At What Scales and in What Vegetation Types Should We Sample Non-vascular Plants?

Scientists usually avoid sampling non-vascular plants (particularly bryophytes and lichens) for a variety of reasons. However, non-vascular plants often respond differently to the environment than do vascular plants for a range of vegetation types. There is increasing evidence that including them in a sampling programme conveys additional information about the study sites. Such sampling can be important at all scales and in any vegetation type, depending on the subtlety of information sought. Situations which appear likely to benefit from sampling of non-vascular plants are those involving some or all of the following: (1) high-stress environments, (2) relatively long environmental gradients, (3) suspected occurrence of subtle niche-based differences, and (4) need for sensitivity to environmental changes at micro-spatial or temporal scales. Knowledge and use of non-vascular plants in vegetation science will become increasingly important as anthropogenic impacts such as climate change intensify.