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A bog is a mire that, due to its raised location relative to the surrounding landscape, obtains all its water solely from precipitation (ombrotrophic). [7] A fen is located on a slope, flat, or in a depression and gets most of its water from the surrounding mineral soil or from groundwater ( minerotrophic ).
A mire is distinguished from a swamp by its lack of a forest canopy (though some bogs may support limited tree or bush growth, mires are dominated by grass and mosses), and from a marsh by its water nutrients and distribution (marshes are characterized by nutrient-rich stagnant or slow-moving waters; mire waters are located mostly below the ...
A swamp is a forested wetland. [1] Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in creating this environment. [2] Swamps vary in size and are located all around the world. The water of a swamp may be fresh water, brackish water, or seawater.
moss bog) is a peat-forming ecosystem found in several northern climates, most commonly in Arctic and boreal areas. Muskeg is approximately synonymous with bog or peatland, and is a standard term in Canada and Alaska. The term became common in these areas because it is of Cree origin; maskek (ᒪᐢᑫᐠ) meaning "low-lying marsh". [1]
A quaking bog, schwingmoor, or swingmoor is a form of floating bog occurring in wetter parts of valley bogs and raised bogs and sometimes around the edges of acidic lakes. The bog vegetation, mostly sphagnum moss anchored by sedges (such as Carex lasiocarpa ), forms a floating mat approximately half a meter thick on the surface of water or ...
The word palustrine comes from the Latin word palus or marsh. [2] Wetlands within this category include inland marshes and swamps as well as bogs , fens , pocosins , tundra and floodplains . According to the Cowardin classification system , palustrine wetlands can also be considered the area on the side of a river or a lake, as long as they are ...
There are four main kinds of wetlands – marsh, swamp, bog, and fen (bogs and fens being types of peatlands or mires). Some experts also recognize wet meadows and aquatic ecosystems as additional wetland types. [1] Sub-types include mangrove forests, carrs, pocosins, floodplains, [1] peatlands, vernal pools, sinks, and many others. [22]
However, many classification systems include four broad categories that most wetlands fall into: marsh, swamp, bog, and fen. [1] While classification systems differ on the exact criteria that define a fen, there are common characteristics that describe fens generally and imprecisely.