Bog

We had one final trail that we wanted to take here in Kouchibouguac (That name is beginning to just roll off my tongue.). After doing the laundry we headed out to find the trail that if simply called - Bog. 

A bog, made up of peat, which is composed primarily of sphagnum (a moss), takes many years to develop. The type of bog in Kouchibouguac is called a “domed” bog. The word bog has its roots in the Celtic language, bocc, meaning soft. A domed bog tends to expand. Its development is a slow process conditioned by climate and the contours of the land. The principle agent of its growth is an excess of cold, acidic, water that drains from its domed centre, infiltrating and water- logging the surrounding forest.

Looks a bit like Florida!

This forest may be overrun by the bog but it will take centuries for that to happen.

Climbing this tower provides a look at the expanse of the bog.

View from the tower shooing the boardwalk that takes one out to the middle of the bog.

View of the expansive bog.

The newest and thinnest part of a domed bog is the outer edge. It’s known as the bog’s lagg zone. the lagg zone surrounds much of the bog, like a moat around a castle. Lagg is the Swedish word for moat. Scandinavian countries, like Canada, are lands of many bogs. Several of the words used to describe aspects of bogs come from Scandinavian languages.

The lagg section of the bog is the richest in terms of nutrients and supports a variety of plant species. There are delicate orchids that grow here, but none were visible at this time of the year. 

The lagg section is also the wettest part of the bog and the water table is just below the surface.

The lagg section of the bog with the forest to the left.

The next section of the bog is called the slope zone and it is considerably drier than the lagg zone. Because of the thickness of centuries’ worth of peat accumulation, it is higher and drier than the lagg zone (drier in that the water table is some distance below the surface). Sphagnum, as a result of its acid growing conditions, tends to be a sterile, but dry, absorbent. First Nation peoples used sphagnum as a natural disposable diaper and, as late as the First World War, sphagnum was used as an absorbent dressing for wounds.

Frederick standing on dry ground, next to a good-sized larch tree.

This domed bog is very old. In 2500 BC, when the great pyramids of Giza were being built, the peat for this bog was just beginning to accumulate. In 1000 BC, when ancient Greece was young, this bog was already 10 feet deep. And, at the time the Vikings were landing at Lanse Aux Meadows, in 1000 AD, the bog was 15 feet deep. 

The central, domed part of the bog. It looks like there are no tree growing at the top of the bog, but wait!

This section of the bog is called the top of the bog and is the high, central part of the dome where the accumulation of peat is approximately 20 deep. Its’s amazing to realize that there is no river or spring feeding the pond; the water comes from the sky in the form of precipitation. Another feature of the bog is that peat insulates as efficiently as it holds water. Ground at the top of the bog is slow to freeze but it remains frozen into the spring. 

These trees are called”Botanical Minatures”. These black spruce are as old as the trees in the surrounding forest but are only knee high. They are over 100-years-old but their growth is stunted by the harsh conditions on the bog.

Frederick standing next to the 100-year-old trees.

Because the bog lacks nitrogen, plants have adapted and tend to be of the carnivorous type. The Pitcher plant, the Bladderwort and the Sundew, all “eat” insects to supply their nutrition.

The Pitcher plant, a carnivorous plant. We saw lots of these in Newfoundland where they are the provincial flower.

The most numerous animal on the bob are mosquitoes. They attract larger insects and small amphibians. Frogs breed and live on the bog, feeding on the insects. Insect living birds - Yellow Throated and Palm warblers, visit the bog. The bog’s vegetation attracts seed eating birds as well, song sparrows, Savannah sparrows and small rodents such as voles and lemmings. They in turn attract foxes which can be seen on the bog. Deer also browse on the bog.

And now we know why there are so many moose in Canada. Twenty percent of Kouchibouguac is bog and twelve percent of the Canada land mass is bog and moose are very found of pond and bog vegetation. They have large cloven hooves to support their weight on the soft terrain.

At the end of the Bog Trail we found two  more of the rainbow chairs.