Misplaced Pages

#664335

49-460: Lindow Moss , also known as Saltersley Common , is a raised mire peat bog on the edge of Wilmslow in Cheshire , England. It has been used as common land since the medieval period and is best known for the discovery of the preserved bog body of Lindow Man in 1984. The peat bog was formed in a collection of hollows left by melting ice at the end of the last ice age . It is believed to have been

98-481: A carbon sink . Bogs occur where the water at the ground surface is acidic and low in nutrients. A bog usually is found at a freshwater soft spongy ground that is made up of decayed plant matter which is known as peat. They are generally found in cooler northern climates and are formed in poorly draining lake basins. In contrast to fens , they derive most of their water from precipitation rather than mineral-rich ground or surface water. Water flowing out of bogs has

147-456: A fen (or, on acidic substrates, valley bog), to a carr , as silt or peat accumulates within the lake. Eventually, peat builds up to a level where the land surface is too flat for ground or surface water to reach the center of the wetland. This part, therefore, becomes wholly rain-fed (ombrotrophic), and the resulting acidic conditions allow the development of bog (even if the substrate is non-acidic). The bog continues to form peat, and over time

196-497: A broad definition: Because all bogs have peat, they are a type of peatland. As a peat-producing ecosystem, they are also classified as mires , along with fens. Bogs differ from fens, in that fens receive water and nutrients from mineral-rich surface or groundwater, while bogs receive water and nutrients from precipitation. Because fens are supplied with mineral-rich water, they tend to range from slightly acidic to slightly basic, while bogs are always acidic because precipitation lacks

245-797: A butterfly called the bog copper ( Lycaena epixanthe ). In Ireland, the viviparous lizard , the only known reptile in the country, dwells in bogland. The United Kingdom in its Biodiversity Action Plan establishes bog habitats as a priority for conservation. Russia has a large reserve system in the West Siberian Lowland . The highest protected status occurs in Zapovedniks ( IUCN category IV); Gydansky and Yugansky are two prominent examples. Bogs are fragile ecosystems, and have been deteriorating quickly, as archaeologists and scientists have been recently finding. Bone material found in bogs has had accelerated deterioration from first analyses in

294-612: A characteristic brown colour, which comes from dissolved peat tannins . In general, the low fertility and cool climate result in relatively slow plant growth, but decay is even slower due to low oxygen levels in saturated bog soils. Hence, peat accumulates. Large areas of the landscape can be covered many meters deep in peat. Bogs have distinctive assemblages of animal, fungal, and plant species, and are of high importance for biodiversity , particularly in landscapes that are otherwise settled and farmed. Bogs are widely distributed in cold, temperate climes , mostly in boreal ecosystems in

343-506: A long, bushy tail. Native bird species include the Magellanic woodpecker ( Campephilus magellanicus ), Patagonian sierra-finch ( Phrygilus patagonicus ), Patagonian mockingbird ( Mimus patagonicus ), and Andean condor ( Vultur gryphus ). The rich Magellanic coastal waters and numerous rocky islets host many seabirds, including albatrosses , auks , gulls , terns , and penguins . A 2017 assessment found that 69,938 km², or 46%, of

392-527: A number of governmental and conservation agencies. They can provide habitat for mammals, such as caribou , moose , and beavers , as well as for species of nesting shorebirds, such as Siberian cranes and yellowlegs . Bogs contain species of vulnerable reptilians such as the bog turtle . Bogs even have distinctive insects; English bogs give a home to a yellow fly called the hairy canary fly ( Phaonia jaroschewskii ), and bogs in North America are habitat for

441-517: A roothold. The result is a narrow, permanently wet habitat. After drying, peat is used as a fuel , and it has been used that way for centuries. More than 20% of home heat in Ireland comes from peat, and it is also used for fuel in Finland, Scotland, Germany, and Russia. Russia is the leading exporter of peat for fuel, at more than 90 million metric tons per year. Ireland's Bord na Móna ("peat board")

490-402: A shallow dome of bog peat develops into a raised bog. The dome is typically a few meters high in the center and is often surrounded by strips of fen or other wetland vegetation at the edges or along streamsides where groundwater can percolate into the wetland. The various types of raised bog may be divided into: In cool climates with consistently high rainfall (on more than c. 235 days a year),

539-439: A site of religious significance to the ancient Celts . The first written record of Lindow Moss was in 1421 when the lord of Mobberley and Wilmslow allowed people to dig peat from the mossland for use as fuel. It originally covered over 600 hectares (1,500 acres), but has since shrunk to a tenth of its original size. The bog can be a dangerous place; an 18th-century writer recorded people drowning there. For centuries, peat from

SECTION 10

#1732859107665

588-404: A species-rich shrub layer may develop. In exposed, rocky, and poorly drained areas, pockets of deciduous Nothofagus antarctica and the typical moorland species can be found. As one moves further east, where rainfall decreases to 800–850 mm/a (31.5–33.5 in/a), Nothofagus betuloides becomes less dominant and mixes with deciduous Nothofagus pumilio in the transition to

637-525: Is one of the four main types of wetlands . Other names for bogs include mire , mosses, quagmire, and muskeg ; alkaline mires are called fens . A bayhead is another type of bog found in the forest of the Gulf Coast states in the United States. They are often covered in heath or heather shrubs rooted in the sphagnum moss and peat. The gradual accumulation of decayed plant material in a bog functions as

686-651: The Haraldskær Woman and Tollund Man in Denmark, and Lindow man found at Lindow Common in England. The Tollund Man was so well preserved that when the body was discovered in 1950, the discoverers thought it was a recent murder victim and researchers were even able to tell the last meal that the Tollund Man ate before he died: porridge and fish. This process happens because of the low oxygen levels of bogs in combination with

735-402: The Magellanic moorland , the evergreen Magellanic rainforest, and the deciduous Magellanic forest. The Magellanic moorland occurs on the western edge of the region where the oceanic influence is strongest. High rainfall of 5,000 mm/a (197 in/a) is typical of the moorland, as are cool temperatures, strong winds, bad drainage conditions, and rocky ground with generally thin soil. Most of

784-1210: The Northern Hemisphere . The world's largest wetland is the peat bogs of the Western Siberian Lowlands in Russia , which cover more than a million square kilometres. Large peat bogs also occur in North America, particularly the Hudson Bay Lowland and the Mackenzie River Basin. They are less common in the Southern Hemisphere, with the largest being the Magellanic moorland , comprising some 44,000 square kilometres (17,000 sq mi) in southern South America. Sphagnum bogs were widespread in northern Europe but have often been cleared and drained for agriculture. A paper led by Graeme T. Swindles in 2019 showed that peatlands across Europe have undergone rapid drying in recent centuries owing to human impacts including drainage, peat cutting and burning. A 2014 expedition leaving from Itanga village, Republic of

833-461: The barley used in making Scotch whisky . Once the peat has been extracted it can be difficult to restore the wetland , since peat accumulation is a slow process. More than 90% of the bogs in England have been damaged or destroyed. In 2011 plans for the elimination of peat in gardening products were announced by the UK government. The peat in bogs is an important place for the storage of carbon. If

882-458: The southern pudú ( Pudu puda ), the world's smallest deer , which stands only 35–45 cm (14–18 inches) high at the shoulder. Other animal species include the cougar ( Puma concolor ) and the endangered southern river otter ( Lontra provocax ). Endemic rodents include the Patagonian mara , the long-clawed mole mouse , and the viscacha , a small rodent that looks almost like a rabbit with

931-416: The 1940s. This has been found to be from fluctuations in ground water and increase in acidity in lower areas of bogs that is affecting the rich organic material. Many of these areas have been permeated to the lowest levels with oxygen, which dries and cracks layers. There have been some temporary solutions to try and fix these issues, such as adding soil to the tops of threatened areas, yet they do not work in

980-519: The Congo , discovered a peat bog "as big as England " which stretches into neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo . Like all wetlands, it is difficult to rigidly define bogs for a number of reasons, including variations between bogs, the in-between nature of wetlands as an intermediate between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and varying definitions between wetland classification systems. However, there are characteristics common to all bogs that provide

1029-690: The South American mainland and is the route taken by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan from the South Atlantic to the South Pacific. North of roughly 48° south latitude lies the Valdivian temperate forests ecoregion, which shares many affinities with the Magellanic ecoregion in plant and animal life. To the east lie the drier temperate grasslands and shrublands ecoregions of Patagonia , which are in

SECTION 20

#1732859107665

1078-461: The bog was used as fuel. It continues to be extracted but now for mixing within compost products. The process is now mechanised with a mechanical digger. The site is known for its flora and fauna such as hare's-tail cottongrass , common cottongrass and green hairstreak butterfly. It also has been a habitat for water voles although their continued existence is threatened by sinking water levels. The Saltersley Common Preservation Society promotes

1127-481: The characteristic trees of the Magellanic ecoregion. The Magellanic ecoregion does not have the same species richness as the milder Valdivian ecoregion, both on account of its colder climate and its recent glaciation. The advancing glaciers caused the forests to retreat far to the north, and the region was gradually reforested starting about 10,000 years ago when the climate warmed and the glaciers began retreating. The Magellanic ecoregion has three main plant communities:

1176-518: The combination of low nutrient levels and waterlogging. Sphagnum is generally abundant, along with ericaceous shrubs. The shrubs are often evergreen, which may assist in conservation of nutrients. In drier locations, evergreen trees can occur, in which case the bog blends into the surrounding expanses of boreal evergreen forest. Sedges are one of the more common herbaceous species. Carnivorous plants such as sundews ( Drosera ) and pitcher plants (for example Sarracenia purpurea ) have adapted to

1225-449: The deciduous forest community. The Magellanic deciduous forest is made up mostly of Nothofagus pumilio and Nothofagus antarctica . When one reaches the drier rain shadow east of the mountains, the forests disappear, transitioning to the grassland ecoregions of Patagonia. In open spaces some succulent fruits can be found: Chilean strawberry ( Fragaria chiloensis ), and calafate ( Berberis microphylla ); they used to complement

1274-400: The deepest part of the valley, and a stream may run through the surface of the bog. Valley bogs may develop in relatively dry and warm climates, but because they rely on ground or surface water, they only occur on acidic substrates. These develop from a lake or flat marshy area, over either non-acidic or acidic substrates. Over centuries there is a progression from open lake, to a marsh, to

1323-558: The dissolved minerals (e.g. calcium , magnesium , carbonate ) that act to buffer the natural acidity of atmospheric carbon dioxide . Geography and geology both impact the hydrology: as groundwater mineral content reflects the bedrock geology, there can be great deal of variability in some common ions (e.g. manganese , iron ) while proximity to coastal areas is associated with higher sulfate and sodium concentrations. There are many highly specialized animals, fungi, and plants associated with bog habitat. Most are capable of tolerating

1372-460: The edges of acidic lakes. The bog vegetation, mostly sphagnum moss anchored by sedges (such as Carex lasiocarpa ), forms a floating mat approximately half a meter thick on the surface of water or above very wet peat. White spruce ( Picea glauca ) may grow in this bog regime. Walking on the surface causes it to move – larger movements may cause visible ripples on the surface, or they may even make trees sway. The bog mat may eventually spread across

1421-553: The global average. Because bogs and other peatlands are carbon sinks, they are releasing large amounts of greenhouse gases as they warm up. These changes have resulted in a severe decline of biodiversity and species populations of peatlands throughout Northern Europe. Bog habitats may develop in various situations, depending on the climate and topography. Bogs may be classified on their topography, proximity to water, method of recharge, and nutrient accumulation. These develop in gently sloping valleys or hollows. A layer of peat fills

1470-421: The ground surface may remain waterlogged for much of the time, providing conditions for the development of bog vegetation . In these circumstances, bog develops as a layer "blanketing" much of the land, including hilltops and slopes. Although a blanket bog is more common on acidic substrates, under some conditions it may also develop on neutral or even alkaline ones, if abundant acidic rainwater predominates over

1519-469: The groundwater. A blanket bog can occur in drier or warmer climates, because under those conditions hilltops and sloping ground dry out too often for peat to form – in intermediate climates a blanket bog may be limited to areas which are shaded from direct sunshine. In periglacial climates a patterned form of blanket bog may occur, known as a string bog . In Europe, these mostly very thin peat layers without significant surface structures are distributed over

Lindow Moss - Misplaced Pages Continue

1568-831: The headwaters of large rivers. Even the enormous Yangtze River arises in the Ruoergai peatland near its headwaters in Tibet . Blueberries , cranberries , cloudberries , huckleberries , and lingonberries are harvested from the wild in bogs. Bog oak , wood that has been partially preserved by bogs, has been used in the manufacture of furniture . Sphagnum bogs are also used for outdoor recreation, with activities including ecotourism and hunting. For example, many popular canoe routes in northern Canada include areas of peatland. Some other activities, such as all-terrain vehicle use, are especially damaging to bogs. The anaerobic environment and presence of tannic acids within bogs can result in

1617-674: The high acidity. These anaerobic conditions lead to some of the best-preserved mummies and offer much archeological insight into society as far as 8,000 years back. Céide Fields in County Mayo in Ireland, a 5,000-year-old neolithic farming landscape has been found preserved under a blanket bog , complete with field walls and hut sites. One ancient artifact found in various bogs is bog butter , large masses of fat, usually in wooden containers. These are thought to have been food stores of both butter and tallow . Magellanic subpolar forests The Magellanic subpolar forests ecoregion lies to

1666-517: The hills and valleys of Ireland, Scotland, England, and Norway. In North America, blanket bogs occur predominantly in Canada east of Hudson Bay . These bogs are often still under the influence of mineral soil water (groundwater). Blanket bogs do not occur north of the 65th latitude in the northern hemisphere. A quaking bog , schwingmoor , or swingmoor is a form of floating bog occurring in wetter parts of valley bogs and raised bogs and sometimes around

1715-497: The long-term. Extreme weather like dry summers are likely the cause, as they lower precipitation and the groundwater table. It is speculated that these issues will only increase with a rise in global temperature and climate change. Since bogs take thousands of years to form and create the rich peat that is used as a resource, once they are gone they are extremely hard to recover. Arctic and sub-Arctic circles where many bogs are warming at 0.6 °C per decade, an amount twice as large as

1764-408: The low-nutrient conditions by using invertebrates as a nutrient source. Orchids have adapted to these conditions through the use of mycorrhizal fungi to extract nutrients. Some shrubs such as Myrica gale (bog myrtle) have root nodules in which nitrogen fixation occurs, thereby providing another supplemental source of nitrogen. Bogs are recognized as a significant/specific habitat type by

1813-417: The moorland consists of a mosaic of low-growing plants, including dwarf shrubs and wind-sheared trees, cushion plants, grasses, and mosses. These plants can form an underlayer of blanket peat and boggy areas. In more sheltered areas, small stands of evergreen forest can be found, which include Nothofagus betuloides , Drimys winteri , Lepidothamnus fonkii , and Pilgerodendron uviferum . Farther from

1862-495: The nourishment of the (now almost nonexistent) native peoples. These forests are peerless in their endurance of cold summers (averaging 9 degrees Celsius or 48.2 degrees Fahrenheit at sea level) and violent subpolar winds . Due to these traits, Magellanic forests' tree species are exported to other parts of the world such as the Faroe Islands and neighboring archipelagos with similar conditions where trees from other biomes in

1911-409: The ocean, in more moderate areas less exposed to the oceanic wind and rain, moorland yields to evergreen Magellanic rainforest. The Magellanic rainforest is mostly made up Nothofagus betuloides , together with other evergreen trees, most often Drimys winteri and Pilgerodendron uviferum , and occasionally Embothrium coccineum and Maytenus magellanica . In the better established forest stands,

1960-475: The peat decays, carbon dioxide would be released to the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. Undisturbed, bogs function as a carbon sink . As one example, the peatlands of the former Soviet Union were calculated to be removing 52 Tg of carbon per year from the atmosphere. Therefore, the rewetting of drained peatlands may be one of the most cost-effective ways to mitigate climate change. Peat bogs are also important in storing fresh water, particularly in

2009-466: The preservation of the moss. In November 2011, they teamed up with a local amateur filmmaker to produce a short video detailing the history of the bog and some of the threats it faces. 53°19′22″N 02°16′10″W  /  53.32278°N 2.26944°W  / 53.32278; -2.26944 Peat bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials – often mosses , typically sphagnum moss. It

Lindow Moss - Misplaced Pages Continue

2058-520: The rain shadow of the Andean and Fuegian mountains. The Andean and Fuegan mountains intercept moisture-laden westerly winds, creating temperate rain forest conditions, while the cold oceanic Humboldt Current , which runs up the west coast of South America, and the cold Antarctic Circumpolar Current , which runs from west to east through the Southern Ocean , keep the Magellanic ecoregion cool and wet, and

2107-571: The region compelling trees to grow in twisted and bent shapes known as flag trees . Like the Valdivian ecoregion, the Magellanic subpolar forests are a refuge for the Antarctic flora , and share many plant families with the temperate forest ecoregions of New Zealand , Tasmania , and Australia , especially the southern beech ( Nothofagus ). Species of Nothofagus , including N. betuloides , N. antarctica , and N. pumilio , are

2156-601: The remarkable preservation of organic material. Finds of such material have been made in Slovenia , Denmark , Germany , Ireland , Russia , and the United Kingdom. Some bogs have preserved bog-wood, such as ancient oak logs useful in dendrochronology . They have yielded extremely well-preserved bog bodies , with hair, organs, and skin intact, buried there thousands of years ago after apparent Germanic and Celtic human sacrifice . Excellent examples of such human specimens include

2205-407: The strong oceanic influence moderates seasonal temperature extremes. Average annual temperatures vary from 6 °C (42.8 °F) in the north to 3 °C (37.4 °F) in the south and annual rainfall from 4,000 mm (157 in) in the west to 450 mm (17.7 in) in the east. Snowfalls are very common in the west and can occur even in summer. Fog is very frequent. Very strong winds whip

2254-401: The water surface to cover bays or even entire small lakes. Bogs at the edges of lakes may become detached and form floating islands . A cataract bog is a rare ecological community formed where a permanent stream flows over a granite outcropping. The sheeting of water keeps the edges of the rock wet without eroding the soil, but in this precarious location, no tree or large shrub can maintain

2303-545: The west of the Andes Mountains , which run north-south for most of their length but curve eastward near the southern tip of South America, terminating at the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego . The Magellanic ecoregion was covered by glaciers during the last ice age , and the landscape is deeply dissected by fjords , with numerous islands, inlets, and channels, including the Strait of Magellan , which separates Tierra del Fuego from

2352-477: The world cannot grow. The following species from Tierra del Fuego , Drimys winteri , Nothofagus antarctica , Nothofagus pumilio , and Nothofagus betuloides , have been successfully introduced to the Faroe Islands. As a general rule, Fueguian trees show better signs of acclimation than those from Continental Northern Europe to conditions in the Faroe Islands. The Magellanic subpolar forests are home to

2401-448: Was one of the first companies to mechanically harvest peat, which is being phased out. The other major use of dried peat is as a soil amendment (sold as moss peat or sphagnum peat ) to increase the soil's capacity to retain moisture and enrich the soil. It is also used as a mulch . Some distilleries , notably in the Islay whisky-producing region, use the smoke from peat fires to dry

#664335