Bog Habitats Uses Of Bogs Industrial Uses Other Uses

Bogs are widely distributed in cold, temperate climates, 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. Sphagnum bogs were widespread in northern Europe. Ireland was more than 15 per cent bog; Achill Island off Ireland is 87 per cent bog. There are extensive bogs in Canada (called muskegMuskeg is a soil type (also a peatland or wetland type called a bog) common in arctic and boreal areas. Muskeg itself consists of dead plants in various states of decomposition (i. peat), ranging from fairly intact sphagnum moss, to sedge peat, to highlys), ScotlandScotland or in Scottish Gaelic, Alba is a country and former independent kingdom of northwest Europe, and one of the four nations comprising the United Kingdom. Scotland occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Scotland took part in a p and FinlandSuomen TasavaltaRepubliken Finland ( In Detail) ( In Detail) National motto: None Official languages Finnish and Swedish Capital Helsinki President Tarja Halonen Prime minister Matti Vanhanen Area Total % water Ranked 64th 337,030 km² 9. 4% Population Tot. There are also bogs in the Falkland IslandsThe Falkland Islands is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom in the South Atlantic consisting of two main islands known as East Falkland and West Falkland and a number of smaller islands. Sovereignty of the islands is also claimed by Argentina wher.

There exist other terms for what are bogs or peat wetlands similar to bogs. The term moor refers to a flat, boggy area with patches of heathHeaths are anthropogenic habitats found primarily in northern and western Europe, where they have been created by thousands of years of human clearance of natural forest vegetation by grazing and burning on mainly infertile acidic soils. They subdivide in and peat moss (that is, a bog). An example of this wetland type is the vast expanse of moorland in south-west EnglandEngland is the largest, the most populous, and the most densely populated of the four " Home Nations" which make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK). Occupying the south-eastern portion of the island of Great Britain, England, DartmoorDartmoor is a National Park in the centre of the English county of Devon. It covers 368 square miles (953 km²). Introduction The granite upland dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history, and the landscape is both dramatic, and bleak. The r.

1 Bog habitats

Bogs are challenging environments for plant life because they are low in nutrients and very acidic. Carnivorous plantA pitcher plant in flowergrowing on a road cut in Palau A carnivorous plant is a plant that derives some or most of its nutrients (but not energy) by trapping and consuming animals, especially insects. Carnivorous plants usually grow in places where the ss have adapted to these conditions by using insects as a nutrient source. 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. 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 .

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, such as Tollund Man and Lindow man, buried there thousands of years ago after apparent Celtic human sacrifice.

2 Uses of bogs

2.1 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 CO₂ causing health and environmental problems. After drying peat is used as a fuel. More than 20 per cent 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 producer of peat for fuel at more than 90 million metric tons per year. Ireland's Bord na Móna (peat board) were one of the first companies to mechanically harvest peat.

The other major use of dried peat is as a soil amendment (sold as peat moss or sphagnum) to increase the capacity to retain moisture and enrich the soil. It is also used as a mulch.

These industrial uses of peat threaten the continued existence of bogs. More than 90 per cent of the bogs in England have been destroyed.

2.2 Other uses

Crops of blueberries, cranberries and lingonberries are grown in bogs.

Sphagnum bogs are also used for sport, but this can be damaging. Bog snorkeling is popular in England and Wales and has even produced the associated sport of mountain bike bog snorkeling. Llanwrtyd Wells, the smallest town in Wales, hosts the World Bog Snorkelling Championships. In this event, competitors with mask, snorkel, and SCUBA fins swim along a 60-meter trench cut through a peat bog.

July 30 is International Bog Day.

Bog is also a United Kingdom slang word for toilet.

3 Literature

Gothic Fiction is commonly set on the moor, an English bog. One example is " The Hound of the Baskervilles", a Sherlock Holmes story by Arthur Conan Doyle.

The Bog People: Iron-Age Man Preserved, by P.V. Glob, is a classic study of archaeology. The book is about the remains of iron-age people, and the victims of ritual sacrifice by strangulation. The corpses were thrown into peat bogs where they were discovered after 2000 years, perfectly preserved, down to their facial expressions, although well-tanned by the acidic environment of the Danish bogs.

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