A Little Background on Wetlands

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Watch the video What makes a Wetland a Wetland? to become familiar with wetlands.

Wetlands are natural areas where water and land meet. They are neither under water, nor dry all year.

They are part of much larger systems known as watersheds that move water across land. Wetlands of several types exist in Alberta.

Look at a map of the wetland areas in Alberta. 

Peatlands

In Alberta, 93% of wetlands are peatlands.
They are also called bogs or fens. 

Fens (get water from underground springs) and bogs (get water from rain and snow).  They are acidic, although fens are less acidic than bogs and grow more varieties of plants. 

Both lack oxygen.  Bacteria need oxygen to decompose dead plants and animals.  Therefore, not many types of bacteria, plants, and animals can live in a bog.

Things that die in bogs do not decompose very quickly.  New sphagnum moss grows on top are partly dead moss from the past.  The weight of various layers of moss eventually forms peat. 

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Watch the video:

Marshes

Non-peatlands are the marshes, swamps, ponds, or shallow water sites especially in central and southern Alberta.

Usually, they contain standing water, and they have a greater variety of plant matter than the peatlands have.

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Watch the video Types of Ecosystems (marshes, swamps, bogs, and fens).