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PEATLANDS AND MARSHES IN THE WETLAND REGIONS OF CANADA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

S.C. Zoltai
S.C. Zoltai*
Affiliation:
Canadian Forestry Service, Northern Forestry Centre, 5320-122 Street, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6H 3S5
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Abstract

Peatland development in Canada is influenced by climatic conditions, specifically a north–south temperature and an east–west precipitation gradient, resulting in specific and characteristic kinds of wetlands. The wetland classes (bogs, fens, marshes) are broad ecological units, each composed of distinctive groups of vegetation growing in appropriate habitats. Bogs usually develop in nutrient-poor areas where there is little movement of groundwater, whereas fens occur in more mineral-rich environments having a slowly moving water table. Marshes develop in areas that are periodically inundated by oxygen-rich water. Included within the peatlands are water environments ranging from small puddles to pools, each with a water quality that is influenced by the surrounding peatland.

Résumé

Le développement de tourbières au Canada dépend des conditions climatiques, et plus spécifiquement de gradients de température selon l'axe nord–sud et de précipitation selon l'axe est–ouest, créant des milieux humides spécifiques et caractérisés. Les types reconnus ici de milieux humides (tourbières ombrotrophes, tourbières minérotrophes, marécages) sont des unités écologiques globales, chacun étant défini par des groupes végétaux caractéristiques croissant dans des habitats appropriés. Les tourbières ombrotrophes se développent normalement dans les endroits pauvres en nutriments où il y a absence presque totale de mouvement des eaux souterraines, alors que les tourbières minérotrophes apparaissent dans les endroits riches en nutriments où la table d'eau se déplace lentement. Les marécages se développent dans les endroits périodiquement inondés d'eau bien oxygénée. Intégrés aux tourbières se trouvent des habitats aquatiques allant de petits trous d'eau à des mares de grande taille, et dont la qualité de l'eau dépend de la tourbière environnante.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada , Volume 119 , Supplement S140 , 1987 , pp. 5 - 13
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1987

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