In almost any geographical area you can find such an amazing natural landscape as a peat swamp. It is a repository of colossal energy reserves, new fertile lands and a water reservoir that feeds the rivers.
Description
A swamp is a piece of land with excessive soil moisture and stagnant water on the surface throughout the year. Due to the lack of a slope, water does not drain, and the site is gradually covered with moisture-loving vegetation. As a result of lack of air and excessive moisture, peat deposits form on the surface. Their thickness is usually at least 30 cm.
Peat is a mineral used as a source of fuel and organic fertilizer, so swamps are of great economic importance.
Reasons for the formation of peat bogs
The history of their appearance has more than 400 million years. Modern "young" swamps reach an age of about 12 thousand years. Their total area around the planet is about 2,682,000 km², of which 73% is in Russia. The emergence of the swamppreceded by a number of factors: humid climate, landscape features, the presence of water-resistant soil layers and the proximity of groundwater.
As a result of prolonged excessive moisture, specific processes occur in the soil, leading to the accumulation of peat. Under conditions of oxygen starvation, forests die, and areas are populated with marsh vegetation, well adapted to such conditions. All this contributes to further waterlogging, which is accompanied by peat accumulation. With a lack of oxygen, plant residues do not decompose completely, gradually accumulate, forming a peat bog.
Vegetation
Peculiar living conditions contribute to the development of specific plants. The lack of water exchange creates a lack of lime in peat deposits. This leads to the growth of sphagnum moss, which cannot tolerate the presence of even a small amount of lime in the water.
Typical plants of peat bogs include cranberries, blueberries, cloudberries, lingonberries, sundew, podbel. An interesting fact is that they all have features that prevent water loss, characteristic of plants that predominate in dry places.
Peat formation
It is an organic rock containing up to 50% minerals. It contains bitumen, humic acids, their s alts, as well as parts of plants that have not had time to decompose (stems, leaves, roots).
The top layer covering the peat bog ishydromorphic soil. It is inhabited by invertebrates and microorganisms, penetrated by roots and participates in the metabolism with phytocenosis. The accumulation of peat occurs very slowly - the thickness of the layer increases by no more than 1 mm per year. This largely depends on the growth rate of the main peat former - sphagnum moss.
Gradually, under the influence of the layers lying above, peat is compacted, chemical transformations take place in it, and an inorganic part appears. The biological activity of this layer is preserved if the water level in the swamp is variable and drops to 40 cm in summer.
Peat is a mineral used in a wide variety of industries and agriculture. It serves as a raw material for the creation of rough but durable fabrics. Medicines are produced from peat. The ability of peat to absorb moisture allows it to be used as bedding for livestock. Plus, it's a great organic fertilizer.
The importance of peat bogs
The high rate of drainage of swamps has led to the fact that there is a threat of their complete disappearance. In 1971, the Ramsar Convention was signed to conserve wetlands. About 60 countries (including Russia) are participating in it today, which are especially concerned about the problem of the disappearance of peat bogs.
Any swamp is a natural reservoir. Together they hold five times more fresh water than all the rivers in the world. Peat bogs are involved in feeding the rivers. The largest of them are capable ofstop forest fires. They humidify the air in the surrounding space and serve as a certain filter. During the year, 1 hectare of swamp absorbs up to 1500 kg of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, releasing more than 500 kg of oxygen. Peat mining often leads to the death of the swamp, and as a result, rivers become shallow, soil erosion forms, and the landscape changes.
Peat remains of plants perfectly preserved for thousands of years, pollen, seeds, which can be used to study the past of our planet, are found in peat. Findings in peat bogs helped, for example, scientists to establish that some species of animals managed to wait out the change in climatic conditions there.
The swamp is the least affected by human intervention ecosystem, so it is a safe haven for many plants and animals listed in the Red Book. Valuable berries grow here, such as cloudberries, cranberries, lingonberries.
Spirit Realm
To this day, a huge number of stories and legends associated with swamps have survived. They have long attracted people with their mystery and frightened at the same time. This is not surprising, since sometimes finds in peat bogs caused real fear. For example, in peat bogs located in Norway and Denmark, the remains of about seven hundred people who lived several thousand years ago were found. The swamp environment preserved them so well that neither the remains themselves nor the clothes on them were almost damaged during all this time.
No less terrifying in the old days was one phenomenon thatquite often can be observed in the swamp. First, a huge bubble swells on its surface, then it bursts with noise, and a jet of water and dirt shoots up. The people considered this gloomy spectacle to be a manifestation of evil spirits, unclean forces inhabiting the peat bog. In fact, this phenomenon, of course, has a scientific explanation. As a result of the decay of marsh plants, methane gas is formed, which accumulates under a layer of silt at the very bottom of the swamp. With a very large accumulation of it, such an explosive release occurs. Basically, this gas comes to the surface quietly in the form of small bubbles.
Therefore, the worst thing that peat bogs are dangerous for is the possibility of fires, which quite often happen after they are drained.
