СONTRIBUTIONS TO STUDIES OF THREATENED MOSSES FROM EASTERN EUROPE, THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA

The forests of the Republic of Moldova, by their ecological characteristics and the fact that a large part of them are protected areas, serve as habitats for optimal growth and development of different species of bryophytes. In order to identify areas of growth and development of rare bryophytes, included in various editions of the Red Book of Moldova (1978, 2001, 2015), we researched the main forest and forest-rocky ecosystems from various regions of our country' natural areas (years 2000-2015), these being compared with data of previous research in this area (years 1972-2006). The study indicated that between the seven rare species of mosses, included in the new edition of the Red Book of Moldova (2015), one species (Climacium dendroides) is at the Southern limit of its spreading areal and prefers moist habitats of deciduous forests; species (Ditrichum flexicaule) - mesophyte and (Weisia fallax) – xerophyte, prefer habitats of rocky forests, limestone cliffs from Prut River and Dniester River; two other species (Cirriphyllum piliferum, Thuidium delicatulum) - prefer as habitat the dry forest' phytocenoses and species (Orthotrichum patens, Neckera pennata) – the wet forests' phytocenoses of Moldova. For some rare species of mosses, indicated for the first time in six new places of Moldova, it is necessary to take under state protection these habitats, through their transformation into natural areas that protect directly the referred mosses species.