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At the 55th Annual Meeting of the Bryological Society of Japan, held from August 7 to 9, 2026, at the Osaka Prefectural Youth Nature Center (Kaizuka City), Mr. Co Takahashi, a first-year master’s student in the Environmental Frontier Course of the Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University (Laboratory of Ecosystem Management), received the Outstanding Oral Presentation Award.

 

・Presentation title
“On the overwintering of thalloid liverworts in Sapporo”
Authors: Co Takahashi¹, Junko Morimoto², and Keita Arakawa²
(¹Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University; 2Research Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University)

・Abstract
Thalloid liverworts, a group of bryophytes, tend to exhibit lower freezing resistance compared to other bryophytes. However, it remains unclear how these liverworts survive the winter in Sapporo, a city with severe cold.
In this study, we quantitatively compared the freezing resistance of three thalloid liverwort species collected from the Hokkaido University Sapporo Campus using two different methods and examined the differences in their overwintering mechanisms.
Marchantia polymorpha ssp. ruderalis demonstrated particularly high freezing resistance. In contrast, Conocephalum toyotae and Lunularia cruciata were prone to freezing-induced injury, suggesting that they rely on the insulating effect of the snowpack to survive the winter. Additionally, it appeared that Lunularia cruciata maintains its population through a high capacity for regrowth, even after sustaining significant freezing damage.

 

The Japan Society of Bryology and Lichenology Annual Meeting Presentation Award is an award established in accordance with the Society’s bylaws and is intended for students and part-time researchers who present their research findings. Recipients are selected by a selection committee and the award is presented to outstanding presenters.