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Concept
Raised bog
Summary
Raised bogs, also called ombrotrophic bogs, are acidic, wet habitats that are poor in mineral salts and are home to flora and fauna that can cope with such extreme conditions. Raised bogs, unlike fens, are exclusively fed by precipitation (ombrotrophy) and from mineral salts introduced from the air. They thus represent a special type of bog, hydrologically, ecologically 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 bogs 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 and industry). The last great raised bog regions are found in western Siberia and Canada.
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 Hochmoor ("high bog"), 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.
A living raised bog needs a moist, balanced climate 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 and after the retreat of the last ice sheet.
Official source
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