Lab 8 - Spongy Fen

Question 1

What is a peat margin swamp?

Answer 1

It is when the water is at or above the surface and has lots of dogwoods, alders, and willows

Question 2

What is a floating/horizontal fen?

Answer 2

• it is less acidic than a bog, but more acidic than a marsh
• ground water seeps through the peat
• predominance of sedges, grasses, and vascular plants (trees and shrubs, like tamarack)

Question 3

What is a marsh?

Answer 3

• the water level is above the soil surface

- lots of herbaceous vegetation, like grasses, sedges, cattails, bullrushes, etc.

Question 4

What is a floating bog/fen?

Answer 4

• it develops on open water, often in a sheltered depression
• the microclimate is cool (at least in southern ON)
• has poor drainage with little or no water movement
• has acid-loving (ericaceous) plants, like sphagnum moss

Question 5

What is a lagg?

Answer 5

It is a transition between acidic peat (acidic fen) and the surrounding alkaline environment (upland forest)