .

Moss Garden, Khurpatal is home to around 30 different species of moss and a few other species of bryophytes.

Two of the moss species found here, namely Hyophila involuta (cement moss) and Brachythecium Buchanani, are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list, Chaturvedi said.

It has a 1.2 km moss trail showing different species of moss and scientific information about them, he said.

It has an interpretation center in which different aspects of the moss are shown through models that include a painting from the First World War that shows the use of Sphagnum moss as a wound dressing since it absorbs liquids about three times faster than cotton It is colder, softer and less irritating than cotton, as well as having antiseptic properties.

It also produces a sterile environment by keeping the pH level around wounds low and thus inhibiting the growth of bacteria, said the CCF.

The garden also features a dinosaur model showing the existence of moss from the Jurassic era, ornaments made from live moss that are very popular in Japan, a moss terrarium that represents the living moss ecosystem, and a bird’s nest that uses moss for regulate temperature and for antibacterial purposes.

Moss-related poems and cartoons are also on display in the garden.

Moss is one of the oldest plants on the planet, existing since the Jurassic era. They are the first plants to grow on rocky terrain and by knocking down rocks and soil. They help create a suitable environment for other plants to grow.

Surfaces such as bare rock and coarse volcanic ash are initially sterile, poor in nutrients, and are often exposed to the sun and wind. Such surfaces are adverse for vascular plant seed growth, but are easily colonized by moss species, Chaturvedi said.