Raised bogs, also called ombrotrophic bogs, are acidic, wet habitats that are poor in mineral salts and are home to

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

and

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

that can cope with such extreme conditions. Raised bogs, unlike

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetland along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires ...

s, are exclusively fed by precipitation ( ombrotrophy) and from mineral salts introduced from the air. They thus represent a special type of

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...

, hydrologically,

ecologically Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecology overlaps with the closely re ...

and in terms of their development history, in which the growth of peat mosses over centuries or millennia plays a decisive role. They also differ in character from

blanket bog Blanket bog or blanket mire, also known as featherbed bog, 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 only in wet hollows but over large expanses ...

s which are much thinner and occur in wetter, cloudier climatic zones. Raised bogs are very threatened by peat cutting and pollution by mineral salts from the surrounding land (due to

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and

industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

). The last great raised bog regions are found in western

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Terminology

The term ''raised bog'' derives from the fact that this type of bog rises in height over time as a result of peat formation. They are like sponges of peat moss, full of water, that form a more or less dome shape in the landscape. In Germany, the term () strictly refers only to the classical, lens-shaped bogs of northwest Germany. The bogs are not influenced by mineral-rich groundwater or surface water, but are fed exclusively by precipitation — mainly rainwater, hence their alternative German designation of ''Regenmoor'' or "rain-fed bog". Thus the latter refers to all bogs, not just those that are arched or only slightly arched, but which nevertheless are characterized by an extreme mineral salt deficiency and other resulting ecological properties.

Formation and development

A living raised bog needs a moist, balanced

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

in which to grow. The quantity of precipitation has to be greater than the water losses through discharge and evaporation. In addition, the precipitation must be evenly spread through the year. Raised bogs in Europe have been developing for about 11,000 years, since the beginning of the

Holocene The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...

and after the retreat of the last

ice sheet In glaciology, an ice sheet, also known as a continental glacier, is a mass of glacier, glacial ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than . The only current ice sheets are the Antarctic ice sheet and the Greenland ice sheet. Ice s ...

. As far as their origins are concerned, a distinction is made between lake mires or 'siltation-formed raised bogs' (''Verlandungshochmoore'') and 'mire-formed raised bogs' (''wurzelechte Hochmoore''). The former emerged in a secondary process after the silting up of

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

s or

oxbow __NOTOC__ An oxbow is a U-shaped metal pole (or larger wooden frame) that fits the underside and the sides of the neck of an ox or wikt:bullock, bullock. A bow pin holds it in place. The term "oxbow" is widely used to refer to a U-shaped meand ...

s (see illustration on the right in the sequence). At first,

s emerged under the influence of

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and Pore space in soil, soil pore spaces and in the fractures of stratum, rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is groundwater. A unit ...

(

minerotrophy Minerotrophic refers to environments that receive nutrients primarily through groundwater that flows through mineral-rich soils or rock,Environment Canada (2014). Ontario wetland evaluation system: Northern Manual, 1st edition, version 3.2. Queen’ ...

). Oxygen deficiencies and high

acidity An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis acid. The first category of acids are the ...

in the constantly moist substrate inhibited the decomposition of dead plant parts and led to

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

formation. Thus the raised bog rises very slowly above the

level, hence its name. As the resulting peat slowly rises above the influence of mineral salts in the groundwater, it reaches a point where the development of the raised bog begins to change in nature; that is, the bog now becomes fed solely by rainwater, which is low in salt. By contrast, mire-formed raised bogs are created directly on the mineral substrate of low-salt areas without having been initially formed as fens (see figure on the left in the sequence). They are formed either as a primary bog due to the erosion of previously dry mineral soils, for example due to clearing, climate change or infiltration, or as a secondary process as a result of the growth of a raised bog on neighbouring mineral soil. The formation of a typical raised bog is a very slow process, which lasts from centuries to a thousand years even in favourable, undisturbed conditions. Furthermore, there are a number of transitional and intermediate bogs, which in different ways combine characteristics of both raised bogs and fens. (See

.) The main constituents of the peat are rootless peat mosses that grow slowly in height whilst at the same time the lower layer becomes peat as the air is excluded. Depending on the geographical location, various species of peat moss are involved in making a raised bog. The growth rate of the peat layer is only about a millimetre per year. Acrotelm catotelm

Growing bogs can be divided into two layers. The ' acrotelm' (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: ''akros'' = highest; ''telma'' = bog) is the upper part and includes the vegetation layer and the bog 'floor'. Here fresh organic substances (peat formation horizon) are created by the growth and dying of plant elements. The "catotelm" (Greek: kato = below) is the underlying water-saturated part with less biological activity. This layer is counted as a geological subsoil due to the small earth-forming processes that are still going on and is known as the peat preservation horizon (''Torferhaltungshorizont''). In raised bogs, the upper peat layer is called white peat, since it consists of largely undecomposed light brown peat mosses. The lower layer is black peat, which is already well humified and has a black-brown colour with still recognizable plant remains.

Types and distribution

The formation of raised bogs is dependent on the climate, that is to say the amount of precipitation and rate of evaporation, which in turn are decisively determined by the temperature. In addition, the relief of the terrain has an influence on the water discharge behaviour and thus the shape of a raised bog. This results in geographical limitations to the formation of raised bogs. Favourable conditions for the development of raised bogs are found mainly in North America (

and

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

and

Western Siberia Western Siberia or West Siberia ( rus, Западная Сибирь, p=ˈzapədnəjə sʲɪˈbʲirʲ; , ) is a region in North Asia. It is part of the wider region of Siberia that is mostly located in the Russia, Russian Federation, with a Sout ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

and in the

Amazon Basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries ...

. In these regions, bogs of all kinds and peat deposits of four million square kilometres have been formed, covering three percent of the Earth's surface. In the southern hemisphere low-mineral-rich bogs are rarely formed from peat mosses. Only in the

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South America, South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main is ...

do peat moss raised bogs exist. The most peaty countries in the tropics are found in Southeast Asia. In many cases it is not yet clear how these bogs have emerged as mosses are entirely absent here.

Coastal bogs

Coastal bogs (''Planregenmoore'') or Atlantic bogs, as their names suggest, tend to form close to the sea. In addition, in regions covered by blanket bog, there are also lightly convex coastal bogs with low energy surface relief in level locations. The distribution of coastal bogs in Europe extends from Ireland to the east via South

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

to Southwest

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and north to the

Lofoten Lofoten ( , ; ; ) is an archipelago and a Districts of Norway, traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches, and untouched lands. T ...

. In North America there are coastal bogs in the area of the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

(especially in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

and

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

). Coastal bogs are also fed exclusively by rain.

Plateau bogs

In the less oceanically influenced climatic regions of North-West Europe (lower precipitation), raised bogs take on the classical lens shape and are called plateau bogs or plateau raised bogs (''Plateauregenmoore''). They grow more strongly in the centre than at the margins. This results in the centre of the bog bulging, hence the name "raised bog". This bulging can be several metres high. As a result, the perimeter of the bog is more or less inclined, and is known as the ''rand''. The sloping bog sides of larger bogs are traversed by drainage channels or soaks (''Rüllen'') through which excess water is discharged. Other characteristic structures of these raised bogs are the flat, treeless raised bog core with its characteristic microrelief of shallow wet depressions or flarks (''Schlenken'') alternating with hummocks (''Bülten'') of drier peat moss. Larger accumulations of water in the middle of the bogs are called kolks or bog ponds (of

humic acid Humic substances (HS) are colored relatively recalcitrant organic compounds naturally formed during long-term decomposition and transformation of biomass residues. The color of humic substances varies from bright yellow to light or dark brown lead ...

-rich water); the wet area on the outer margins is known as a moat or '' lagg''. Genuine ombrotrophic bogs on the

North German Plain The North German Plain or Northern Lowland () is one of the major geographical regions of Germany. It is the German part of the North European Plain. The region is bounded by the coasts of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea to the north, Germany's ...

are usually sharply divided into two layers: an underlying black peat layer, which is strongly decomposed, and an overlying white peat layer which is less decomposed. This difference is a result of changes in the

hydrology Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and drainage basin sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is called a hydro ...

of the bog. The white peat grew more rapidly under humid conditions than the black peat. This is attributed to a climate change with high precipitation and low evaporation around 1000 to 500 BC. As a result, the peat moss growth grew locally and the black peat/white peat boundary layer was formed, although this did not develop simultaneously in all raised bogs.

Mountain or upland bogs

Raised bogs also occur in precipitation-rich upland regions at the

montane Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

and, more rarely, alpine levels (i.e. above the

tree line The tree line is the edge of a habitat at which trees are capable of growing and beyond which they are not. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually low ...

). As a result of the sloping terrain, they often have a characteristic, asymmetric or non-concentric appearance. Mountain or upland bogs may be topographically divided into: * Plateau bogs on level ground * Hillside bogs – bogs on hillsides which are not genuine percolating mires (''Durchströmungsmoore''); the upper parts of the bog are more strongly fed by incoming water and are usually flat. The lower parts are exclusively fed by rainwater and may be of considerable thickness. The lower rand is often very steep and there is usually no typical wet zone or lagg (see above). Kolks, shallow pondlets (''Blänken'') and soaks occur as in classic raised bogs. * Saddle bogs – usually elongated bogs on

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

es, which are partly fed by water from the flanking hillsides, are rare; their margins resemble hillside bogs, the central area is more like a plateau bog * Summit and crest bogs – very rare All these bog types may occur on the margins of lowland bogs i.e.

s, or transition into them.

Kermi bogs

Kermi bogs (''Kermimoore, Schildhochmoore'') or kermi raised bogs have only a slightly domed shape. The surface of the bog rises steadily from the broad lagg zone. Kermis have ridge-shaped hummocks of peat moss, that are aligned with the contours of the bog. The flarks or elongated depressions are generally tub-shaped and hardly distinguishable externally from kolks. In the central area of these bogs, there are always large kolks. In northern

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and western Siberia, kermis frequently occur in giant complexes where the bogs have grown into one another. Kermis are also found in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

in the central and northern

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 ...

zone.

String bogs

String bogs or aapa fens (''Aapamoore'' or ''Strangmoore'') are typically found on the northern fringes of the distribution area for raised bogs, in the sub-polar zone, north of the 66th latitude in the northern hemisphere. Here, raised bogs only occur as islands within wetlands supplied by mineral soil water. On level ground these islands are irregularly distributed; on hillsides they form ridges parallel to the contours and at right angles to line of slope. The ridges separate boggy hollows of mineral soil known by the Finnish word, ''rimpis''. The main distribution area for string bogs are the Scandinavian hills, central Finland,

Karelia Karelia (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; , historically Коре́ла, ''Korela'' []; ) is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Russia (including the Soviet Union, Soviet era), Finland, and Sweden. It is currentl ...

and north Siberia. In North America, Alaska is the main location for string bogs, thanks to its cold continental climate. Frost action plays an important role in these bogs. On the ridges or hummocks, ground ice is found until early summer.

Palsas

Palsa bogs (''Palsamoore'' or ''Palsenmoore'') are found on the margins of the Arctic

permafrost Permafrost () is soil or underwater sediment which continuously remains below for two years or more; the oldest permafrost has been continuously frozen for around 700,000 years. Whilst the shallowest permafrost has a vertical extent of below ...

soils (

tundra In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: #Arctic, Arctic, Alpine tundra, Alpine, and #Antarctic ...

). Here the ridges of the string bogs can grow into hummocks several metres high. Like string bogs, the so-called palsas frequently lie within peatlands fed by mineral soil water. Some are surrounded by water-filled, ditch-like hollows. Peat formation is limited; these bogs are peat deposits from warmer,

interglacial An interglacial period (or alternatively interglacial, interglaciation) is a geological interval of warmer global average temperature lasting thousands of years that separates consecutive glacial periods within an ice age. The current Holocene i ...

periods and did not experience

frost heaving Frost heaving (or a frost heave) is an upwards swelling of soil during freezing conditions caused by an increasing presence of ice as it grows towards the surface, upwards from the depth in the soil where freezing temperatures have penetrated int ...

of their inner core of ice until the climate became colder. These

ice lens Ice lenses are bodies of ice formed when moisture, diffusion, diffused within soil or rock (geology), rock, accumulates in a localized zone. The ice initially accumulates within small collocated pores or pre-existing crack, and, as long as the co ...

es increase in size from year to year as a result of freeze-thaw processes of the surrounding water. The low temperatures prevent full decomposition of the organic material.

Polygonal bogs

Polygonal bogs (''Polygonmoore'') are widespread on the Arctic and sub-Arctic plains of Siberia and North America and cover vast areas. They are associated with patterned peatland and

ice wedge An ice wedge is a crack in the ground formed by a narrow or thin piece of ice that measures up to 3–4 meters in length at ground level and extends downwards into the ground up to several meters. During the winter months, the water in the gr ...

s. A scanty layer of peat-forming vegetation can occur in the inner honeycomb-shaped areas of this frost pattern terrain ( cryoturbation) and are fed during the short summers with sufficient moisture, because the meltwater is prevented from draining away by the raised polygonal margins. The peat layers can attain a thickness of .

Distribution in the Northern Hemisphere

Asia

The west Siberian raised bog area covers . The large bogs have domes in the centre up to high. They are predominantly of the kermi bog type. They represent probably the most important type of raised bog on earth. The Vasyugan Swamp in this region, is the largest bog system on earth and covers more than . It is estimated to contain over 14 billion tonnes of peat deposits. Wildsee-pjt2

Europe

The largest central European raised bog areas are the southern

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

coastal area and the

Alpine Foreland The Alpine Foreland, less commonly called the Bavarian Foreland,Dickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, pp. 585-586. . Bavarian Plateau or Bavarian Alpine Foreland (), refers to a tria ...

. As in North America there is a succession of raised bog types along the line of descent towards the ocean, from northwest to southeast. As a result of peat use, raised bogs have been harvested for peat and cultivated, apart from a few remnants (less than 10% of the original area). The largest contiguous raised bog in central Europe was the Bourtange Moor, which originally covered an area of about 2,300 km² including the Dutch portion, but only small sections remain. The largest remaining raised bog in northern Europe is the 76 km² Lille Vildmose. Other large raised bogs are the

Teufelsmoor The Teufelsmoor is a region of bog and moorland north of Bremen, Germany. It forms a large part of the district of Landkreis Osterholz, Osterholz, and extends into the neighbouring districts of Landkreis Rotenburg (Wümme), Rotenburg (Gnarrenburg ...

northeast of Bremen, the Vehnemoor (exhausted) and the Esterweger Dose (formerly about 80 km², exhausted) between Oldenburg and Papenburg. The raised bogs of the

Central Uplands The Central UplandsDickinson (1964), p.18 ff. (N.B. In German die ''Mittelgebirge'' (plural) refers to the Central Uplands; das ''Mittelgebirge'' refers to a low mountain range or upland region (''Mittel'' = "medium" and ''-gebirge'' = "range").) ...

of the

Harz The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' der ...

, Solling,

Thuringian Forest The Thuringian Forest (''Thüringer Wald'' in German language, German ) is a mountain range in the southern parts of the Germany, German state of Thuringia, running northwest to southeast. Skirting from its southerly source in foothills to a gorg ...

( Großer Beerberg, Schneekopf - Teufelsbad, Fichtenkopf, Saukopf),

Giant Mountains The Giant Mountains, Krkonoše, or Karkonosze (Czech: , , ), are a mountain range located in the north of the Czech Republic and the south-west of Poland, part of the Sudetes mountain system (part of the Bohemian Massif). The Czech–Polish bor ...

Ore Mountains The Ore Mountains (, or ; ) lie along the Czech–German border, separating the historical regions of Bohemia in the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany. The highest peaks are the Klínovec in the Czech Republic (German: ''Keilberg'') at ab ...

, Fichtel and Rhön ( Black Moor, Red Moor) are, by contrast, comparatively small. In the

Black Forest The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...

the Wildseemoor has been protected and, in the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single geomorphological unit and ...

on ''le Tanet'', north of the Col de la Schlucht a large area has been protected. The

, which was formed by ice-age glaciation, is also rich in peatland. The Wurzacher Ried (Haidgauer Regenmoorschild) is considered the largest and best preserved raised bog in central Europe. Other raised bogs and

peatland A peatland is a type of wetland whose soils consist of Soil organic matter, organic matter from decaying plants, forming layers of peat. Peatlands arise because of incomplete decomposition of organic matter, usually litter from vegetation, du ...

areas include the Federsee, the

High Fens The High Fens (; ; ), which were declared a Nature reserve, nature reserve in 1957, are an upland area, a Plateau, plateau region in Liège Province, in the east of Belgium and adjoining parts of northwestern Germany, between the Ardennes and the ...

on the Germano-Belgian border, the Ewiges Meer near Aurich and the Lengener Meer near Wiesmoor. In 2003,

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

exported 3.6 million m³ of peat for west European garden use, more than 60% of the state production. In

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

60% of the usable peat area has been prepared for extraction or is already exhausted.

Ireland

Lough Lurgeen Bog and Glenamaddy Turlough Bog contains very good examples of the Annex 1 habitats: active raised bog, turlough (both priority habitats), degraded raised bog (capable of regeneration) and vegetation of depressions (rhynchosporion). These habitats are considered to be among the best examples in Ireland due to their relatively large size and the generally low levels of disturbance. In the Natura form compiled for the site active raised bog was given a rating of A (Excellent value) which emphasises the importance of the site. Raised bog habitats are now very rare in Europe and it has recently been estimated that the Republic of Ireland contains 50% of the relatively intact oceanic raised bog systems in Europe. The site contains the second largest area of intact raised bog surface in Ireland. The combination of raised bog, oligotrophic lake and turlough habitats is unique in Ireland and thus the entire system is very important from both a hydrological and ecological perspective.''Restoring Raised Bogs in Ireland''
Retrieved 2 Mar 2023.

North America

A region of peatland extends from Alaska in the west to the coast of the Atlantic in the east, and is comparable in size to that of West Siberia. A zone of domed raised bogs adjoins the zones of palsa bogs and string fens. In the direction of descent towards the ocean, blanket bogs occur east of Hudson Bay. These are superseded towards the west by plateau bogs in the area of the large lakes and, eventually, by kermi bogs.

References

Literature

* M. Succow, M. Jeschke: ''Moore in der Landschaft. Entstehung, Haushalt, Lebewelt, Verbreitung, Nutzung und Erhaltung der Moore.'' Thun, Frankfurt/Main 1990, * H. Joosten, M. Succow: ''Landschaftsökologische Moorkunde.'' E. Schweizerbart’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart, 2001, * Heinz Ellenberg: ''Vegetation Mitteleuropas mit den Alpen in ökologischer, dynamischer und historischer Sicht.'' Ulmer, Stuttgart, 1996, * J. Eigner, E. Schmatzler: ''Handbuch des Hochmoorschutzes.'' Kilda, Greven, 1991, * Claus-Peter Hutter (ed.), Alois Kapfer, Peter Poschlod: ''Sümpfe und Moore - Biotope erkennen, bestimmen, schützen.'' Weitbrecht, Stuttgart / Vienna / Berne, 1997, * H. Joosten: ''Denken wie ein Hochmoor. Hydrologische Selbstregulation von Hochmooren und deren Bedeutung für Wiedervernässung und Restauration.'' In: ''Telma.'' Hannver, 23.1993, pp. 95–115, * Catherine O'Connell
''Conservation and Management of Raised Bogs in Ireland''.
14th International Peat Congress, 1998. * F. Overbeck: ''Botanisch-geologische Moorkunde.'' Wachholtz, Neumunster, 1975,

External links

*

(description of a raised bog remnant in East Frisia) * (very informative page about bogs in Ireland, English) * (pdf; 35 kB) * '' Bargerveen'', Environmental recovery zone in the Bargerveen (Barger bog) Nature Reserve; in the Dutch Wikipedia {{Authority control Ecosystems Bogs