Moss in smoking malt in the production of Scotch whisky. "Sphagnum" moss, generally the species "S. cristatum" and "S. subnitens", is harvested while still growing and is dried out to be used in nurseries and horticulture as a plant growing medium. The practice of harvesting "peat moss" should not be confused with the harvesting of "moss peat". "Peat moss" can be harvested on a sustainable basis and managed so that regrowth is allowed, whereas the harvesting of "moss peat" is generally considered to cause significant environmental damage as the peat is stripped with little or no chance of recovery. Some "Sphagnum"
Aulacomnium palustre plant communities, and individual moss species often have low cover and/or frequency. Moss species with coverages of 2% to 4% can be common to dominant in boreal communities, although ribbed bog moss attains coverages as great as 40% in some boreal communities. Ribbed bog moss grows in open and forested wetland communities. In unforested northern communities, ribbed bog moss is found in sedge ("Carex" spp.) meadows, sphagnum ("Sphagnum" spp.) peatlands, heath-sedge fens, and willow ("Salix" spp.)-dominated fens. In forests, ribbed bog moss grows in the ground layer of boreal and subboreal white spruce ("Picea glauca"), black spruce ("P. mariana"), mixed