Patricia Muir, professor of biology and plant pathology at Oregon State University, will lecture on moss harvesting at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 10, in the West Virginia University Mountainlairs Rhododendron Room.

Dr. Muirs talkRolling Stones Gather No Moss, but People Do: Is Moss Harvesting a Problem?is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

The lecture will address land management concerns for American mosses, which are crucial components of the Appalachian and Pacific Northwest forests. Mosses play many roles in those ecosystems, providing habitat for animals, stabilizing soils and buffering moisture.

Mosses are harvested primarily for the horticulture and craft trades. Land managers lack information about moss supplies, rates of harvest and re-growth that is essential for setting harvesting guidelines.

Muir is a plant ecologist whose research focuses on the effects of human activities on plant growth. She is currently studying the consequences of various fuel reduction methods for native and exotic plants in oak woodlands and shrub lands in southwest Oregon, and has studied commercial moss harvests for nearly a decade, including trade originating in West Virginias forests.

This lecture is the second in the Wild Harvested Species Seminar Series, sponsored by WVU s Department of Biology and Eberly College of Arts and Sciences.

For more information, contact Brent Bailey at 304-293-5201 ext. 31468.