Sphagnum fuscum hummocks. Known occurrence of "Sphagnum fuscus" are on the map above. The moss inhabits boreal forests and marshlands primarily, and is more likely to be found in colder climates. The moss is also capable of inhabiting areas of relatively high elevation. In recent studies performed in Eastern Europe, it was found that stable carbon and oxygen isotope ratios in α-cellulose of "Sphagnum fuscum" stems subsampled from hummocks and peat plateau profiles are useful indicators for summer temperature and winter precipitation at decadal to millennial timescales. In another study conducted in Alberta, Canada, it was found that "S. fuscum" serves as
Moss Antarctica and Russia, and a case is put forwards for Carboniferous mosses. It has further been claimed that tube-like fossils from the Silurian are the macerated remains of moss calyptræ. Mosses also appear to evolve 2–3 times slower than ferns, gymnosperms and angiosperms. Recent research show that ancient moss could explain why the Ordovician ice ages occurred. When the ancestors of today's moss started to spread on land 470 million years ago, they absorbed CO from the atmosphere and extracted minerals by secreting organic acids that dissolved the rocks they were growing on. These chemically altered rocks in turn reacted