A moss green belt in Lishui, Zhejiang province. [Photo/lsnews.com.cn]

Lishui in East China's Zhejiang province is trying to use moss to create street green belts, Zhejiang Daily has reported.

Moss looks like tiny rolling mountains, like a miniature version of the beautiful landscapes in Lishui.

Lishui has more than 700 species of moss. The moss used in the green belts came from Maoyang village in Jingning She autonomous county.

Based on the cooperation mode of "enterprise + farmer", the Runsheng Moss Technology Co Ltd cultivates moss collected in its original environment and then sends it to a cultivation base in Maoyang village to be grown in large batches.

The company cultivated 0.33 hectares of moss in Maoyang village in 2019, and this year, another 1.33 hectares has been added. It is estimated that each hectare of moss can increase farmers' annual incomes by more than 300,000 yuan ($42,467).

According to experts, due to its biological characteristics, moss can not only absorb automobile exhaust and dust, effectively improving urban air quality, but also acts like sponge during heavy rain and thereby plays a role in regulating soil and water.

Moss does not need to be trimmed and costs less to maintain than traditional shrubs and flower belts.