Living in sheltered microhabitats with significant 'habitat buffering' may become increasingly important to the survival of small dryland plants like mosses in a changing world. My dissertation research in the Mojave Desert (Stark Lab (University of Nevada, Las Vegas) found mosses to be healthier (less stressed out) when they were living in buffered microhabitats!

 

The most protective microhabitats appear to be those on shaded, north-facing slopes beneath shrub canopies. Mosses were shaded for nearly the entire year in these "microrefugia" protecting them from harmful UV radiation and excessive heat.

 

I am quantifying how much longer mosses remain hydrated throughout the year and by season in these habitats compared to more exposed microsites. Stay tuned!