ECOSYSTEM 101: THE ROLE OF FERNS

After learning a bit about ferns—like the fact that, in almost every genus the number of species
decreases from the tropics to temperate regions—I can more easily understand why existing research
focuses largely on tropical ferns (there are way more of them) and why it seems so piecemeal (different
genera of ferns can be very different in their form and niche). The ecological role that ferns play is
difficult to pin down. It’s sufficient to say that the 12,000-plus species of ferns in the world likely play
many, many different roles.

Here’s a brief list of some of the amazing roles that ferns can play:

provide microhabitats, as well as shelter and shade to small animals

provide a source of food or medicine for animals, including people

ceremonial and spiritual use or importance

colonize disturbed sites as one stage in succession

filter toxins, such as heavy metals, from environments and thus provide a bioindicator for the health of
an ecosystem

evolve to fill unique niches in ecosystems and co-evolve with other species (often endemic)

NB: not all ferns do all of these things – these are just some of the ecological roles that have been
observed or investigated (Ranker and Haufler, 2008).

Ferns have been identified as a major group of plants that show high efficiency for removing various
inorganic and organic contaminants from the environment. Both terrestrial and aquatic fern species
including Pteris vittata, Pityrogramma calomelanos, Azolla pinnata, and Salvinia minima have been
exploited for removing heavy metals, radionuclides, nutrients, hydrocarbons, and volatile compounds
from contaminated soil and water. Efficiency of ferns for removing contaminants depends upon high rate
of accumulation/removal and detoxification potential. Fast growth rate, high tolerance capacity, and high
efficiency of contaminant removal strengthen the role of ferns as phytoremediators. Hence they can be
used as a vital component of phytotechnologies framed for environmental cleanup.

Importance to humans

As a group of plants, ferns are not of great economic value. Many different species have been used as a
minor food source and for medicine in various parts of the world. Edible fern crosiers (young leaves with
coiled hook-shaped tips) are popular in some areas. The ostrich fern (Matteuccia) of northeastern North
America is frequently eaten, apparently with no ill effect, but the two ferns most commonly consumed in
East Asia (Osmunda and Pteridium) have been shown to be strongly carcinogenic. The minute aquatic
mosquito fern (Azolla) has become a valuable plant, especially in Southeast Asia; a blue-green algae
(Anabaena azollae) is always found in pockets on the leaves of Azolla and helps convert nitrogen to a
form usable by other plants (see nitrogen-fixation), thus greatly increasing the productivity of rice
paddies where the fern occurs. The greatest economic value of ferns has been in horticulture, with large
nurseries supplying millions of plants annually for both indoor decoration and outdoor gardens and
landscaping. On the negative side, the poisonous bracken (Pteridium aquilinum), which often spoils the
grazing value of various lands, is considered a noxious weed in many countries.

A major value of ferns is in biological research, for they have retained a primitive life cycle involving two
separate and more or less independent generations, or growth phases, the plants of which are wholly
different in many respects. Water ferns (genus Ceratopteris), which have relatively short life cycles and
for which many mutations have been characterized, have become model organisms for genetics teaching
and research.

Ecological importance of ferns

Joanne Sharpe

Klaus Mehltret

Abstract

Ferns immediately capture the imagination of all who are fortunate enough to notice them. With their
large, highly dissected and shiny green leaves, ferns are so visually appealing that many are sold as
ornamentals. Most moist woodlands will have a number of fern species blanketing the understory with
their pungent foliage. In tropical woodlands, ferns are often at eye level or above, providing an aesthetic
and delicate subcanopy. Even in arid lands or on newly exposed surfaces such as burns, clear-cuts or
landslides, ferns can be present and sometimes dominant, catching your full attention as you push
through fern thickets or get snagged by their spines. Beyond their immediate visual appeal, ferns are
curious objects. How do plants of such ancient origin persist in the modern world? How can something
so fragile survive trampling, burning, logging or grazing? Ferns and lycophytes were long considered as
mystical plants, because people did not understand how they could reproduce without ever producing a
flower, a fruit or a seed (Moran, 2004). In this book, we address the mystique that surrounds ferns by
exploring fern ecology, or how ferns relate to their environment. Throughout the world, whenever ferns
are the focus of ecological research, important and often surprising findings emerge. We present four
approaches to fern ecology. First, we provide a conceptual synthesis of the rapidly expanding field of fern
ecology in order to establish a framework for future research and to encourage interdisciplinary
approaches to studies of ferns.
Ferns

April 19, 2015 at 11:49pm by Tara Hill

The Life of a Fern

When we look out into the spring landscape, we see trees getting their leaves and flowers starting to
bloom. These charismatic plants are used for decorating the world around us. We cannot ignore the size
of some trees and the size of wooded areas and forests. During the Carboniferous, however, it was the
age of the fern (American Fern Society). Ferns were the main land-plant of that era. Today, we tend to
find ferns in moist, shady areas alongside the trees of the forest. These forests provide a great deal of
protection for the ferns. Not only do ferns depend on a moist environment, woody plants can provide
protection from wind, excess sunlight, and excess heat from the sun (AONE 1998).

Even though ferns are typically found in these moist and protected areas, they can survive in many
different types of environments ranging from remote mountain areas to dry desert rock faces. Once
ferns are growing in a location, they can be very hardy and long-lived. They survive in the crevices of
rocks, acidic bogs, and they can be epiphytic on various trees (AONE 1998). Epiphytes are plants that
grow harmlessly on other plants, and they are not rooted in soil (Merriam-Websters Dictionary). Ferns
and spores can survive the snow, and that explains why we find a variety of species in Ohio. Not every
fern can survive all these different types of conditions and many are specialized to a certain ecological
niche. A niche is a place or function of an organism within an ecosystem (Dictionary.com). An example of
a niche would be the role of a pollinator, like a bee. Pollination is an important role in an ecosystem and
is its own niche.