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Results for wetland:

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wetland

CATEGORY: geography
DEFINITION: Low-lying land saturated with moisture, such as a marsh or swamp.

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bog

CATEGORY: geography
DEFINITION: A type of wetland ecosystem characterized by wet, spongy, poorly drained peaty soil. The term also describes the communities of plants growing on acid waterlogged ground, as opposed to fen. Three main types of bog exist: valley bogs that remain waterlogged due to the concentration of drainage into a valley; raised bogs that form as large pillows of peat and are kept waterlogged by high rainfall; and blanket bogs that form through the growth of the organic horizons of gleyed podzols.

fen

CATEGORY: flora
DEFINITION: A community of plants growing in basic or neutral waterlogged conditions, as opposed to a bog. This wetlands community, characterized by alkaline conditions, grows in zones between fresh water and land, as along lake margins. Fens represent a stage in the progressive colonization of shallow water; this plant succession continues with the colonization by trees (the 'carr' stage) followed in some areas by the growth of a raised bog on top of the fen and carr. This low land is subject to frequent inundations and is a very good source of artifactual information.

Somerset Levels

CATEGORY: site
DEFINITION: Low-lying wetland region of Somerset in southwest England, famous for the preservation of remains in peat. Ancient trackways have been revealed and, with techniques such as pollen analysis and radiocarbon dating, it has been possible to establish the sequence of human and climatic development in the area. Permanent settlement occurred only on small 'islands' raised above the level of the marsh (e.g. the Iron Age villages of Glastonbury and Meare), but wooden tracks crossed the wet areas. The earliest discovered is the Sweet track dated to the Neolithic c 3600/2800 BC; after that tracks continued to be built at various times in the 3rd millennium BC. There was a long hiatus in track construction, perhaps because drier conditions made them unnecessary, but with climatic deterioration in the Late Bronze Age there was a new phase of track construction c 900-450 BC (alternatively, c 1100-500 BC).