Many of us are all familiar with the park's
dominant plant communities: montane, sub-alpine, alpine and
riparian. But these broad-brush classifications miss the subtleties
of smaller scale communities such as peatlands.
Peat is a soil that contains a high proportion
of dead organic matter, mainly plants. Peat soils form in
conditions where the soil is waterlogged and the lack of oxygen
and/or cold temperatures limit decomposition. Peatlands are
found in the park in scattered locations where seeps, springs,
high groundwater, abandoned beaver colonies or impenetrable
clay layers result in very wet soils for much of the growing
season, but not so wet that plants can't grow.
The term peat is derived from the Welsh word
perth referring to a piece of peat soil that was
cut for fuel. Ecologists use several specific terms to distinguish
between types of peatlands. (The United Kingdom has a wide
range of peatlands and hence a rich vocabulary for describing
these communities.)
Fen - A peatland that receives water and
nutrients from the soil, rock and groundwater as well as from
rain or snow. (From fenn, Old English for marsh.)
Bog- A peatland which receives water solely
form rain or snow falling on its surface. (Akin to the Gaelic
word for soft.)
Mire – A peatland where peat is currently
forming and accumulating. (A Middle English word that is related
to Old English mos and Old Norse myrr.)
Although not particularly famous (most of
us avoid hiking in wet and soggy places), peat communities
do sustain unique assemblages of species and they are vulnerable
to destruction. When peatlands dry out, they may decompose
rapidly. Global climate change is certainly contributing to
the destruction of peat soils around the world as localities
become warmer and drier.
The Grand Ditch, a water diversion project
that predates the establishment of the park, significantly
limits the amount of water reaching peat communities below
the ditch during the driest part of the summer. The park is
investigating whether small amounts of ditch water, released
to key locations, might assist in maintaining some peatlands.
If so, perhaps water rights could be purchased and used to
protect these lesser known, but biologically valuable, plant
communities.
Please click on the photo captions for larger
pictures
