Several studies have shown that nutrients in rainfall are
insufficient to account for the concentrations found in the
mosses. Binkley and Graham (1981) found that
precipitation could account for only 75% of the nitrogen in
Stokesiella oregana and Hylocomium splendens in an oldgrowth
Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forest and
suggested these mosses might obtain some of their N from
the underlying soil. Tamm felt that Hylocomium splendens
was most likely to obtain its nutrients from accumulation
on overlying shoots rather than from the soil, using
capillary action. But in the tundra Hylocomium splendens,
Aulacomnium palustre (Figure 5), and Sphagnum can
obtain nitrogen (as ammonium, nitrate, and the amino acid
glycine) from 3-8 cm soil depths (McKane et al. 1993).
Perhaps the translocation of water upward by capillary
action brings the nutrients up from lower soil depths. Or is
there a fungal connection? In any event, soil seems to
contribute to the moss nutrient supply. This concept of soil
contributions is further supported by a study on Pleurozium
schreberi, another pleurocarpous feather moss with a
growth form similar to that of Hylocomium splendens, that
can obtain calcium from CaCO3 in soil as well as from
dilute solutions on its leaves (Bates & Farmer 1990).