[4] Marchantia polymorpha grows on shaded moist soil and rocks in damp habitats such as the banks of streams and pools, bogs, fens and dune slacks.

aquatica is semi-aquatic and is often found invading marshes, as well as small ponds that do not have a consistent water table.

Exposed mineral soil and high lime concentrations present after a severe fire provide favorable conditions for gametophyte establishment.

This is important to the prevention of soil erosion that frequently occurs after severe fires, causing significant, long-term, environmental damage.

After a similar fire in New Jersey M. polymorpha covered the ground for 2–3 years, but was then replaced with local shrubs and forbs.

In Alaska the following vegetative successions were observed after a fire, again indicating that after soil rehabilitation has occurred the original flora returns and outcompetes M.

[2] The complex oil bodies in Marchantia polymorpha, as in all Marchantiopsida species, are restricted to specialized cells where they occupy nearly the entire intracellular space.

[2] The U.S. Department of Agriculture has studied M. polymorpha for its use in rehabilitating disturbed sites due to its ability to tolerate high lead concentrations in soils, along with other heavy metals.

In turn, M. polymorpha colonies can be an indication that a site has high concentrations of heavy metals, especially when found in dense mats with little other vegetative species present.

[3] A study from Loja city in tropical Ecuador found that, when growing in an urban setting, M. polymorpha bioaccumulated four heavy metals, aluminium, copper, iron and zinc.