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Niche breadth and overlap values of Sphagnum species in Costa Rica are similar to those reported for Sphagnum-dominated peatlands in North America. Sphagnum magellanicum Brid. and S. sparsum Hampe have the broadest niche breadth of the common species in Costa Rica. Although S. sancto-josephense Crum & Crosby has a relatively narrow niche breadth, it is one of the most common species along with S. magellancium and S. sparsum in the Sphagnum habitats of Costa Rica. Niche overlap is high among species with the exception of S. platyphyllum (Braithw.) Warnst. which is found in habitats that are rich in iron. The pH, conductivity, and concentrations of Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, Na, K, and P of Sphagnum habitats in Costa Rica are similar to those reported for páramo habitats in South America.
Niche breadth values of Sphagnum species in the páramo and cloud forests of Bolivia are similar to those reported for Sphagnum-dominated peatlands in North America, but niche overlap values are higher for Sphagnum species in Bolivia. The pH, conductivity, and concentrations of Ca, Mg, Na, K, and P suggest that Sphagnum habitats in Bolivia are ombrotrophic in nature. Sphagnum is limited to small, scattered carpets in the páramo and cloud forests of the Bolivian Andes between 1800 and 4200 m. Common species found in these habitats include S. alegrense Warnst., S. boliviae Warnst., S. cuspidatum Ehrh., S. magellanicum Brid., S. oxyphyllum Warnst., S. recurvum P. Beauv., S. sanctojosephense Crum & Crosby, and S. sparsum Hampe.
There is very little information on the biogeochemical ecology of Sphagnum species in tropical regions. The majority of the ecological information on Sphagnum species in the tropics consists of general habitat information and pH values that are reported in new species descriptions and regional floras such as those of Crum (1980, 1989), Crum and Buck (1988), Karlin (1991), and McQueen (1989).