December 1st, 2009
Two More Types of Wetlands
Bogs
Herbaceous vegetation dominates, not woody vegetation
Isolated and get water from surface
Marsh life, not forested
Depression
Ferns
Isolated, and gets water from surface and from soil
Depression
Bog Chemistry
-Because water flowing into bogs doesn’t flow through soil, it doesn’t accumulate and
transport dissolved elements that could buffer (avoid changes) in pH
- As a result, bogs tend to have acidic pH, which lowers decomposition (by being toxic to
bacteria)
- Low decomposition rates result in low nutrient conditions that favor carnivorous plants
like Venus fly trap, Sundew and Pitcher plant.
-Get their nutrients by regurgitation (external digestion)
-Bacteria are killed by pH changes, as they cannot adapt to it like other organisms
-Bogs are very low in nutrients (no decomposition or water bringing in nutrients)
-The primary stress in bogs is oxygen and acidity (pH)
