The Alfred Bog () is a domed peat bog in

Eastern Ontario Eastern Ontario (census population 1,892,332 in 2021) () is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It occupies a wedge-shaped area bounded by the Ottawa River and Quebec to the northeast and east, the St. Lawr ...

, Canada, about south of

Alfred Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

and east of

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

. The bog is considered the largest high-quality bog in

Southern Ontario Southern Ontario is a Region, primary region of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada, with approximately 13.5 million people, approximately 36% o ...

, and was designated by the

Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources The Ministry of Natural Resources is a government ministry of the Canadian province of Ontario that is responsible for Ontario's provincial parks, forests, fisheries, wildlife, mineral aggregates and the Crown lands and waters that make up 87 pe ...

as a "Class 1 Wetland" and an "

Area of Natural and Scientific Interest An Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (or ANSI) is an official designation by the provincial Government of Ontario in Canada applied to contiguous geographical regions within the province that have geological or ecological features which are si ...

(ANSI)" in 1984. It is home to rare animal species and a healthy

moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...

population. The

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

, primarily consisting of bog as well as some

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

and

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

, is in size of which 90% is protected as a provincial nature preserve, and planned to become a provincial park. The bog is accessible by a long boardwalk.

History

The bog formed at the confluence of an ancient

channel Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Australia in Queensland and pa ...

of the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (, ) is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word "to trade", as it was the major trade route of Eastern Canada at the time. For most of its length, it defines the border betw ...

and

South Nation River The South Nation River is a river in Eastern Ontario, Canada. It springs from forests and marshes located north of Brockville, and it flows northeast to empty into the Ottawa River north of Plantagenet. Shows the river's course highlighted on a ...

after the retreat of the

Champlain Sea The Champlain Sea () was a prehistoric inlet of the Atlantic Ocean into the North American continent, created by the retreating ice sheets during the closure of the last glacial period. The inlet once included lands in what are now the Canadi ...

. The Ottawa River used to drain melting glacial waters from central

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, but gradually reduced its flow and changed its course to its present location. Two large bogs,

Mer Bleue Mer Bleue Bog is a protected area in Gloucester, Ontario, an eastern suburb of Ottawa in Eastern Ontario, Canada. Its main feature is a sphagnum bog that is situated in an ancient channel of the Ottawa River and is a remarkable Boreal ecosystem ...

at the west end and Alfred Bog at the east end, formed in the former southern channel. In the early 19th century, the Alfred Bog covered about , more than twice its present size, extending right to the town of Alfred. In 1806, it was described as "a thick spruce and cedar swamp with large areas of marsh". Human development of agriculture and peat extraction since then greatly reduced the bog. In the early 20th century, the Canadian government encouraged commercial peat extraction since peat could serve as an alternative fuel source to coal. A

narrow-gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter cur ...

was built to facilitate extraction, as well as a separate

rail siding In rail terminology, a siding is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line, branch line, or spur. It may connect to through track or to other sidings at either end. Sidings often have lighter r ...

along the Montreal-Ottawa (M&O) line for shipping. By 1945, the bog was already reduced to . As a result of the peat removal, the bog is generally between higher than the surrounding farmland. Periodic burns and presence of drainage ditches have also changed the natural conditions of the remaining bog. Conservation efforts began in 1981 when zoning changes were proposed to allow new peat harvesting development. Since then the protected land has grown incrementally through the purchase of parcels of land from commercial and private owners.

Flora

The vegetation is characteristic of

boreal forest Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by pinophyta, coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. I ...

, normally found much farther north. Being a domed bog, water enters the bog mainly from natural precipitation creating

oligotroph An oligotroph is an organism that can live in an environment that offers very low levels of nutrients. They may be contrasted with copiotrophs, which prefer nutritionally rich environments. Oligotrophs are characterized by slow growth, low rates o ...

ic conditions, ideal for

sphagnum ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store water, since ...

moss, the bog's dominant vegetation. The peat ranges in depth from , with an average depth of . Some of the rare plants in the bog are white fringed orchid, Atlantic sedge, and rhodora. Tree species: * Swamp birch (''

Betula glandulosa ''Betula glandulosa'', the American dwarf birch, also known as resin birch or shrub birch, is a species of birch native to North America. Description American dwarf birch is a multi-stemmed shrub typically growing to tall, often forming dense ...

'') * Black spruce (''

Picea mariana ''Picea mariana'', the black spruce, is a North American species of spruce tree in the Pinaceae, pine family. It is widespread across Canada, found in all 10 provinces and all 3 Canadian Arctic Lands, territories. It is the official tree of Newfo ...

'') * Tamarack (''

Larix laricina ''Larix laricina'', commonly known as the tamarack, hackmatack, eastern larch, black larch, red larch, or American larch, is a species of larch native to Canada, from eastern Yukon and Inuvik, Northwest Territories east to Newfoundland, and als ...

'') * Red maple (''

Acer rubrum ''Acer rubrum'', the red maple, also known as swamp maple, water maple, or soft maple, is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern and central North America. The U.S. Forest Service recognizes it as the most abundant nati ...

'') Shrub species: * Purple chokeberry ('' Aronia prunifolia'') * Winterberry (''

Ilex verticillata ''Ilex verticillata'', the winterberry, is a species of holly native to eastern North America in the United States and southeast Canada, from Newfoundland west to Ontario and Minnesota, and south to Alabama. Other names that have been used incl ...

'') * Mountain holly ('' Ilex mucronata'') * Low sweet blueberry (''

Vaccinium angustifolium ''Vaccinium angustifolium'', commonly known as the wild lowbush blueberry, is a species of blueberry native to eastern and central Canada and the northeastern United States. It is the most common commercially used wild blueberry and is consider ...

'') * Velvet leaf blueberry (''

Vaccinium myrtilloides ''Vaccinium myrtilloides'' is a North American species of blueberry with common names including common blueberry, velvetleaf huckleberry, velvetleaf blueberry, Canadian blueberry, and sourtop blueberry. Description ''Vaccinium myrtilloides'' is a ...

'') * Leatherleaf (''

Chamaedaphne calyculata ''Chamaedaphne calyculata'', known commonly as leatherleaf or cassandra, is a perennial dwarf shrub in the plant family Ericaceae and the only species in the genus ''Chamaedaphne''. It is commonly seen in cold, acidic bogs and forms large, spread ...

'') * Labrador tea ('' Ledum groenlandicum'') * Sheep laurel (''

kalmia angustifolia ''Kalmia angustifolia'' is a flowering shrub in the family Ericaceae, commonly known as sheep laurel. It is distributed in eastern North America from Ontario and Quebec south to Virginia. It grows commonly in dry habitats in the boreal forest, a ...

'') * Bog laurel ('' Kalmia polifolia'') * Bog rosemary ('' Andromeda glaucophylla'') * Wild raisin ('' Viburnum cassinoides'') * Small bog cranberry (''

Vaccinium oxycoccos ''Vaccinium oxycoccos'' is a species of cranberry in the heath family. It is known as small cranberry, marshberry, bog cranberry, swamp cranberry, or (particularly in Britain) just cranberry. It occurs broadly across cooler climates in the tempe ...

'') Herbs/grasses/mosses: * Bog Solomon's seal ('' Smilacina trifolia'') * Creeping snowberry ('' Gaultheria hispidula'') * Cotton grass ('' Eriophorum viridicarinatum'') * Tufted bog cotton ('' Eriophorum spissum'') * Carex (''

Carex ''Carex'' is a vast genus of over 2,000 species of grass-like plants in the family (biology), family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedges (or seg, in older books). Other members of the family Cyperaceae are also called sedges, however those of ge ...

'') * Mosses ('' Pohlia nutans, Sphagnum fuscum'', and '' Polytrichum commune'') * Bristly club-mMoss ('' Lycopodium annotinum'')

Fauna

Some of the rare animals in the bog are the Bog Elfin butterfly, Fletcher's dragonfly, and

spotted turtle The spotted turtle (''Clemmys guttata''), the only species of the genus ''Clemmys'', is a small, semi-aquatic turtle that reaches a carapace length of upon adulthood. Their broad, smooth, low dark-colored upper shell, or carapace, ranges in its ...

. Regionally rare birds found at the Alfred Bog are black-backed woodpecker, Canada jay,

palm warbler The palm warbler (''Setophaga palmarum'') is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. Description Measurements: * Length: * Weight: * Wingspan: Taxonomy The species comprises two distinct subspecies that may merit specific s ...

northern hawk-owl The northern hawk-owl or northern hawk owl (''Surnia ulula'') is a medium-sized true owl of the northern latitudes. It is non-migratory and usually stays within its breeding range, though it sometimes irrupts southward. It is one of the few owl ...

sedge wren The sedge wren (''Cistothorus stellaris'') is a small and secretive passerine bird in the family Wren, Troglodytidae. It is widely distributed in North America. It is often found in wet grasslands and meadows where it nests in the tall grasses an ...

, and

Wilson's warbler Wilson's warbler (''Cardellina pusilla'') is a small New World warbler. It is greenish above and yellow below, with rounded wings and a long, slim tail. The male has a black crown patch; depending on the subspecies, that mark is reduced or absent ...

, with

sandhill crane The sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis'') is a species of large Crane (bird), cranes of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to its habitat, such as the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's S ...

s seen seasonally.

References

{{Commons category Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest Bogs of Canada Conservation areas in Ontario Protected areas of the United Counties of Prescott and Russell