Characteristics of the main types of swamps. Characteristics of the main types of swamps Relationship between lowland and upland types

The swampy areas have never inspired confidence in me. It is not uncommon for these natural reservoirs to cause death of people and animals. But not all of them are so dangerous, it all depends on their type.

Lowland swamps - characteristics of reservoirs

This species includes grassy or those swamps that feed on soil and are called hypno-grass. They have the most mineral salts in their composition. This subspecies is characterized by dense thickets of waxworts along with willows. An obligatory lowland attribute is a thick layer of grass, which is presented as:

• sedges;
• cinquefoil;
• marigolds;
• three leaf watch.

In addition to all of the above plants, you can also find yellow iris, elderberry valerian and spurge (rarely enough).

Features of raised bogs

Such reservoirs are also called oligotrophic. Unlike lowlands, horseback ones feed not on groundwater, but on precipitation from the atmosphere. Only this food is distinguished by the fact that the swamps receive a small amount of mineral salts (since there are few of them in precipitation). The formation of riding occurs when surface water stagnates in places where there is impermeable rock (clay, etc.) under them. This species is rich in peat, so it is often mined on its territory. I found information on the Internet that now they are actively beginning to protect raised bogs, as they are moisture accumulators and are home to many animals and plants.

Relationship between lowland and upland types

They are similar in that they are involved in the process of peat formation. The difference is only in the size of the produced mineral. With its accumulation, more and more isolation of the reservoir from groundwater is observed. At their core, raised bogs are gradually formed from the lowland stage (in this regard, they are also related). It is more often possible to observe cases of animals and people getting stuck in raised bogs than in lowland ones, due to a larger amount of peat (water movement is difficult in peat).

- excessively moistened land areas with a kind of marsh vegetation and a layer of peat of at least 0.3 m, therefore, they are characterized by a difficult exchange of gases. Marshes usually contain from 87 to 97% water and only 3-13% dry matter (peat).

With a lower peat capacity or its absence, excessively moistened areas are called wetlands.

Swamps are formed when water bodies become overgrown or when the area becomes swampy.

The main way of formation of swamps is swamping, which begins with the appearance of periodic, and then constant waterlogging of soils. The climate contributes to this. Excess moisture due to an abundance of precipitation or low evaporation, as well as a high level of groundwater, the nature of the soil is poorly permeable rocks; "permafrost", relief - flat areas with shallow drainage or depressions with slow flow; prolonged floods on rivers, etc. Forests die under conditions of excess moisture, which means anaerobic conditions and oxygen starvation, which contributes to greater waterlogging due to a decrease in transpiration.

Water-loving vegetation settles on waterlogged lands, adapted to a lack of oxygen and mineral nutrition - moss, etc. Moss sod, which absorbs and retains moisture well, resembling a wet sponge, contributes to even greater waterlogging of the land. So in the future, it is the vegetation that plays the leading role in swamping. In conditions of oxygen deficiency, incomplete decomposition of plant residues occurs, which, accumulating, form peat. Therefore, swamping is almost always accompanied by peat accumulation.

The most favorable conditions for the accumulation of peat exist in the forests of the temperate zone, especially in Western Siberia, where, within the forest-bog zone, swampiness sometimes makes up more than 50% of the territory, the thickness of peat is 8-10 m. To the north and south of the forest zone, the thickness of the peat deposit decreases: to the north due to a decrease in the growth of plant mass in a cold climate, to the south - due to more intensive decomposition of plant residues in a warm climate. In a hot, humid climate, a huge increase in biomass is compensated by an intensive process of decay of dead plants, and there are few swamps, although the evergreen equatorial forests are waterlogged.

The structure of the peat deposits of swamps that have arisen on the site of lakes or dry valleys is different. Peatlands formed as a result of the swamping of lakes have lake silt, sapropel, under a layer of peat, and when the land becomes swamped, peat lies directly on the mineral soil.

Bogs develop in various climatic conditions, but are especially characteristic of the forest zone of the temperate zone and tundra. Their share in Polissya accounts for 28%, in Karelia - about 30%, and in Western Siberia (Vasyugan) - over 50% of the territory. Swampiness sharply decreases in the steppe and forest-steppe zones, where there is less precipitation, and evaporation increases. The total area occupied by swamps is about 2% of the land area of ​​the Earth.

swamp types

According to the nature of the water supply and vegetation, the swamps are divided into three types: lowland, upland and transitional.

lowland swamps are formed on the site of former lakes, in river valleys and in depressions that are permanently or temporarily flooded with water. They feed mainly on groundwater rich in mineral salts. The vegetation cover is dominated by green mosses, various sedges and grasses. Birch, alder, and willow appear on older swamps. These swamps are characterized by weak peat content - the thickness of peat does not exceed 1 — 1 .5 m

Raised bogs are formed on flat watersheds, feed mainly on atmospheric precipitation, the vegetation is characterized by a limited species composition - sphagnum mosses, cotton grass, wild rosemary, cranberry, heather, and from trees - pine, birch, less often cedar and larch. The trees are very depressed and stunted. Sphagnum moss grows better in the middle of the marsh massif, on the outskirts it is oppressed by mineralized waters. Therefore, raised bogs are somewhat convex, their middle rises by 3-4 m. The peat layer reaches 6-10 m or more.

transitional swamps, or mixed represent a transitional stage between lowland and upland. In lowland swamps, plant residues accumulate, the surface of the swamp rises. As a result, groundwater rich in salts ceases to feed the swamp. Herbaceous vegetation dies off and is replaced by mosses.

Thus, low-lying bogs turn into raised ones, and the latter are then covered with bushes or meadow vegetation, turning into upland meadows. Therefore, in nature, moss or grass swamps are rarely found in their pure form.

Bogs are of great economic importance. Thus, peat bogs are a source of fuel for industry. The first thermal power plant in the world operating on peat was built in Russia in 1911 (in Elektrougli).

Lowland bog peat is a good organic fertilizer. Therefore, partially lowland swamps are drained and turned into fertile lands. But not all swamps are subject to drainage, some of them must be preserved so as not to disturb the relationships that have developed in nature.

Marshes humidify the air of the area, are the habitats of valuable plant species (cranberries, cloudberries, blueberries) and habitats of many species of animals, especially birds, are natural reservoirs of water that feed the rivers.

In order to classify swamps, it is necessary to understand how they are formed. Swamps are created by:

• 1) peating of reservoirs, while the peat deposit of the swamp is underlain by lake deposits of greater or lesser thickness;
• 2) swamping of mineral, often forest soils, in this case the peat deposit lies on mineral soil.

The process of peating of reservoirs is typical mainly in temperate climates, typical for closed reservoirs with stagnant and low-flowing water - lakes, river creeks, oxbow lakes, shallow sea waters and lagoons. With the formation of vegetation and aquatic organisms (plankton and benthos), organogenic deposits begin to accumulate in the lakes in the form of organic silt - sapropel. This is a homogeneous jelly-like mass, the color of which can vary from yellowish, pink-gray to olive. In summer, with the intensification of microbiological processes, sapropel layers are formed thinner and lighter than in other seasons. Sapropel is formed at the bottom of water bodies mainly from the dead organic mass of numerous microscopic plants and animals that are in suspension in the water. In addition, the remains of higher coastal aquatic plants deposited by the current, pollen of trees and shrubs, excrement and corpses of aquatic animals serve as a material for sapropel. The reservoir begins to shallow, higher plants appear in it: first, submerged ones (weeds, hornwort), then water lilies with floating leaves, and later reeds, reeds, cattails. Incomplete decomposition of plant residues leads to the formation of peat. Small “windows” of water remain from the reservoir, then they overgrow. Gradually, the reservoir turns into a swamp. Often the described process is accompanied by the formation on the surface of the reservoir of an unsteady carpet of plant rhizomes (“quick”, “splavina”). In this case, the overgrowth of the reservoir comes from all sides - from the bottom, from the banks, from the surface. Alloys are formed in the most wind-protected parts of the reservoir (bays, gulfs, etc.).

The alloy grows from the shore into the reservoir and at the same time thickens. Partially, the plant remains of the lower layers of the quagmire sink to the bottom, where they accumulate in the form of a layer of brown silt. These accumulations gradually raise the bottom of the reservoir and contribute to its shallowing. There is also a third method of peating reservoirs - mechanical filling. Its essence lies in the fact that some tundra lakes and marsh lakes can be filled with mineral, peat, and in some cases sapropel deposits washed off the coast. When sediments reach the surface of the lake, vegetation begins to develop. A nadil quagmire gradually forms, and at a certain stage of development, the lake turns into a swamp, usually lowland (reed, cattail, sedge or moss).

Bogs, especially in the northern part of Russia, arose mostly as a result of waterlogging of mineral soils. This is evidenced by woody peat at the base of the peat deposits of most of the swamps. The main reason for swamping of dry valleys is the oversaturation of the upper horizons of the soil with moisture, therefore, swamp formation is observed in the most depressed places of the relief (foothills, near-terrace depressions in river floodplains, shallow flat depressions of watersheds, the outskirts of existing marshes). Swamping of dry valleys can be caused by waterlogging of the soil by alluvial (flood), ground and atmospheric waters.

• 1. Alluvial type of waterlogging observed in floodplains. Favorable conditions for it are created in the terraced, lower part of the floodplain. It should be noted that in its pure form, the alluvial type of waterlogging is extremely rare; it is combined with the soil type.
• 2. Soil type of waterlogging occurs much more frequently and is expressed in all natural zones. It is associated with waterlogging of the soil with groundwater. Depending on their composition, pressure (hard water, soligenic) and non-pressure (soft water) swamping are distinguished. Pressure swamping is typical for the terraced parts of floodplains, lakeside depressions, slope foothills, deep drainage basins of watersheds, and ravines.
• 3. Atmospheric waterlogging prevails in the north and northwest of our country. It is due to the oversaturation of the upper soil horizons with atmospheric precipitation water. Therefore, swamping begins in low relief areas, where rain and snow melt water accumulates and stagnates.

Currently, there are the following classifications of swamps:

• 1. Based on a trophic criterion, according to which swamps are divided into eutrophic (lowland), mesotrophic (transitional) and oligotrophic (upland).
• 2. According to the type and structure of the peat deposit (peat science approach).
• 3. According to the signs of vegetation (trophic and geobotanical principles are combined: moss swamps, grassy, ​​forest, etc.).
• 4. By morphological and dynamic features (geomorphological approach).
• 5. According to hydrological properties and sources of water and mineral nutrition (hydrological and hydrogeological approach). There are bogs of atmospheric type of nutrition (ombrotrophic, ombrogenic, ombrophilic), ground and surface-slope nutrition (rheotrophic and minerotrophic), intermediate type of nutrition (mesotrophic), as well as mixed, one of the varieties of which are aapa-bogs.

Rheotrophic bogs are differentiated into topogenic (underground feeding) and soligenic (ground pressure feeding).

6. Integral classifications: biogeocenological and landscape-genetic. swamp biome alluvial

In Canada, classifications are used based on the content of macroelements in peat with the allocation of marsh formations:

• 1) bog (mountain and transitional with the least amount of P, K, Ca, Mg;
• 2) fen (lowland);
• 3) marching (herbal - a lot of P, K, Mg);
• 4) swampy (a lot of Ca).

In the United States, there are three classes of organic material: fibric, hemic (semi-decomposed), and saprichy (decomposed). According to the principle of zoning, swamps are distinguished:

• a) tundra Alaska;
• b) palsovye;
• c) aapa;
• d) riding;
• e) cover coasts;
• f) southern limnogenic (swamps and marshes of the Everglades and Okifenokee in Florida and Georgia);
• g) glacial basins in Michigan.

But much more often combined classifications are used, built on a complex principle:

• 1) soligenic swamps underlain by a layer of forest peat (pH 5.5–6.2);
• 2) transitional moss swamps (upper - sphagnum, lower - woody peat) with a total thickness of the deposit of 3 m;
• 3) low-solid moss (pH 3.8 - 4.5) - a mixture of marsh vegetation with vegetation of ombrogenic bogs (peat sphagnum, sedge, reed);
• 4) maskeg - a variety of moss swamps (pH 3.5--4.5) - shrub, cotton grass, sphagnum;
• 5) ridge swamps separated by swamps (south of the American mainland);
• 6) a complex of ridge bogs and islands - marsh peat, occasionally with the participation of woody residues;
• 7) poor swamps and treeless moss swamps without ridges;
• 8) swamps with anthropogenic load: drainage, roads, burnt areas.

In Finland, five types of bog complexes have been used: riding, aapa, Karelian, "hanging" and hilly. Later, the Karelian and "hanging" types were abolished and transferred to the rank of aapa-bogs, subdivided into a number of variants. In the modern sense, aapa-bogs correspond to treeless ridge-hollow eutrophic bogs of the northern taiga, where mesotrophic (or oligotrophic) ridges alternate with eutrophic (or mesotrophic) hollows and lakes

In Russia, the following areas have developed in the typology of swamps: botanical-geographical, ecological-phytocenotic, hydrological, geomorphological and integral - biogeocenological (landscape-genetic).

V. N. Sukachev (1915, 1926) singled out ground-feeding bogs (low-lying and transitional) and atmospheric feeding (upland) bogs as the main groups, and then, according to the vegetation cover, he divided low-lying bogs into grass, hypnum, forest, and transitional into forest and grass . Thus, the main groups of swamps are distinguished by the richness of water and mineral nutrition, and the vegetation cover occupies a subordinate position.

Lowland swamps are formed mainly in the lowest parts of the relief, hence their name. We can meet them in the floodplain of the river at the site of the former ancient lake, in the ancient lake basin on the interfluve plain, in a depression or flat plain at the site of a cut down forest. Such swamps feed on groundwater. These waters are highly mineralized and contain a large amount of dissolved plant nutrients. Entering the swamp, they enrich it. In addition, many birds usually find shelter here. Bird droppings are rich in nitrogenous substances and also enrich the swamp. Therefore, in lowland swamps, sedges, horsetails, reeds, green mosses grow in a dense continuous cover, above them - a tree layer of black alder or birch, sometimes with an admixture of spruce.

Raised bogs are most often formed in watershed areas. The necessary conditions for their occurrence are the presence of excessive atmospheric moisture and a flat surface on which water could accumulate. Since these swamps feed on atmospheric precipitation, and they are very poor in nutrients, the vegetation here is completely different. Raised bogs often form on the site of lowland bogs. This happens when the peat gradually accumulates, and its thickness becomes so great that the roots of the plants no longer reach the groundwater level, and they begin to feed only on rainwater.

Such swamps are widespread in the taiga-forest zone, they are less common in the forest-steppe and southern tundra. The vegetation consists mainly of various sphagnum mosses with the participation of cotton grass, cloudberry, marsh sedge, round-leaved sundew, Scheuchzeria, shrubs - podbel, cranberry, heather, myrtle, wild rosemary, etc., trees predominate pines, birches. In addition to sphagnums, some types of green mosses (cuckoo flax), lichens (cladonia) live in raised bogs. Plant roots do not come into contact with mineral soil, but are located in the thickness of peat. Plants receive their main nutrition from the atmosphere in the form of settling dust, with rainwater, during the decomposition of plant and animal remains, as a result of which they have a low ash content.

Plant roots do not come into contact with mineral soil. The surface of raised bogs is convex, with hummocks, ridges, hollows, lakes. The thickness of peat in the dry state ranges from 50 cm to 20 m or more, and in the dried state it is at least 30 cm. The peat of raised bogs is slightly decomposed, fibrous, passing from above into moss tow. Its color is light or light brown; it is poor in nutrients, has a pronounced acid reaction. Raised bogs often form on the site of lowland bogs. This happens when the peat gradually accumulates, and its thickness becomes so great that the roots of the plants no longer reach the groundwater level, and they begin to feed only on rainwater.

Due to the rapid growth of sphagnum mosses, the surface of the swamp rises annually, and many plants are in danger of being buried alive by the annually growing moss. But the shrubs living in the swamp - Cassandra, wild rosemary, podbel, cranberry and others - have adapted: they themselves grow annually by the same amount as sphagnum. On the raised bog, cotton grass is quite common, forming hummocks. On a peat swamp, you can also find stunted trees of pine or birch (in Siberia - cedar and larch). And of course, berry shrubs - lingonberries, cloudberries.

Rice.

a - raised swamp; b - lowland swamp; c - a swamp formed during the overgrowth of the lake; 1 - sphagnum peat; 2 - sedge and sedge-willow peat; 3 - hypnum peat; 4 - reed peat; 5 - floating peat of various composition; 6 - sapropel peat; 7 - sapropel; 8 - silt; nine-- breed; 10-- water

lowland swamps are located more often in river valleys, lake basins, various small depressions of all zones. They are fed by ground and surface waters containing a large amount of nutrients, so such swamps have a high potential fertility. Their surface is flat or slightly concave, covered with herbaceous (various sedges, common reed, three-leaf watch, reed grass) vegetation. From bushes there are willows, bird cherry, mountain ash, and from trees - spruce, pine. Of the mosses, green hypnum mosses are common, and to a lesser extent, sphagnum mosses. Forest (black alder, etc.) and shrub (willow) bogs are located in the terraced parts of floodplains. The peat of lowland bogs is usually dark, highly decomposed, with a significant admixture of mineral particles, and has a slightly acidic, neutral, or slightly alkaline reaction. The ash content of lowland peat is high (from 10 to 15...40%).

transitional swamps occupy an intermediate position between upland and lowland. They are fed by atmospheric precipitation and ground (secondary) water. Hypnum and sphagnum mosses predominate. The reaction of peat is often slightly acidic, and the ash content is medium (5 ... 10%). Deposits of large thickness are rare, more often in the lower part there are layers of low-lying peat, and on top - high-moor peat.

Peat is an organic rock containing no more than 50% of minerals. It is formed as a result of the death and incomplete decomposition of plants with excessive moisture under conditions of anaerobiosis.

peat soil- the upper biologically active layer (up to 35 ... 70 cm) of a peat bog, in which anaerobic processes are periodically replaced by aerobic ones, and, consequently, plant residues decompose more actively. Bottom line soil usually coincides with the lower boundary of the root layer and the maximum lowering of the groundwater level in the summer season.

T.K. Yurkovskaya in 1970-1992. developed a botanical and geographical classification of swamps in the European part of Russia and neighboring states. Unlike other classifications, it is more detailed and contains 4 taxonomic units: type of swamp massif, subgroup, group and class of types. In total, 5 classes were established: sphagnum bogs, grass-lichen-moss (polygonal and hilly), grass-sphagnum-hypnum (aapa-bogs), grass and grass-hypnum, forest bogs. The next classification unit - a group of types of bog massifs - is distinguished by the peculiarities of the floristic composition, the structure of vegetation in the meridian direction. The main criterion for establishing a group is the presence or absence of differentiating species belonging to a certain range of geoelements. The third classification unit - a subgroup of types of bog massifs - is established by changing the main edificators of bogs. The smallest unit of classification is the type of swamps. To establish it, various features of the vegetation cover are used: dynamism and heterogeneity, morphological types of bog complexes, predominant groups of associations, etc. In total, in the classification of T.K. Yurkovskaya distinguishes 28 types of bog massifs, united in 9 subgroups, 11 groups and 5 classes.

Methods for increasing the biological productivity of agrophytocenoses.

Agrocenosis(from Greek ἀγρός, read agros - "field", κοινός, read koinos - "general") - biogeocenosis created by man (artificial ecosystem). It has a certain species composition and certain relationships between the components of the environment. Their high productivity is ensured by intensive technology for the selection of high-yielding plants and fertilizers.

When creating agrocenoses a person uses a complex of agricultural practices: various methods of tillage (plowing, harrowing, disking, and others), melioration (with excessive soil moisture), sometimes artificial irrigation, sowing (planting) high-yielding plant varieties, top dressing, weed control, pests and plant diseases .

Increasing the productivity of agrocenoses. Agroecosystems are being created - planned territories in which, in addition to agrocenoses, high biological diversity is maintained by alternating fields, meadows, forests, copses, forest belts, and reservoirs. Maximum adherence to environmental laws in agricultural practice is necessary.

Swamp(also swamp, quagmire) - a piece of land (or landscape), characterized by excessive moisture, increased acidity and low fertility soil, exit to the surface of standing or flowing ground water, but without a permanent layer of water on the surface. The swamp is characterized by the deposition on the soil surface of incompletely decomposed organic matter, which later turns into peat. The layer of peat in swamps is at least 30 cm, if less, then these are wetlands. Wetlands are an integral part of the hydrosphere. Swamps arise in two main ways: due to waterlogging of the soil or due to the overgrowth of reservoirs. An indispensable condition for the formation of swamps is constant excess moisture. One of the reasons for excessive moisture and the formation of a swamp is the features of the relief - the presence of lowlands, where rainwater and groundwater flow; in flat areas, the lack of runoff - all these conditions lead to the formation of peat.