This lecture was the talk I was least looking forward to, doing a zoology degree I thought this talk would be purely about plants and not be very exciting. I was wrong, Elspeth Ingleby from Lancashire wildlife trust showed us just how important bogs are, and why they are far from boring.
Bogs are mires, which accumulate dead plants that do not fully decompose, moss covers them resulting in a carbon dioxide sink. They formed after the last ice age, when glaciers retreated exposing vegetation.
Why are bog so important?
- They store carbon dioxide very efficiently, this is important as global warming is a huge threat that is on everybody’s mind recently. Storing these gases harmful to the ozone layer is crucial, but the loss of peat land will release the stored gases.
- They provide habitat to rare plant species, that thrive in acidic waters. Sphagnum is one of the few plants that has adapted an able to survive in such environments.
- They also absorb water, reducing flood risk, which is important especially with the threat of the icecaps melting.
- They can preserve bodies, the bogs have properties allowing bodies and trees to be preserved miraculously. From this we can learn about our ancestor history, as a body was discovered from 4,000 years ago. The body is so well preserved that hairs are still visible.
These facts prove that bogs need to be restored and maintained. Active chat moss sites include Astley moss, Cadishead moss and little woolden moss. The restoration of peat lands is very expensive and relies heavily on volunteers. I feel it is a very important project and would like to help spread the word and even help in this project.
tanyaminton 