Water’s path from moss to soil Vol. 2: how soil-moss combinations affect soil water fluxes and soil loss in a temperate forest

Mosses are key components of many ecosystems and particularly related to water cycling. In principle, the importance of mosses for water-related processes is known; however, their influence is rarely quantified in scientific studies. To fill this research gap, this study concentrates on the influence of mosses of different species on surface runoff, the amount of percolated water, soil loss, and the temporal dynamics of soil water content. For this purpose, an experimental approach consisting of an ex situ rainfall simulation (45 mm h− 1 for 30 min) with infiltration boxes equipped with biocrust wetness probes was applied. On average, mosses significantly reduced surface runoff by 91