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Bogs - their plants & animals

Bog Vegetation

Bog vegetation consists of a more or less continuous cover of Sphagnum moss or bog moss; and a somewhat stunted vegetation of flowering plants, heathers, sedges and grasses that grow through it. Sphagnum moss plants grow upwards from the tips. As the lower parts of the moss are continuously shaded they die and become peat. These combined factors mean that the bog surface grows upwards to become raised above the surrounding landscape. Wherever Sphagnum cover is well developed, active peat formation is taking place and the bog is growing usually at a rate of 1mm per year. Sphagnum mosses form the major component of peat. Vascular plants are less common in the peat and more localised.

Typically bogland vegetation where Sphagnum mosses are actively growing develops a system of hummocks and hollows with flat areas or lawns in between. The average difference in elevation between hummock and hollow is about 30cm, but in some bogs the tallest hummock may reach 70-80cm above the mean level of the bog surface and the hollows may attain a depth of 100cm or even lower, below it. The deeper hollows lie below the water table and appear as distinct water-filled pools. Areas where the bog surface is flat and lack such micro-relief are called lawns.

Life on the Boglands

In the remarkable environment of the bogs, everything is waterlogged and floating on an immensely deep soup of peat. Yet there is often relatively little open water at the bog surface and nutrient levels are barely above that of distilled water. It is not surprising that bogs host some remarkable species.

Perhaps the most spectacular and best-known adaptation to life on the bogs is the carnivorous plant. Several species have developed the ability to trap and eat animals as a means of supplementing their meager diet. The animals are very small and almost exclusively insects, although the sundews (Drosera species) are able to trap the big darter dragonflies which have wing spans as wide as a human hand.

The sweet scented bog myrtle (Myrica gale), typical of western boglands, forms a partnership with bacteria in its roots to obtain extra nitrogen, while the common bog cotton (Eriophorum augustifolium) uses a `snorkel technique', relying on large air-filled cells in its root bases to survive in the oxygen poor environment beneath the living carpet of Sphagnum. A family of tiny brilliantly coloured `jewel' beetles (Donacia species) use these air spaces as living quarters.

Another important group of species on the bog are the lichens - a group of plants formed by the symbiosis of a fungus and alga. These plants often have a grey appearance with some species having more colourful reproductive tips.

Contrary to popular belief, boglands are not dreary places: a close examination reveals a wealth of colour and mixtures of distinctive scents. The Sphagnum bog mosses themselves have a vivid colour, some are deep wine-red, others are brilliant orange, gingery brown, while yet others have bright greens mixed with delicate salmon-pinks. They combine to form a scene as intricate and colourful as a Persian rug. Dotted through this soft carpet you can find the greens and pinks of heaths and heathers (Erica and Calluna), bright splashes of yellow and orange from the bog asphodel (Narthecium ossifragum) , fuchsia-pinks and ruby-reds of cranberry flowers and berries (Vaccinium oxycoccus) , and the delicate white and pink frothy flowers of the bog bean (Menyanthes trifoliata).

As the summer draws to a close, the boglands stand out most distinctively from the rest of the landscape. The leaves of both the common bog cotton and, in particular, the deer grass (Scirpus caespitosus) turn the sward to a brilliant russet which seems to glow in the low winter light. These russet patches, swathes, or even entire landscapes, are sure indicators of bogland.

It's not all Plants.......

Boglands are home to only a few species of animal, yet they can boast the largest animal in Ireland today - the red deer. Red deer can be found wallowing in peat baths to rid themselves of flies and parasites. Otters and badgers occasionally venture out into the bogs in search of the eggs and chicks of ground nesting birds.

The songs of skylarks and meadow pipits provides incessant background noise on the boglands. But perhaps the two most characteristic sounds of the boglands are, first, the rustle and buzz of dragonfly wings on a still, sunny day as these huge insects patrol the pools and hollows that are dotted across the bogs, and the cries of the birds. Most evocative of all, however, is the combination of bird-songs: the cry of the curlew, the shout of the grouse and the sad "wheep" of the golden plover.