Amber Evans
Biogeography
May 8, 2001
Thesis: In Wisconsin, and elsewhere, it has taken thousands of years for bogs to form naturally, but this fragile environment can be easily destroyed through even minimal human interference with the natural progression of specialized plant species that grow there.
:wink: I
The bog is formed
A.Glacial origin
1.Kettle
2.Prairie Pothole
B.Infilling of a pond or lake
1.Marsh/swamp
2.Oxbow Lake
C.Terrain with restricted drainage of water vs. water discharged
D.High water table
E.Production of littoral is greater than decomposing “Humification Process”
1.Acidity
2.Low nutrients
F.Poor Oxygen conditions
G.Building of Hygrophxites (water loving plants)
:wink:
II. Types of Bogs
A.Terrestrialication (filling of shallow lakes)
1.Raised (Domed) Bogs
2.Flat Bogs
3.Sloped Bogs
4.Quaking or Basin Bogs
B.Paludification (Blanketing of terrestrial ecosystems by overgrowth)
1.Blanket Bogs
C.Flow-Through succession-combination of terrestrialization and palufication
III. Location of ecosystems
A.Artic Regions
1.Tundra Biome
B.Sub-artic Regions
1.Boreal Forest
2.Temperate/ Mid-latitude decidious forest
IV. Cosmopolitan Distribution in Northern Hemisphere
V. Specialized Plant Species Unique to Bogs 1.Carnivorous Plants
a.Sundew
b.Pitcher Plant
c.Fly Catcher
2.Economic Plant Resources
a.Sphagnum Peat Moss
b.Orchids
c.Cranberries
d.WI bogs = nations leading cranberry producer
e.Blueberries
f.Peat (Fuel)
VI Future of Bogs
A Natural forest succession
B Destruction by fire
C Artificial destruction by man
1 Drained /Filled-in
2. Over harvesting of bog resources
3 Pollution
a.Changes in acidity/alkalinity
Conclusion: Nature needed thousands of years to create the unique bog environment as the last stage of a wetland. Man’s consequential destruction of these fragile areas through the economically motivated harvesting of the bog’s natural resources, and man’s rampant destruction of this ecosystem for developmental purposes is accelerating the death of the bog in Wisconsin, and elsewhere in the United States.
Linear Mode
