naturalist

Spring Sprong on the Bog

May 13, 2014 — Leave a comment

As the ice disappears in the Northland and everything begins to green, one of my favorite places to explore new growth and look for signs of spring is the bog. Up in the Aitkin area of Minnesota I am surrounded by vast peatlands characterized by the colorful sphagnum moss and forests of tamarack and black spruce. With the onset of spring, the bog wetlands also thaw and the unique plants of peatlands begin to appear.

Due to their formation and make up, bogs (one of Minnesota’s three types of wetlands) are a unique and interesting ecosystem. Bogs or peatlands occur through northern coniferous biomes. In Minnesota bogs cover over 6 million acres and occupy land in the Northwest, Red Lake peatlands, and east over to Aitkin County (John R. Tester, Minnesota’s Natural Heritage). These vast expanses of peatland, the largest in the lower 48, formed when the glaciers that shaped much of Minnesota’s landscape retreated about 10,000 years ago. After the glaciers retreated and the climate warmed, large lakes were left in their stead i.e. Glacial Lake Agassiz and Glacial Lake Aitkin.

With continual warming the lake beds dried resulting in expansive prairie and grasslands. A few thousand years later, the climate became cooler and wetter, resulting in ecological change. The prairie of the lake bed became cold, coniferous forest with deeper wetlands. The basins of these large, glacial lake beds provided little drainage to the wetlands and the cold climate slowed decomposition. So, as plants died or shed, the plant matter settled to the bottom of the lake basin and continued to build up over time, creating peat or compacted, dead pant matter.

After thousands of years of filling in and peat build up, these shallow lake basins fill in and collect water within the peat to form a wetland bog. The water in the sponge like peat is cold, has a low oxygen content, and is acidic (Tester). Decomposition is still slow, bacteria do not fare well, and nutrients are not abundant. Thus, a bog is a difficult ecosystem and habitat for many plant species. However, the plant species which have adapted to the harsh conditions of the bog ecosystem are pretty neat indeed.

Below is an early spring adventure of mine on the bog. Many of these plants are common in peatlands and there are some more rare which I haven’t seen yet listed below.

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Cool Fungus on the bog. I do not know my mushrooms, this one seems upside down, but I have no idea the species, etc.

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Last season’s cranberry fruit (still taste good) among the bog characterizing plant, Sphagnum moss. Sphagnum moss has cool antibiotic properties and was used for bandaging in WWII (in England and other places with peat) when supplies ran low. Also, the water you can squeeze out of the moss is okay to drink!

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Pitcher Plants coming up on the bog. 1 of 2 carnivorous plants on the bog (other is the sundew). Cool adaptations to get nutrients that the substrate of the bog does not supply:

Pitcher to capture trap insects- small hairs growing downward keep insects from escaping. Plant digest and absorbs insects in pitcher part.

Odor of rotting and lines like weans to attract prey.

 

Other plants to find on the bog:

Tamarack

Black Spruce

Cotton Grass

Lady Slippers (on the edge)

Marsh Marigold

Bog Laurel

Bog Blueberry

Leatherleaf

Labrador Tea

Overall, the bog is great place to explore and think about earth/environment history. Being a wetland and harsh environment, it is easy in Minnesota to find unaltered expanses of bog and peatland. Although some places are harvested and used, others remain untouched. I recently asked a local geologist about the specific bog and place I visit-an unaltered parcel at the conservation center. I wanted to know how old the substrate is I am walking on as peat is not fully decomposed and succession is slow, I was guessing pretty old…He told I could be walking on plant matter from 25,000 years ago and that is pretty darn cool!

Weathering the Winter, Singing for Spring

February 22, 2014 — 1 Comment

This winter has been one for the record books. With more snow than we have had in years and long bouts of bitter cold temperatures, we Minnesotans have been weathering the many different winter storms and unprecedented cold. We survived the cruel visit from the polar vortex, are shoveling ourselves out of winter storm Nika, and have our sights set on spring. We are not alone in our tribulations. Throughout winter a cold hearty, feathery friend has been keeping us company, pulling through the winter, and now signaling that spring will actually arrive.

The Black-Capped Chickadee weathers winter as well as any tough Northerner. A small and common songbird, weighing only about 10 grams, stays up and active throughout the winter season. The chickadee is a curious songbird interested in learning all it can about its territory, even the human inhabitants. Thus, a chickadee is a common bird to see at feeders, and is easily identified by its small rotund shape, distinct black cap, and various songs. Even in the blustering cold and snow, the chickadee is commonly seen visiting the feeder and flying with the flock.The chickadee possesses a few great tools to make it through a tough winter; from staying warm, to finding friends.

Winter Survival Guide, Black-Capped Chickadee Edition:

1. Expand your Brain. Literally. Every fall the chickadee expands the part of its brain responsible for spatial memory (the hippocampus). By increasing the brain capacity by 30% the chickadee can work to gather and store food for the winter, then recall where dinner is on the worst winter day.

2. Insulate. A chickadee’s spherical shape is mostly feathers. A thick down layer covers a tiny body to insulate in the cold winter months.

3. Just keep eating. In the winter, chickadees eat enough seeds and berries to put on 10% of their body weight in one day, and in one night it is all burned off.

4. Get a little help from your friends. A chickadee flock uses multiple calls and songs to communicate with one another, and in the winter often associates with other bird species, such as; nuthatches, woodpeckers, kinglets, creepers, warblers and vireos.

The chickadee has survived the majority of winter and has its sight set on warmer days, more food, and mating season – oh the wonders of spring. As daylight increases, so do their songs; raising our hopes for the end of this relentless winter. When the sun shines again, listen for the “SPRING time” call of the chickadee. As the frequency of the song increases, the days of winter dwindle down, signaling to us that spring is truly not too far away.