Turkish blanket bogs and Sphagnum (Bryophyta) diversity of these blanket bogs

Ombrotrophic bogs (called raised/blanket bogs), which are one of the special habitats that host bryophytes, are acidic and poor in mineral salts, and very limited numbers of organisms can cope with such extreme conditions. There are very limited blanket bogs in Turkey such as the Agacbasi Peatland, Barma Yaylasi Peatland, Yilanlitas Yaylasi Peatland (Trabzon), Kabaca–Petek Yaylasi Peatland, Sazak Peatland (Artvin) and Ciger Golu Peatland (Canakale). Except the Ciger Golu Peatland, all of them are located at the north-eastern part of Turkey. Among them Yilanlitas Yaylasi and Ciger Golu are almost extinct. Although the diversity of moss on peatlands is poor, Sphagnum is the most known and remarkable taxon of these areas. A total of 21 taxa belong to genus Sphagnum were collected from these peatlands. S. subsecundum, S. platyphyllum, S. nemoreum, S. girgensohnii, S. compactum, S. centrale and S. angustifolium were found as the most common taxa.