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 palustre light brown with stem diameters of 0.6 to 1.2 millimeters. The epidermis (Hyalodermis) of the stem is built in three layers and their cells form 1 to 3 seldom more pores and contain much spiral fibers. The branches are tufted forming clusters of three to six on the little stems. The heads are a little more pigmented and egg-shaped. "Sphagnum palustre" plants are spread across the whole of Europe and also can be found in parts of America, Australia and New Zealand. It is comparatively frequent and grows on moist and wet habitats like wet forests, often coniferous forests, on