Editing Bog

{{Short description|Type of wetland with peat-rich soil}}
{{About|the type of wetland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}
[[File:Lauhanvuori suo.jpg|thumb|250px|A bog in [[Lauhanvuori National Park]], [[Isojoki]], Finland]]
[[File:Parc Coeur Nature 025.jpg|thumb|250px|{{ill|Tourbière du Lac-à-la-Tortue|fr|Tourbière du Lac-à-la-Tortue|lt=Tourbière du Lac-à-la-Tortue}}, ombrotrophic, [[Quebec]], [[Canada]]]]
[[File:013 097 Isle aux Coudres.jpg|thumb|250px|Peat bog and peat to dry, [[L'Isle-aux-Coudres#Geography|L'Isle-aux-Coudres]], [[Quebec]], [[Canada]], 1976]] 
[[File:De Liereman prehistorische kampplaats.jpg|thumb|Bog in Antwerp Province, Belgium ]]
[[File:Болото Селигер.JPG|thumb|Bog in the Seliger Lake area, Tver Oblast, Russia]]
[[File:Drone video of Kakerdaja bog in Estonia (september 2021).webm|thumb|Drone video of Kakerdaja bog in Estonia (September 2021)]]
[[File:Kemeru Bog.jpg|thumb|A [[raised bog]] in [[Ķemeri National Park]], [[Jūrmala]], Latvia, formed approximately 10,000 years ago in the postglacial period and now a tourist attraction.]]
A '''bog''' or '''bogland''' is a [[wetland]] that accumulates [[peat]] as a deposit of dead plant materials {{endash}} often [[moss]]es, typically [[sphagnum]] moss.<ref name=Keddy>{{cite book |author-link=Paul Keddy |last=Keddy |first=P.A. |date=2010 |title=Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation |edition=2nd |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0521739672}}</ref> It is one of the four main [[Wetland#Types|types of wetlands]]. Other names for bogs include [[mire]], mosses, quagmire, and [[muskeg]]; alkaline mires are called [[fen]]s.{{clarify|date=November 2020 |reason=Are fens bogs? See the next paragraph, which states that bogs are acidic. Differentiating technical and colloquial definitions might be helpful here.}} A [[bayhead]] is another type of bog found in the forest of the [[Gulf Coast]] states in the United States.<ref name="Watson (2006)">Watson, Geraldine Ellis (2000) ''Big Thicket Plant Ecology: An Introduction'', Third Edition (Temple Big Thicket Series #5). University of North Texas Press. Denton, Texas. 152 pp. {{ISBN|978-1574412147}}</ref><ref name="Texas P&W">Texas Parks and Wildlife. Ecological Mapping Systems of Texas: "[https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/land/programs/landscape-ecology/ems/emst/woody-wetlands-and-riparian/west-gulf-coastal-plain-seepage-swamp-and-baygall West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall]". Retrieved 7 July 2020</ref> They are often covered in [[Ericaceae|heath or heather]] shrubs rooted in the sphagnum moss and peat. The gradual accumulation of decayed plant material in a bog functions as a [[carbon sink]].<ref name=NYT10612>{{cite news|title=British Soil Is Battlefield Over Peat, for Bogs' Sake|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/science/earth/british-gardeners-battle-over-peat-for-bogs-sake.html|access-date=7 October 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=6 October 2012|first=Elisabeth|last=Rosenthal|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007082146/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/science/earth/british-gardeners-battle-over-peat-for-bogs-sake.html|archive-date=7 October 2012|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-brief/peatlands-and-climate-change|title=Peatlands and climate change|date=2017-11-06|website=IUCN|language=en|access-date=2019-08-15}}</ref>

Bogs occur where the water at the ground surface is [[acid]]ic 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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bog|url=https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/bog|access-date=2023-02-25|website=Education {{!}} National Geographic Society|language=en}}</ref> In contrast to [[fen]]s, they derive most of their water from precipitation rather than mineral-rich ground or surface water.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last1=Rydin|first1=Håkan|title=The Biology of Peatlands |date=2013|first2=J. K. |last2=Jeglum |isbn=978-0-19-150828-8|edition=Second|location=Oxford, UK|oclc=861559248|publisher=Oxford University Press Oxford}}</ref> Water flowing out of bogs has a characteristic brown colour, which comes from dissolved peat [[tannin]]s. 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.<ref name=Keddy/><ref>{{cite journal |last=Gorham |first=E. |date=1957 |title=The development of peatlands |journal=Quarterly Review of Biology |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=145–66|doi=10.1086/401755 |s2cid=129085635 }}</ref>

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.

==Distribution and extent==
[[File:Sarracenia purpurea westphalia.jpg|thumb|Carnivorous plants, such as this ''[[Sarracenia purpurea]]'' pitcher plant of the eastern seaboard of North America, are often found in bogs. Capturing insects provides nitrogen and phosphorus, which are usually scarce in such conditions.]]
Bogs are widely distributed in cold, [[temperate]] [[clime]]s, mostly in [[boreal ecosystem]]s in the [[Northern Hemisphere]]. The world's largest wetland is the peat bogs of the Western [[Siberia]]n Lowlands in Russia, which cover more than a million square kilometres.<ref name="P.A. Keddy 2005">{{cite book |editor-first1=L.H. |editor-last1=Fraser |editor-first2=P.A. |editor-last2=Keddy |date=2005 |title=The World's Largest Wetlands: Ecology and Conservation |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |isbn=9780521834049}}</ref> Large peat bogs also occur in North America, particularly the [[Hudson Bay Lowland]] and the Mackenzie River Basin.<ref name="P.A. Keddy 2005"/> They are less common in the [[Southern Hemisphere]], with the largest being the [[Magellanic subpolar forests|Magellanic moorland]], comprising some {{convert|44000|km2}} in southern South America. [[Sphagnum]] bogs were widespread in northern Europe<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/Counprof/Latvia/Latvia.htm#3.CLIMATE |title=Country Pasture/Forage Resource Profiles: Latvia |first=Alexander |last=Adamovich |date=2005 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |access-date=23 April 2010 |archive-date=11 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811153638/http://www.fao.org/ag/agp/agpc/doc/Counprof/Latvia/Latvia.htm#3.CLIMATE }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Swindles|first1=Graeme T.|last2=Morris|first2=Paul J.|last3=Mullan|first3=Donal J.|last4=Payne|first4=Richard J.|last5=Roland|first5=Thomas P.|last6=Amesbury|first6=Matthew J.|last7=Lamentowicz|first7=Mariusz|last8=Turner|first8=T. Edward|last9=Gallego-Sala|first9=Angela|last10=Sim|first10=Thomas|last11=Barr|first11=Iestyn D. |date=2019-10-21|title=Widespread drying of European peatlands in recent centuries|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-019-0462-z|journal=Nature Geoscience |language=en |volume=12|issue=11|pages=922–928|doi=10.1038/s41561-019-0462-z|bibcode=2019NatGe..12..922S|s2cid=202908362|issn=1752-0908|hdl=10871/39305|hdl-access=free}} [http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/151050/ Alt URL]</ref>
A 2014 expedition leaving from Itanga village, [[Republic of the Congo]], discovered a peat bog "as big as England" which stretches into neighboring [[Democratic Republic of Congo]].<ref>{{Cite news
| last = Smith
| first = David
| title = Peat bog as big as England found in Congo
| newspaper = The Guardian
| access-date = 31 May 2014
| date = 27 May 2014
| url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/27/peat-bog-swamp-congo-brazzaville-discovery
}}</ref>

== Definition ==
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.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mitsch |first=William J.|title=Wetlands|date=2007|publisher=Wiley|others=James G. Gosselink |isbn=978-0-471-69967-5|edition=4th|location=Hoboken, N.J.|oclc=78893363}}</ref><ref name="keddy 2010">{{Cite book |last=Keddy |first=Paul A. |title=Wetland ecology: principles and conservation |date=2010 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-22365-2 |edition=2nd |location=Cambridge |oclc=801405617}}</ref> However, there are characteristics common to all bogs that provide a broad definition:<ref name=":0" />

# Peat is present, usually thicker than {{Convert|30|cm}}.
# The wetland receives most of its water and nutrients from precipitation ([[ombrotrophic]]) rather than surface or groundwater ([[minerotrophic]]).
# The wetland is nutrient-poor ([[Trophic state index|oligotrophic]]).
# The wetland is strongly acidic (bogs near coastal areas may be less acidic due to [[sea spray]]).

Because all bogs have peat, they are a type of peatland. As a peat-producing ecosystem, they are also classified as [[mire]]s, 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.<ref name=":0" /> 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 the dissolved minerals (e.g. [[calcium]], [[magnesium]], [[carbonate]]) that act to buffer the natural acidity of atmospheric [[carbon dioxide]].<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The water chemistry of Carolina bays: A regional survey |last1=Newman |first1=Michael C. |last2=Schalles |first2=John F. |doi=10.1127/archiv-hydrobiol/118/1990/147 |journal=Archiv für Hydrobiologie |volume=118 |issue=2 |date=1990 |pages=147–168}}</ref>

== Ecology and protection ==
[[File:Tourbière 03 - Parc de Frontenac - Juillet 2008.jpg|thumb|An expanse of wet Sphagnum bog in [[Frontenac National Park]], [[Quebec]], Canada. Spruce trees can be seen on a forested ridge in the background.]]

There are many highly specialized animals, fungi, and plants associated with bog habitat. Most are capable of tolerating the combination of low nutrient levels and waterlogging.<ref name="Keddy" />{{rp|at=ch. 3}} Sphagnum is generally abundant, along with [[ericaceae|ericaceous]] shrubs.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Home Organization Selection|url=https://docs.shib.ncsu.edu/ds/ncsu/WAYF?entityID=https%3a%2f%2fprox.lib.ncsu.edu%2fezproxy%2fshibboleth&return=https%3a%2f%2flogin.prox.lib.ncsu.edu%2fShibboleth.sso%2fDS%3fSAMLDS%3d1%26target%3dezp.2aHR0cHM6Ly9kb2kub3JnLzEwLjEwNDYvai4xMzY1LTI2OTkuMjAwMC4wMDQ1OC54|access-date=2021-02-23|website=docs.shib.ncsu.edu|doi=10.1046/j.1365-2699.2000.00458.x|s2cid = 84241035}}</ref> The shrubs are often evergreen, which may assist in conservation of nutrients.<ref>{{cite book |last=Keddy |first=P.A. |date=2007 |title=Plants and Vegetation: Origins, Processes, Consequences |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |isbn=978-0521864800}}</ref> In drier locations, evergreen trees can occur, in which case the bog blends into the surrounding expanses of boreal evergreen forest.<ref>{{cite book |last=Archibold |first=O.W. |date=1995 |title=Ecology of World Vegetation |location=London |publisher=Chapman and Hall |isbn=978-0-412-44290-2}}</ref> [[Sedges]] are one of the more common herbaceous species. [[Carnivorous plant]]s such as sundews (''[[Drosera]]'') and pitcher plants (for example ''[[Sarracenia purpurea]]'') have adapted to the low-nutrient conditions by using [[invertebrate]]s as a nutrient source. [[Orchid]]s have adapted to these conditions through the use of mycorrhizal fungi to extract nutrients.<ref name="Keddy" />{{rp|88}} Some shrubs such as ''[[Myrica gale]]'' (bog myrtle) have [[root nodule]]s in which [[nitrogen fixation]] occurs, thereby providing another supplemental source of nitrogen.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bond |first=G. |title=Plant Physiology (Wadsworth biology series) |editor-first1=F.B. |editor-last1=Salisbury |editor-first2=C.W. |editor-last2=Ross |date=1985 |edition=3rd |page=[https://archive.org/details/plantphysiology0000sali/page/254 254] |location=Belmont, CA |publisher=Brooks/Cole |isbn=0534044824 |url=https://archive.org/details/plantphysiology0000sali/page/254 }} See figure 13.3.</ref>
[[File:Labrador tea I 551350802.jpg|thumb|Many species of evergreen shrub are found in bogs, such as [[Labrador tea]].]]
Bogs are recognized as a significant/specific habitat type by a number of governmental and conservation agencies. They can provide habitat for mammals, such as [[caribou]], [[moose]], and [[beaver]]s, as well as for species of nesting shorebirds, such as [[crane (bird)|Siberian cranes]] and [[greater yellowlegs|yellowlegs]]. Bogs contain species of vulnerable reptilians such as the [[bog turtle]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Tutterow|first1=Annalee M.|last2=Graeter|first2=Gabrielle J.|last3=Pittman|first3=Shannon E. |date=June 2017|title=Bog Turtle Demographics within the Southern Population|url=https://bioone.org/journals/ichthyology-and-herpetology/volume-105/issue-2/CH-16-478/Bog-Turtle-Demographics-within-the-Southern-Population/10.1643/CH-16-478.full|journal=Ichthyology & Herpetology |volume=105|issue=2|pages=293–300|doi=10.1643/CH-16-478|s2cid=90491294|issn=2766-1512}}</ref> 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 a butterfly called the bog copper (''[[Lycaena epixanthe]]''). In Ireland, the [[viviparous lizard]], the only known reptile in the country, dwells in bogland.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Farren |first1=Aodan |last2=Prodöhl |first2=Paulo |last3=Laming |first3=Peter |last4=Reid |first4=Neil |date=2010-01-01 |title=Distribution of the common lizard (Zootoca vivipara) and landscape favourability for the species in Northern Ireland |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/amre/31/3/article-p387_9.xml |journal=Amphibia-Reptilia |language=en |volume=31 |issue=3 |pages=387–394 |doi=10.1163/156853810791769428 |issn=1568-5381|doi-access=free }}</ref>

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 Plain|West Siberian Lowland]].<ref name="Solomeshch">{{cite book |last=Solomeshch |first=A.I. |date=2005 |chapter=The West Siberian Lowland |pages=11–62 |editor-first1=L.H. |editor-last1=Fraser |editor-first2=P.A. |editor-last2=Keddy |title=The World's Largest Wetlands: Ecology and Conservation |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |isbn=9780521834049}}</ref> The highest protected status occurs in [[Zapovednik]]s ([[International Union for Conservation of Nature|IUCN]] category IV); [[Gydan Nature Reserve|Gydansky]]<ref name="Russian Nature">{{cite web|title=Russian Zapovedniks and National Parks |url=http://www.rusnature.info/zap/081.htm |website=Russian Nature |access-date=8 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180311043618/http://www.rusnature.info/zap/081.htm |archive-date=11 March 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref> and [[Yugansky Nature Reserve|Yugansky]] are two prominent examples. {{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}

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 the 1940s.<ref name="Human encroachment, climate change">{{cite journal |last1=Boethius |first1=Adam |last2=Kjällquist |first2=Mathilda |last3=Magnell |first3=Ola |last4=Apel |first4=Jan |title=Human encroachment, climate change and the loss of our archaeological organic cultural heritage: Accelerated bone deterioration at Ageröd, a revisited Scandinavian Mesolithic key-site in despair |journal=PLOS ONE |date=July 29, 2020 |volume=15 |issue=7 |pages=e0236105 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0236105|pmid=32726345 |pmc=7390309 |bibcode=2020PLoSO..1536105B |doi-access=free }}</ref> This has been found to be from fluctuations in ground water and increase in acidity<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sperle |first1=Thomas |last2=Bruelheide |first2=Helge |title=Climate change aggravates bog species extinctions in the Black Forest (Germany) |journal=Diversity and Distributions |date=25 October 2020 |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=282–295 |doi=10.1111/ddi.13184|doi-access=free }}</ref> 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; they do not work in the long-term.<ref name="Human encroachment, climate change"/> 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&nbsp;°C per decade, an amount twice as large as the global average. Because bogs and other peatlands are carbon sinks, they are releasing large amounts of greenhouse gases as they warm up.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Schuur |first1=E. A. G. |last2=McGuire |first2=A. |last3=Schadel |first3=C. |title=Climate change and the permafrost carbon feedback |journal=Nature |date=9 April 2015 |volume=520 |issue=7546 |pages=171–179 |doi=10.1038/nature14338|pmid=25855454 |bibcode=2015Natur.520..171S |s2cid=4460926 }}</ref> These changes have resulted in a severe decline of biodiversity and species populations of peatlands throughout Northern Europe.<ref name="Human encroachment, climate change"/>

==Types==
{{See also|Hydrosere|Ecological succession}}
Bog habitats may develop in various situations, depending on the climate and topography.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Glaser |first=P.H. |date=1992 |title=Raised bogs in eastern North America: regional controls for species richness and floristic assemblages |journal=Journal of Ecology |volume=80 |issue=3 |pages=535–54|doi=10.2307/2260697 |jstor=2260697 |bibcode=1992JEcol..80..535G }}</ref>

=== By location and water source ===
Bogs may be classified on their topography, proximity to water, method of recharge, and nutrient accumulation.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Damman |first=A.W.H. |date=1986 |title=Hydrology, development, and biogeochemistry of ombrogenous bogs with special reference to nutrient relocation in a western Newfoundland bog |journal=Canadian Journal of Botany |volume=64 |pages=384–94|doi=10.1139/b86-055 }}</ref>

====Valley bog====
[[File:ARG-2016-Aerial-Tierra del Fuego (Ushuaia)–Valle Carbajal 01.jpg|thumb|Aerial image of [[Carbajal Valley]] [[peat]] bogs, [[Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina]]]]
These develop in gently sloping valleys or hollows. A layer of peat fills 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.{{Citation needed|date=November 2020}}{{clarify|date=November 2020 |reason=Why? Also, see the second paragraph that suggests that all bogs are acidic and the first paragraph, which suggests that some bogs are not acidic.}}

====Raised bog====
{{Unreferenced section|date=January 2021}}
[[File:EE-Lahemaa-Bagno Viru.jpg|thumb|right|Viru Bog in [[Lahemaa National Park]], [[Estonia]], which is rich in raised bogs]]
{{main|Raised bog}}
These develop from a lake or flat [[marsh]]y area, over either non-acidic or acidic substrates. Over centuries there is a progression from open lake, to a marsh, to a [[fen]] (or, on acidic substrates, valley bog), to a [[carr (topography)|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 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:
* [[Coastal bog]]
* [[Plateau bog]]
* [[Upland bog]]
* [[Kermi bog]]
* [[String bog]]
* [[Palsa bog]]
* [[Polygonal bog]]

====Blanket bog====
{{Main|Blanket bog}}
[[File:Drosera anglica habitat.JPG|thumb|right|Sphagnum moss and sedges can produce floating bog mats along the shores of small lakes. This bog in Duck Lake, [[Oregon]], US, supports populations of [[Drosera anglica|English sundew (''Drosera anglica'')]].]]
[[File:Connemara1.jpg|thumb|Blanket bog in [[Connemara]], Ireland]]
In cool climates with consistently high rainfall (on more than c. 235 days a year), 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.<ref>{{cite journal |last=van Breeman |first=N. |date=1995 |title=How Sphagnum bogs down {{sic}} other plants |journal=Trends in Ecology and Evolution |volume=10 |issue=7 |pages=270–275|doi=10.1016/0169-5347(95)90007-1 |pmid=21237035 |bibcode=1995TEcoE..10..270V }}</ref> Although a blanket bog is more common on acidic substrates, under some conditions it may also develop on neutral or even [[alkali]]ne ones, if abundant acidic rainwater predominates over 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 vegetation|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 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.<ref name="keddy 2010" />

====Quaking bog====
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 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 the water surface to cover bays or even entire small lakes. Bogs at the edges of lakes may become detached and form [[floating island]]s.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/floating-island-bog-crow-wing-county-minnesota |title=How Do You Solve a Problem Like a Giant Floating Bog? |first=Andrea |last=Appleton |magazine=Atlas Obscura |date=6 March 2018 |access-date=8 March 2018}}</ref>

====Cataract bog====
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 a roothold. The result is a narrow, permanently wet habitat.<ref name="keddy 2010" />

==Uses==

===Industrial uses===
[[File:Sitniki ornithological reserve.jpg|thumb|The Sitniki peat bog in [[Russia]] recultivated after industrial use]]
After drying, peat is used as a [[fossil fuel|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&nbsp;million metric tons per year. Ireland's ''[[Bord na Móna]]'' ("peat board") was one of the first companies to mechanically harvest peat, which is being phased out.<ref>{{cite web|last1=de Róiste |first1=Daithí |title=Bord na Móna announces biggest change of land use in modern Irish history|url=https://www.bordnamona.ie/bord-na-mona-announces-biggest-change-of-land-use-in-modern-irish-history/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151007062205/http://www.bordnamona.ie/news/latest/bord-na-mona-announces-biggest-change-of-land-use-in-modern-irish-history/|archive-date=7 October 2015|access-date=18 October 2021|website=Bord na Móna |date=5 October 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

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.<ref name=NYT10612 /> It is also used as a [[mulch]]. Some [[distillation|distilleries]], notably in the [[Islay whisky|Islay]] whisky-producing region, use the smoke from [[Turf fire|peat fires]] to dry the [[barley]] used in making [[Scotch whisky]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}

Once the peat has been extracted it can be difficult to restore the [[wetland]], since peat accumulation is a slow process.<ref name=NYT10612 /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Campbell |first1=D.R. |last2=Rochefort |first2=L. |date=2003 |title=Germination and seedling growth of bog plants in relation to the recolonization of milled peatlands |journal=Plant Ecology |volume=169 |issue=1 |pages=71–84|doi=10.1023/A:1026258114901 |bibcode=2003PlEco.169...71C |s2cid=42590665 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cobbaert |first1=D. |last2=Rochefort |first2=L. |last3=Price |first3=J.S. |date=2004 |title=Experimental restoration of a fen plant community after peat mining |journal=Applied Vegetation Science |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=209–20|doi=10.1111/j.1654-109X.2004.tb00612.x |bibcode=2004AppVS...7..209C }}</ref> More than 90% of the bogs in England have been damaged or destroyed.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cumbria/3942167.stm |work=BBC News |title=Insight into threatened peat bogs |date=31 July 2004 |access-date=8 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024191100/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cumbria/3942167.stm |archive-date=24 October 2007 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/policy/water/water/peat_bogs/index.asp |title=Destruction of peat bogs |publisher=RSPB |archive-date=30 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930231831/http://www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/policy/water/water/peat_bogs/index.asp }}</ref> In 2011 plans for the elimination of peat in gardening products were announced by the UK government.<ref name=NYT10612 />

===Other uses===
The peat in bogs is an important place for the storage of carbon. If the peat decays, carbon dioxide would be released to the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. Undisturbed, bogs function as a [[carbon sink]].<ref name=NYT10612 /><ref>{{cite journal |last=Gorham |first=E. |date=1991 |title=Northern peatlands role in the carbon cycle and probable responses to climatic warming |journal=Ecological Applications |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=182–95|doi=10.2307/1941811 |pmid=27755660 |jstor=1941811 |bibcode=1991EcoAp...1..182G |s2cid=2701885 |url=http://purl.umn.edu/125845 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last1=Loisel |first1=Julie |last2=Gallego-Sala |first2=Angela |date=2020-12-21|title=Guest post: How human activity threatens the world's carbon-rich peatlands|url=https://www.carbonbrief.org/guest-post-how-human-activity-threatens-the-worlds-carbon-rich-peatlands|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221100132/https://www.carbonbrief.org/guest-post-how-human-activity-threatens-the-worlds-carbon-rich-peatlands |archive-date=21 December 2020 |access-date=2021-01-01|website=Carbon Brief |language=en}}</ref> As one example, the peatlands of the former Soviet Union were calculated to be removing 52 Tg of carbon per year from the atmosphere.<ref name="Solomeshch" />{{rp|41}} Therefore, the rewetting of drained peatlands may be one of the most cost-effective ways to mitigate climate change.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.euki.de/en/news/interview-rewetting-peatlands-to-cut-emissions/|title=Interview: Rewetting Peatlands to Cut Emissions |last=Mandel |first=Martti |date=2018-11-10|website=EUKI |language=en-US |access-date=2019-11-02}}</ref>

Peat bogs are also important in storing fresh water, particularly in the headwaters of large rivers. Even the enormous [[Yangtze River]] arises in the Ruoergai peatland near its headwaters in [[Tibet]].<ref name="Keddy" />{{rp|at=fig. 13.8}}

[[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]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}

[[Sphagnum bog]]s 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.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}<ref>Taylor, Richard B, "[https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_rp_t3200_1081.pdf THE EFFECTS OF OFF-ROAD VEHICLES ON ECOSYSTEMS]," 2001.</ref>

==Archaeology==
The anaerobic environment and presence of [[tannic acid]]s within bogs can result in the remarkable preservation of organic material. Finds of such material have been made in [[Slovenia]], [[Denmark]], [[Germany]], [[Republic of Ireland|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 [[Celts and human sacrifice|Celtic human sacrifice]]. Excellent examples of such human specimens include the [[Haraldskær Woman]] and [[Tollund Man]] in Denmark,<ref>{{cite book |first=P.V. |last=Glob |title=The Bog People: Iron Age Man Preserved |date=2011 |publisher=Faber and Faber |isbn=978-0571270903}}</ref> 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<ref name="Silkeborg Museum">{{cite web |title=Welcome to the story of the Tollundman |url=https://www.museumsilkeborg.dk/tollundmanden |publisher=Silkeborg Museum}}</ref> and researchers were even able to tell the last meal that the Tollund Man ate before he died: porridge and fish.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nielsen |first1=N. |last2=Henriksen |first2=P. |last3=Enevold |first3=R. |last4=Mortensen |first4=M |last5=Scavenius |first5=C. |last6=Enghild |first6=J. |title=The last meal of Tollund Man: New analyses of his gut content |journal=Antiquity |date=2021 |volume=95 |issue=383 |pages=1195–1212 |doi=10.15184/aqy.2021.98|s2cid=238030730 }}</ref> This process happens because of the low oxygen levels of bogs in combination with 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.<ref name="Silkeborg Museum"/> [[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]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Earwood |first=Caroline |date=1997 |title=Bog Butter: A Two Thousand Year History |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/30001649 |journal=The Journal of Irish Archaeology |volume=8 |pages=25–42 |jstor=30001649 |issn=0268-537X}}</ref>

==Image gallery==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="154">
File:Sphagnum Brown's Lake Bog.jpg|''Sphagnum'' with [[northern pitcher plant]]s at [[Brown's Lake Bog]], Ohio, US
File:NSGEwM.jpg|A bog in [[East Frisia|Ostfriesland]], Germany
File:Bog oak and boulders at Stumpy Knowe.JPG|[[Bog-wood]] and [[Boulder|boulders]] at the Stumpy Knowe near [[Auchentiber|South Auchenmade]], Ayrshire, Scotland, United Kingdom
File:Hommik Mukri rabas.jpg|Bog with October morning mist in [[Mukri, Estonia]]
</gallery>

== See also ==

{{Portal|Wetlands}}
{{div col}}
* {{annotated link| Blackwater river}}
* {{annotated link|Bog body}}
* {{annotated link|Bog butter}}
* {{annotated link|Bog iron}}
* {{annotated link|Irish Peatland Conservation Council}}
* {{annotated link|Kerry bog slides}}
* {{annotated link|Kettle (landform)#Kettle bogs|Kettle bog}}
* {{annotated link|List of bogs}}
* {{annotated link|Paludification}}
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|26em}}

==Bibliography==
*Aiton, William (1811). ''General View of The Agriculture of the County of Ayr; observations on the means of its improvement; drawn up for the consideration of the Board of Agriculture, and Internal Improvements, with Beautiful Engravings.'' Glasgow.

==External links==
{{wiktionary|bog}}
{{Commons}}
*[http://www.geographyinaction.co.uk/Landscapes/Landscapes_bog.html Ballynahone Bog] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019210008/http://www.geographyinaction.co.uk/Landscapes/Landscapes_bog.html |date=19 October 2021 }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070210112522/http://pages.cthome.net/rwinkler/bog.htm Black Spruce Bog] Describes a forested bog type of North America
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071014051224/http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0709/bog-bodies/bog-bodies-photos.html?email=Focus24Aug07 Bog bodies]
*[http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotostrecke-61166.html Germany's Endangered Bogs] - slideshow by ''[[Der Spiegel]]''
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6502239.stm 'Preserve peat bogs' for climate] BBC 28 March 2007
*{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Bog |short=x}}
*{{Cite AmCyc|wstitle=Bog |short=x}}

{{Wetlands}}
{{Aquatic ecosystem topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Bogs| ]]
[[Category:Landforms]]
[[Category:Types of soil]]
[[Category:Wetlands]]
[[Category:Limnology]]