Bog Ecology and Palynology

Adirondack Bogs—Satellite View

What is a bog?

• “bocc” is a Celtic word for soft soil

• A special wetland of isolated hydrology;

only source of water is from precipitation;

no inlet or outlet of water

• Outline

– Glacial formation

– Unique Physical Features

– Unique Chemistry

– Unique Plants

Glaciation and Bog Formation

• Wisconsin glacier

covered much of North

America from 18,000-

25,000 years B.P.

• Glacial debris formed

moraines at terminus

• Retreat of glaciers left

depressions and isolate

ice blocks surrounded by

debris (i.e., Kames)

Secondary Impoundment

and Bog Formation

Beaver Pond near

Raquette Lake

Bog Formation

• Ice melted in sheltered

isolated areas

• Environment remained

protected and cold

• No inlet or outlet of water

(precipitation only),

consequences

– Low oxygen

– Low mineral content

– Slightly acidic

Initial Colonization by Hydrophytes

• Sphagnum moss, water

lilies, small shrubs along

periphery of depression

• Formation of floating mat

of vegetation

• Accumulation of organic

material deep in

depression

Late Stages of Bog Succession

• Matt of plants extends

into open water and may

float over surface—

quaking bog

• Larch, black spruce, red

maple forest may cover

bog

• Organic soil fills

depression (accumulates

4 cm per 20 years)

Bogs Scrub the Atmosphere

of Carbon Dioxide

Bog

Vegetation

Zones

A

B C

Open

Water

A. Bog Forest

B. Forest-shrub

Transition

C. Floating Mat

Jam Pond as an Isolated Wetland surrounded by a Kame

Bog Zones—Jam Pond, German NY

Larch/Black Spruce Forest

Ferd’s Bog-Adirondacks

Bog Chemistry

• Anoxic

• Acidic—humic acid from decay of moss (3.5-5.5)

• Low mineral nutrient

• Significance: (1) few decomposers—organic matter accumulates, (2) few aquatic animals, (3) plants adapted to special circumstances

• Plant Adaptations

– Carnivorous habit-bladderwort, sundew, pitcher plant

– Sclerophyllous vegetation--Heaths

Plant Adaptations

Carnivorous Habit

Round-leaf sundew

Drosera rotundifolia

Bladderwort

Utricularia sp.

Plants adapted to nutrient poor soils?

Sarracenia purpurea

Northern Pitcher Plant

Blasoxipha fletcheri

Sacophagus Fly Larvae

Blaesoxipha fletcheri

Pitcher Plant Mosquito Wyeomyia smithii

Rotifer Habrotrocha rosa

Bacteria

Slime Mite Sarraceniopus gibsoni

Midge Larvae Metriocnemus knabi

Northern Pitcher Plant

Food Web (from Eliason)

Heaths—Blueberry, Rhododendron family

Bog Rosemary

Andromeda glaucophylla Labrador Tea

Rhododendron groenlandicum

Sclerophyllous leaves—thick leathery, thick way or pubescence—

traits often associated with plants in arid regions.

Why are these plants in a bog?

Sclerophyllous Shrubs

Leather leaf Bog Laurel

Chamaedaphne calyculata Kalmia polifolia

Tamarack (Larix laricina)

Deciduous conifer

spur shoots

whorls of needles

acidic peat wetlands

Black Spruce (Picea mariana)

Acidic peat wetlands

Sharp needles

Parasitic Dwarf Mistletoe

Bog Peat and Clay

Bog Economics • Peat Products

– Peatmoss

– Peatcrete

– Peatwood

– Insulation

– Scotch

• Living Sphagnum moss

– Sterile dressing

– Absorbent material

– Decoration

• Vaccinium macrocarpon

– Cranberry

– Other Vaccinium

Do you remember how Sphagnum disperses spores?

Bog People

Understand past cultures through human remains

Diseases, diet, heavy metals, artifacts

Please read “Tales from the Bog” at National Geographic link on course web page

European Iron Age—1200 BC-400 AD

• European Iron Ages

– Human sacrifices

• Physical trauma

• Good health

– Diet & grooming

• Offerings

• American Bog People

– Skulls from Florida

peatland

• 5,000-8,000 ybp

Public Domain by Sven Rosborn

Thought Question: Although Bog People have wonderfully

preserved soft tissues, these structural tissues are often greatly

diminished.

What are the diminished tissues and why are they diminished?

Bog Caution

Previous Field Bio

Students warned

me about Broyles’

Field Trips

That’s why you

never walk in

front of the

Prof

BOGS are COOL!

If you make it

back bring me

some fossils

Bog Review

• Unique physical, chemical, and biological

properties

• Adaptations of bog vegetation

• Historical studies

– humans & artifacts

– palynology

• Economic and Ecological Value