Chat Moss along with Risley Moss and Holcroft Moss, is also a European Union designated Special Area of Conservation, known as Manchester Mosses. The major habitats in the moss are bog, heathland, woodland and acidic grassland, subject to varying degrees of wetness depending on the local drainage. The remaining areas of bog are dominated by common cottongrass "Eriophorum angustifolium" and hare's-tail cottongrass "E. vaginatum". Bog mosses are more scarce, but "Sphagnum cuspidatum", "S. recurvum", "S. tenellum", "S. fimbriatum" and "S. subnitens" occur in patches. As the peat has become drier, areas have been taken over by purple moor grass "Molinia caerulea" and
Sphagnum cuspidatum capitulum. "Sphagnum cuspidatum" is a dominant species in the bogs that it inhabits. In wetlands, they consume methane through symbiosis with partly endophytic methanotrophic bacteria, leading to highly effective in situ methane recycling preventing large-scale methane emission into the atmosphere. The bacteria are present in the hyaline cells of the plant. Sometimes, Sphagnum moss can be infected with another type of fungus that can cause sporotrichosis. The other fungus can enter the body through cuts or scrapes on the skin, and will then cause ulcerous skin lesions. It is therefore advised to wear gloves and long sleeves when handling sphagnum