This article will consider one of the common natural formations, which is a waterlogged area of the earth’s surface with a layer of peat and peculiar plant forms that are characteristic only for such places, adapted to conditions with a lack of oxygen, with low water flow and with an excess of moisture.
Various types of swamps with their brief characteristics will be presented here.
general information
There are 3 main signs of swamps:
- Redundancy and stagnation of water.
- The presence of specific vegetation characteristic of swamps.
- The process of peat formation.
Wetlands are usually called territories where plant roots cannot reach mineral soil.
Education
Before we find out what are the main types of swamps, find out how they are formed.
For the formation of such sites, a constant excess of moisture in the soil and on its surface, as well as weak water exchange (including with underground waters) are necessary. In turn, the lack of oxygen caused by an excess of moisture makes it difficult for air to enter the soil, and therefore there is insufficient decomposition (or oxidation) of the remains of dying vegetation, and peat is also formed. The latter is a soil substrate with great water cut. It consists entirely of decomposed plants. Peat differs in different degrees of decomposition. For example, a decomposition rate of 70% means that 70 percent of dead plants have decomposed, and 30 percent are not. This type of substrate has excellent water retention capacity, so it has a fairly high water content (about 97% of the total volume).
Types of swamps and their characteristics
The forms and conditions of nutrition distinguish between lowland (otherwise eutrophic), transitional (mesotrophic) and upstream (oligotrophic), respectively, having a concave, flat and convex surface shape.
By lowlands (eutrophic) are meant swamps located in depressions, with soil moistened with surface and ground waters, rich in mineral salts. Horsebacks predominantly feed on atmospheric precipitation, which is not very rich in mineral salts. Transitional marshes belong to the intermediate group.
According to the vegetation prevailing in the area, forest, grass, shrub and moss types of swamps are distinguished. According to the microrelief - hilly, flat, convex. Marshes are the most waterlogged areas of swamps.
Swamps of the Russian Federation
The types of swamps in Russia will be discussed below. In the meantime, general information.
The area of swamps in Russia is approximately 1.4 million square meters. km (approximately 10% of the total territory of the country). According to rough estimates, about 3,000 cubic meters are concentrated in them. m of static natural water reserves.
Swamps are a rather complex natural complex. It consists of interconnected biotopes, which are characterized by strong moisture, the presence of a kind of moisture-loving vegetation and the accumulation of various organic residues in the form of silt or peat. In the conditions of a different Russian climate, topography, and depending on the underlying rocks, different types of bogs develop, each of which is distinguished by the characteristics of a peat deposit, the nutritional conditions of water and its runoff, and the characteristics of vegetation.
The following types of food for swamps of Russia are distinguished: lowland, high and transitional.
About the nature of nutrition
By the characteristic of feeding conditions we mean the modern surface of the swamp and the presence of the upper layer of the substrate where the plant roots are. For each type of swamp, their power sources are presented just above.
Excess moisture is the main sign of any swamp. It causes the appearance of specific species of animals and vegetation, as well as peculiar special conditions of humification, which in a temperate climate usually lead to incomplete decay of plant debris and the formation of peat.
Geographical distribution of swamps in the Russian Federation
Russian bogs are common in almost all natural zones, but mainly in drainless, excessively moistened depressions. Most of them are concentrated in the central regions and in the northwest of the West Siberian Plain.
The most wetlands in Russia are the tundra and taiga zone. Types of swamps are very diverse. Waterlogging in some areas of the tundra is 50%. About 80% of all peat bogs are concentrated in taiga zones . In the European part of Russia, the Vologda, Leningrad Oblasts and the Republic of Karelia are the most wetlands (approximately 40%).
The taiga of Western Siberia is swamped to 70 percent. A huge number of swamps in the Far East, mostly in the Amur region.
Type of swamp distribution
The types of swamps in Russia are unevenly distributed. Horsemen occupy half of the total wetland area, and they prevail in the northern regions. Lowland constitute less than half (about 40%) of the area of all swamps. Quite insignificant areas are occupied by transitional swamps (10%).
Most lowland swamps feed on river or groundwater, and they are found mostly in arid areas. And these are the valleys and deltas of large rivers. Mounted bogs are mainly fueled by precipitation, and more often they are found in the taiga and tundra zones of Eurasia. The main part (84%) of peatlands is located in the Asian part of Russia.
And what type of swamp prevails in the North? Lowland swamps of the west of Siberia occupy 42%. Most of the peatlands (about 73%) are confined to the region of permafrost territories.
Vegetation cover
The following plants prevail in lowland marshes: fluffy birch, black alder, willow, pine and spruce. Of the grasses, sedge is predominantly found here, and of cereals, reed and reed grass are found. Of the mosses, green mosses mainly grow.
Transitional bogs are characterized by birch and pine (in Siberia - daurian and Siberian larch, cedar), as well as willow (a little less often than in lowland marshes). Of the herbs, the same vegetation is common here as in the lowland marshes, but not in such significant quantities. Most often here you can find alpine downy mildew, reedweed, sedge bottle-shaped and woolly. There is also vegetation characteristic of high bogs.
In the marshes of the bogs there are pine (cedar is mixed in Siberia) and Daurian larch. There are no bushes at all, but a group of heather prevails in these places: cassandra, heather, ledum, blueberries and cranberries. Dwarf birch and crowberry (crowberry) grow abundantly here . Distributed in such places and cotton grass single-headed (herbaceous plant), forming large tufts of turf. Often you can meet cloudberries and sundews. Mosses are represented only by sphagnes.
Thus, by the nature of peat and vegetation, one can also judge (as noted above) what type of bogs are.
In conclusion about environmental issues
In recent years, more and more negative processes have arisen in connection with the excessive, destructive exploitation of swamps. First of all, it is pollution, excessive abstraction of water from the soil and mass extraction of peat. Also an important role in this was played by drainage and plowing, violation of the hydrology regime in the construction of roads, gas and oil pipelines and other structures.
Drainage of swamps often leads to fires of peat, land degradation and loss of diversity of the biological world. All work should be carried out carefully, with the mandatory preservation of most of the wetlands. Be sure to follow the rules for maintaining ecological balance in nature.