Lütt-Witt Moor, a bog in Henstedt-Ulzburg in northern Germany. is the northernmost of the 16 ''Bundesländer'' in Germany. The former English name was Sleswick-Holsatia the Danish name is Henstedt-Ulzburg is a municipality in the district of Segeberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe.

A bog or mire is a wetland type that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material – usually mosses, but also lichens in Arctic climates. A wetland is an area of Land consisting of Soil that is Saturated with Moisture, such as a Swamp, Marsh, or Bog In Computer science, ACID ( Atomicity Consistency Isolation Durability) is a set of properties that guarantee that Database transactions are Peat is an accumulation of partially Decayed Vegetation matter. Mosses are small soft Plants that are typically 1–10  cm (0 Lichens (ˈlaɪkən or /lɪtʃən/ are symbiotic associations of a Fungus (the mycobiont with a photosynthetic partner (the photobiont also known as Bogs occur where the water at the ground surface is acidic, either from acidic ground water, or where water is derived entirely from precipitation, when they are termed ombrotrophic (rain-fed). Groundwater is Water located beneath the Ground surface in Soil pore spaces and in the Fractures of lithologic formations In Meteorology, precipitation (also known as one class of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric Ombrotrophic ("cloud-fed" refers to soil or vegetation which receive all of their water and nutrients from precipitation rather than from streams or springs Water flowing out of bogs has a characteristic brown color, from dissolved peat tannins. Tannins are Astringent, bitter plant Polyphenols that either bind and Precipitate or shrink Proteins The astringency from the tannins is what Bogs are very sensitive habitats, of high importance for biodiversity. Biodiversity is the variation of Life forms within a given Ecosystem, Biome or for the entire Earth.

Distribution and extent

Bogs are widely distributed in cold, temperate climes, mostly in the northern hemisphere (Boreal). The world's largest wetlands are the bogs of the Western Siberian Lowlands in Russia, which cover more than 600,000 square kilometres. Siberia (Сиби́рь Sibir) is the name given to the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending To help compare Orders of magnitude of different geographical regions we list here Surface areas between 100000 km² and 1000000 km² Sphagnum bogs were widespread in northern Europe. Ireland was more than 15% bog; Achill Island off Ireland is 87% bog. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Achill Island (ˈækəl Acaill Oileán Acla in County Mayo is the largest island of Ireland, and is situated off the west coast There are extensive bogs in Canada and Alaska (called muskeg), Scotland, Denmark, Estonia (20% bog lands), Finland (26%), northern Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Sweden. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Alaska ( Аляска Alyaska) is a state in the United States of America, in the northwest of the North American continent Muskeg is an acidic soil type common in Arctic and Boreal areas although it is found in other northern climates as well Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. There are also bogs in the Falkland Islands. Ombrotrophic wetlands (of which bogs are an example) are also found in the tropics, with notable areas documented in Kalimantan; these habitats are forested so would be better called acidic swamps. Ombrotrophic ("cloud-fed" refers to soil or vegetation which receive all of their water and nutrients from precipitation rather than from streams or springs In most languages in the world the term Kalimantan refers to the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo, while for Indonesians the name "Kalimantan" A swamp is a Wetland featuring temporary or permanent inundation of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water Extensive bogs cover the northern areas of the U.S. states of Minnesota and Michigan, most notably on Isle Royale in Lake Superior. A US state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States of America that share Sovereignty with the federal government Minnesota ( Native Americans demonstrated the name to early settlers Michigan ( is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. Isle Royale is an island of the Great Lakes, located in the northwest of Lake Superior. Lake Superior is the largest of the five Great Lakes of North America. The pocosin of the southeastern United States is like a bog in that it is an acidic wetland but it has its own unusual combination of features. Pocosin is a term for a type of Palustrine Wetland with deep acidic sandy Peat soils In certain areas such as Ireland and Scotland, coastal bogs are frequently intruded upon by low lying dunes called Machairs. This article is about a geographic landform For the TV series see Machair (TV series The Gaelic word machair or machar refers to a fertile

Types of bog

Bog habitats may develop in various situations, depending on the climate and topography. The main types are:

Valley bog

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.

Raised bog

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 marsh and then fen (or on acidic substrates, valley bog), as silt or peat fill the lake. A fen is a type of Wetland fed by surface and/or groundwater Fens are characterized by their water chemistry which is neutral or Alkaline Fens are different 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). Ombrotrophic ("cloud-fed" refers to soil or vegetation which receive all of their water and nutrients from precipitation rather than from streams or springs The bog continues to form peat, and over time a shallow dome of bog peat develops: 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 ground water can percolate into the wetland.

Blanket bog

Main article: Blanket bog

In cool climates with consistently high rainfall, the ground surface may remain waterlogged for much of the time, providing conditions for the development of bog vegetation. Blanket bog or Blanket Mire is an area of peatland forming where there is a climate of high rainfall and a low level of evapotranspiration allowing peat to develop not In these circumstances bog develops as a layer "blanketing" much of the land, including hilltops and slopes. Although 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 the ground water. In Chemistry, an alkali (from Arabic: Al-Qaly القلي القالي) is a basic, ionic salt of an Alkali metal Blanket bog cannot 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 blanket bog may be limited to slopes which do not get direct sunshine. In periglacial climates a patterned form of blanket bog may occur: string bog. Periglacial is an adjective referring to places in the edges of glacial areas normally those related to past Ice ages rather than those in the modern era A String bog or Strong mire is a Bog consisting of slightly elevated ridges and islands with woody plants alternating with flat wet sedge mat areas

Quaking bog

Quaking bog or schwingmoor is a form of bog occurring in wetter parts of valley bogs and raised bogs, and sometimes around the edges of acidic lakes where bog is beginning to form. The bog vegetation forms a mat half a meter or so thick, floating over water or very wet peat. Walking on this surface causes it to move – larger movements may cause visible ripples of the surface, or even make trees sway.

Bog habitats

Virgin boreal acid bogs at Brown's Lake Bog, Ohio. The tree cover is not typical of a bog.

Bogs are recognized as a significant habitat type by a number of governmental and conservation agencies. For example, the United Kingdom in its Biodiversity Action Plan establishes bog habitats as a priority for conservation. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located This article is about a conservation biology topic For other uses of BAP see BAP (disambiguation. Bogs are challenging environments for plant life because they are low in nutrients and very acidic. Carnivorous plants have adapted to these conditions by using insects as a nutrient source. Carnivorous plants (sometimes called insectivorous plants) are Plants that derive some or most of their Nutrients (but not Energy) from trapping Insects ( Class Insecta) are a major group of Arthropods and the most diverse group of Animals on the Earth with over a million described The high acidity of bogs and the absorption of water by sphagnum moss reduce the amount of water available for plants. Some bog plants, such as Leatherleaf, have waxy leaves to help retain moisture. The Leatherleaf ( Chamaedaphne calyculata) is a Shrub in the plant family Ericaceae and the only species in the genus Chamaedaphne Bogs also offer a unique environment for animals. For instance, English bogs give a home to the boghopper beetle and a yellow fly called the hairy canary fly. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland True flies are Insects of the Order Diptera ( Greek: di = two and pteron = wing possessing a single pair of The Hairy Canary Fly Phaonia jaroschewskii (Schnabl 1888 is a yellow European muscid fly

Sphagnum bog vegetation, Tříjezerní slať, Šumava. Sphagnum is a Genus of between 151-350 species of Mosses commonly called peat moss, due to its prevalence in Peat bogs The Bohemian Forest is a low Mountain range in Central Europe.

Uses

Industrial uses

A bog is a very early stage in the formation of coal deposits. In fact, bogs can catch fire and often sustain long-lasting smoldering blazes, producing smoke and carbon dioxide, thus causing health and environmental problems. Carbon dioxide ( Chemical formula:) is a Chemical compound composed of two Oxygen Atoms covalently bonded to a single After drying, peat is used as a fuel. Fossil fuels or mineral fuels are fossil source Fuels that is Hydrocarbons found within the top layer of the Earth’s crust. 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 extractor of peat for fuel at more than 90 million metric tons per year. Ireland's Bord na Móna ("peat board") was one of the first companies to mechanically harvest peat. Bord na Móna ( lit Peat Board is a semi-state company in the Ireland, created in 1946 by the Turf Development Act 1946

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. A soil conditioner, also called a soil amendment, is a material added to Soil to improve plant growth and health It is also used as a mulch. In Agriculture and Gardening, '''mulch''' is a protective cover placed over the Soil, primarily to modify the effects of the local Climate. Some distilleries, notably Laphroaig, use peat fires to smoke the barley used in making Scotch whisky. Distillation is a method of separating Mixtures based on differences in their volatilities in a boiling liquid mixture Laphroaig Distillery (ləˈfrɔɪɡ lə-FROYG) is a Scotch whisky distillery situated on the south coast of the isle of Islay Barley ( Hordeum vulgare) is an annual Cereal Grain, which serves as a major animal Feed crop, with smaller amounts used for Scotch whisky is Whisky made in Scotland. In Britain the term whisky is usually taken to mean Scotch unless otherwise specified More than 90% of the bogs in England have been destroyed. ^[1][2]

Other uses

Bog Huckleberry at Polly's Cove, Nova Scotia

Blueberries, cranberries, cloudberries, huckleberries and lingonberries are harvested from the wild in bogs. Nova Scotia (ˌnəʊvəˈskəʊʃə ( Latin for New Scotland; Alba Nuadh Nouvelle-Écosse is a Canadian province located on Canada 's Blueberries are Flowering plants in the genus Vaccinium, sect Cranberries are a group of Evergreen dwarf Shrubs or trailing vines in the genus Vaccinium subgenus Oxycoccos The cloudberry ( Rubus chamaemorus) also called bakeapple in Newfoundland and Labrador, Cape Breton Island and southern Nova Scotia is The Vaccinium vitis-idaea &ndash often called lingonberry also called cowberry, foxberry, mountain cranberry, red whortleberry Bog oak, wood that has been partially preserved by bogs, has been used in manufacture of furniture. Bog-wood is wood from trees that have been buried in Peat Bogs and preserved from Decay by the Acidic and Anaerobic bog conditions Furniture is the Mass noun for the movable objects which may support the human body (seating furniture and beds, provide storage or hold objects on horizontal

Sphagnum bogs are also used for sport, but this can be damaging. All-terrain vehicles are especially damaging to bogs. An all-terrain vehicle (ATV is defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI as a vehicle that travels on low pressure tires with a seat that is straddled by Bog snorkeling is popular in England and Wales. Bog snorkelling is a sporting event that consists of competitors completing two consecutive lengths of a water filled trench cut through a Peat Bog, in the shortest Llanwrtyd Wells, the smallest town in Wales, hosts the World Bog Snorkeling Championships. Llanwrtyd Wells is a small Town in the parish of Llanwrtyd in Powys, mid Wales, lying on the River Irfon. In this event, competitors with mask, snorkel, and scuba fins swim along a 60-meter trench cut through a peat bog. A scuba set is an independent breathing set that provides a scuba diver with the Breathing gas necessary to breathe underwater during Scuba diving.

Archaeology

The anaerobic environment and presence of tannic acids within bogs can result in the remarkable preservation of organic material. Tannic acid, a commercial form of Tannin, is a Polyphenol. Its weak acidity ( pKa around 10 is due to these Phenol groups in Finds of such material have been made in Denmark, Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located ^[3] Some bogs have preserved ancient oak logs useful in dendrochronology, and they have yielded extremely well-preserved bog bodies, with organs, skin, and hair intact, buried there thousands of years ago after apparent Germanic and Celtic human sacrifice. The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of about 400 species of Trees and Shrubs in the Genus Quercus (from Latin Dendrochronology (from Greek grc δένδρον dendron, "tree" grc χρόνος khronos, "time" and grc -λογία Bog bodies, also known as bog people, are preserved Human bodies found in sphagnum bogs in Northern Europe, Great Britain and The Celts practised Human sacrifice on a limited scale as part of their religious Rituals Animal sacrifice was more commonplace along with ritual deposition Excellent examples of such human specimens are Haraldskær Woman and Tollund Man in Denmark,^[4] and Lindow man found at Lindow Common in England. The Haraldskær Woman is an Iron Age Bog body found naturally preserved in a Bog in Jutland, Denmark. The Tollund Man is the naturally mummified corpse of a man who lived during the 4th century BC, during the time period characterised in Scandinavia as the Lindow Man, also known as Lindow II and Pete Marsh, is the name given to the naturally-preserved Bog body of an Iron Age man discovered in a Lindow Common is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI located on the western edge of the town of Wilmslow, Cheshire in the northwest of England England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland At Ceide Fields in County Mayo in Ireland, a 5000 year old neolithic farming landscape has been found preserved under a blanket bog, complete with field walls and hut sites. The Céide Fields (Achaidh Chéide is an area situated on the north Mayo coast in the west of Ireland. The Neolithic (from Greek νεολιθικός — neolithikos from νέος neos, "new" + λίθος lithos Blanket bog or Blanket Mire is an area of peatland forming where there is a climate of high rainfall and a low level of evapotranspiration allowing peat to develop not One ancient artefact found in bogs in many places is bog butter, large masses of fat, usually in wooden containers. " Bog butter " refers to an ancient Waxy substance found buried in Peat Bogs particularly in the United Kingdom and in Ireland These are thought to have been food stores, of both butter and tallow. Butter is a Dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented Cream or Milk. Tallow is a rendered form of Beef or Mutton Fat, processed from Suet.

Fiction and song

Gothic Fiction is commonly set on a moor, a type of landscape common in Great Britain and Ireland which often has extensive bogs. Gothic fiction (sometimes referred to as Gothic horror) is a genre of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Moorland or moor is a type of habitat found in upland areas characterised by low growing vegetation on Acidic soils See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands One example is "The Hound of the Baskervilles", a Sherlock Holmes story by Arthur Conan Doyle which is largely set on Dartmoor and contains the fictional bog Grimpen Mire, said to have been based on Fox Tor in Devon. The Hound of the Baskervilles is a crime novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes is a famous fictional detective of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who first appeared in Publication in 1887 Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, DL (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930 was an Anglo-Scottish Author most noted for his stories about the Dartmoor is an area of Moorland in the centre of Devon, England. Fox Tor is a relatively minor tor on Dartmoor in the United Kingdom. Devon is a large county in the South West of England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, but that is an entirely unofficial name

Several comic book characters are based on the idea of a half-plant/half-human creature living in a bog, notably The Heap, Swamp Thing, Man-Thing, and Solomon Grundy. A comic book (often shortened to simply comic and sometimes called a comic paper or comic magazine) is a Magazine or Book of narrative The Swamp Thing is a Fictional character created by Len Wein and Berni Wrightson for DC Comics and featured in a long-running horror-fantasy The Man-Thing is a Fictional character in the, created by writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Gerry Conway and artist Gray Morrow Solomon Grundy ( Cyrus Gold) is a fictional character published by DC Comics, a large strong Zombie Supervillain bearing a resemblance to

German industrial band Bigod 20 had their biggest hit with 1990s "The Bog]", in which the narrator, a fell creature living within the bog (or perhaps the bog itself), describes how he's swallowing the listener's body. Industrial music is a loose term for a number of different styles of Experimental music, especially but not necessarily Electronic music. Bigod 20 was a German EBM and Electro-industrial band which was formed in 1988 by Music producers Andreas Tomalla (aka American post-punk band be your own PET also has a song called "Bog", where the singer mentions having drowned her boyfriend in a bog. Post-punk was a popular musical movement in the mid to late 1970s following on the heels of the initial Punk rock explosion of the early 1970s

One of Europe's best-known protest songs, "Peat Bog Soldiers", was written by prisoners in Nazi moorland labour camps in the Emsland and describes their penal labour in bog drainage. Peat Bog Soldiers is one of Europe's best-known protest songs The, officially National Socialist German Workers' Party, ( abbreviated NSDAP) was a Political party in Germany between 1919 and 1945 See also List of Nazi-German concentration camps, Extermination camp Prior to and during World War II, Nazi Germany under Hitler maintained Landkreis Emsland is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany named after the river Ems. Penal labour or penal servitude is a form of Unfree labour. The term may refer to two different notions labour as a form of punishment and labour as a form of occupation Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from a given area

Trivia

• The last Sunday in July is International Bog Day [1]
• The Mysterious Bog People is a travelling museum exhibition organized by the Drents Museum, Assen, The Netherlands, the Niedersachsisches Landesmuseum, Hannover, Germany, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Gatineau-Ottawa, Canada and the Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Canada
• Bog Snorkelling is a tongue-in-cheek extreme sport with competitors swimming through murky water-filled trenches cut into a bog. The Canadian Museum of Civilization (CMC is Canada’s national museum of human history and the most-visited museum in the country The Glenbow Museum in Calgary is Western Canada 's largest Museum, with over 93000 square feet (8600 m² of exhibition space in more than 20 galleries Bog snorkelling is a sporting event that consists of competitors completing two consecutive lengths of a water filled trench cut through a Peat Bog, in the shortest Extreme sport (also called action sport and adventure sport) is a media term for certain activities perceived as having a high level of inherent
• The British town of Blackpool is believed to get its name from a long gone drainage channel which ran over a peat bog. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Blackpool (/ˈblækˌpul is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. [2] The water which ran into the sea at Blackpool was black from the peat and formed a "black pool" in waters of the Irish Sea

See also

References

http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0709/bog-bodies/bog-bodies-photos.html?email=Focus24Aug07

External links

• Ballynahone Bog
• Black Spruce Bog Describes a forested bog type of North America