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A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. [1] [2] It is one of the main types of wetland along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires. [2] The unique water chemistry of fens is a result of the ground or surface water input.
A variety of mire types in Carbajal Valley, Argentina Avaste Fen, one of the largest fens in Estonia A valley mire creates a level ground surface in otherwise dramatic topography. Upper Bigo Bog, Rwenzori Mountains, Uganda. A peatland is a type of wetland whose soils consist of organic matter from decaying plants, forming layers of peat.
There are two types of mire – fens and bogs. A bog is a domed-shaped land form, is higher than the surrounding landscape, and obtains most of its water from rainfall (i.e., is ombrotrophic) while a fen is located on a slope, flat, or depression and gets its water from both rainfall and surface water.
There are four main kinds of wetlands – marsh, swamp, bog, and fen (bogs and fens being types of peatlands or mires). Some experts also recognize wet meadows and aquatic ecosystems as additional wetland types. [1] Sub-types include mangrove forests, carrs, pocosins, floodplains, [1] peatlands, vernal pools, sinks, and many others. [22]
The bog continues to form peat, and over time 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 two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp forests and "transitional" or shrub swamps. In the boreal regions of Canada, the word swamp is colloquially used for what is more formally termed a bog, fen, or muskeg. Some of the world's largest swamps are found along major rivers such as the Amazon, the Mississippi, and the Congo. [6]
Wetlands within this category include inland marshes and swamps as well as bogs, fens, pocosins, tundra and floodplains. According to the Cowardin classification system, palustrine wetlands can also be considered the area on the side of a river or a lake, as long as they are covered by vegetation such as trees, shrubs, and emergent plants. [1]
This water has flowed over or through rocks often acquiring dissolved chemicals which raise the nutrient levels and reduce the acidity, which leads to different vegetation such as fen or poor fen. In most cases, ombrotrophic bogs are extremely nutrient deficient, relying solely on precipitation and atmospheric dust for nutrient supply. This ...