Ribbed bog moss grows on peat and other organic soil layers more often than on downed bark or wood, but is reported growing on woody debris or other dead wood in a few locations. In northern British Columbia, ribbed bog moss substrates included disturbed forest floors, logs, and stumps at 44%, 13%, and 3% frequencies, respectively. Ribbed bog moss was found on downed woody debris in a mixed quaking aspen-paper birch-balsam fir (Populus tremuloides-Betula papyrifera-Abies balsamifera) forest in east-central Alberta and on stumps in a mixed-hardwood forest in Wisconsin. Ribbed bog moss rarely grows on standing live or dead wood.
