What are swamps? Report of a swamp at three

The word "swamp" has ancient Balto-Slavic origins. This root is found in all ancient and modern Balto-Slavic languages. It is no coincidence that the marshy area between Belarusian Polesie and the Baltic Sea is considered the ancestral home of the Slavs. The name Baltika itself is also derived from this root. In Slavic languages with full consonance (Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, etc.) it sounds like a swamp, in other Slavic and Baltic languages, including in Old Church Slavonic as “blato”, “balto”. It is noteworthy that as a result of long linguistic contacts of the Slavs with the East Roman population, the word balte/baltă “swamp” entered the Romanian and Moldavian languages, including place names. Along with them, other vocabulary related to water was also borrowed (lúncă, zăvoi, smârc “swamp” from the word “dusk”, island/ostrov, lotke/lótcă, etc.).

Swamp formation

swampy lake

Swamps arise in two main ways: due to waterlogging of the soil or due to overgrowing of water bodies. Waterlogging can occur due to human causes, for example during the construction of dams and dams for ponds and reservoirs. Waterlogging is sometimes caused by the activity of beavers.

A prerequisite for the formation of swamps is constant excess moisture. One of the reasons for excess moisture and the formation of a swamp is the peculiarities of the relief - the presence of lowlands where precipitation and groundwater flow; in flat areas there is a lack of drainage - all these conditions lead to the formation of peat.

The role of swamps

Wetlands play an important role in the formation of rivers.

Swamps prevent the development of the greenhouse effect. They, no less than forests, can be called “the lungs of the planet.” The fact is that the reaction of the formation of organic substances from carbon dioxide and water during photosynthesis, in its overall equation, is opposite to the reaction of oxidation of organic substances during respiration, and therefore, during the decomposition of organic matter, carbon dioxide, previously bound by plants, is released back into the atmosphere (mainly due to respiration of bacteria). One of the main processes that can reduce the carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere is the burial of undecomposed organic matter, which occurs in swamps that form peat deposits, which are then transformed into coal. (Other similar processes are the deposition of carbonates (CaCO 3) at the bottom of reservoirs and chemical reactions occurring in the earth’s crust and mantle). Therefore, the practice of draining swamps, carried out in the 19th-20th centuries, is destructive from an environmental point of view.

On the other hand, swamps are one of the sources of bacterial methane (one of the greenhouse gases) in the atmosphere. In the near future, an increase in the volume of swamp methane in the atmosphere is expected due to the melting of swamps in the permafrost region.

Swamps are natural water filters and orderlies for agroecosystems.

Peat is used in medicine (mud therapy), as fuel, fertilizer in agriculture, feed for farm animals, and raw materials for the chemical industry.

Peat bogs serve as a source of finds for paleobiology and archeology - well-preserved plant remains, pollen, seeds, and bodies of ancient people are found in them.

For the latter, swamp ore was a source for the manufacture of iron products.

Previously, the swamp was considered a disastrous place for humans. Cattle that strayed from the herd died in the swamps. Entire villages died out due to the bites of malaria mosquitoes. The vegetation in the swamps is sparse: light green moss, small wild rosemary shrubs, sedge, heather. The trees in the swamps are stunted. Gnarled lonely pines, birches and alder thickets.

People sought to drain the “dead places” and use the land for fields and pastures.

Classification of swamps

Vegetation

Nikolai Yakovlevich Kats divides the raised bogs of Central Russia by type of vegetation:

Related terms

Illustrations

Animals of temperate swamps

European marsh turtle ( Emys orbicularis).
Various types of toads, frogs.
Mosquitoes, ticks and other insects.
Moose, raccoons, otters, minks, muskrats.
Birds (cranes, partridges, herons, waders, lapwings, ducks, moorhens, etc.)

Swamp plants

Cowberry
Cranberry grows in raised and transitional bogs.
Cloudberry, grows in peat bogs.
Sundew, due to a lack of minerals in the soil, is engaged in passive insect catching.
Swamp cypress, common in North America and acclimatized in the Danube Delta.

Protection of swamps, specially protected natural areas (SPNA)

The following organizations are involved in the problem of wetland conservation:

Botanical natural monuments

The Big Tavatuy swamp, Malinovskoye, Kukushkinskoye are located next to Lake Tavatuy.
The Sestroretsk swamp is a specially protected natural area (SPNA).
Mshinskoe swamp is a state nature reserve of federal subordination.
Staroselsky moss is a state complex reserve of regional significance.
The Vasyugan swamps are one of the largest swamps in the world. The area of the swamps is 53 thousand km² (for comparison: the area of Switzerland is 41 thousand km².

Properties of swamps

Glows in the swamps

On warm, dark nights in the swamps, there is a glow of pale bluish, faintly flickering lights, tracing a complex trajectory. Their occurrence is explained by the spontaneous combustion of methane (swamp gas) released from the swamp, the light of rotten plants (rotting plants), phosphorescent organisms, radioactive mineral deposits, and other reasons.

Attempts to imitate the typical characteristics of will-o'-the-wisps by creating artificial swamps and igniting the released methane have failed. There is a version that these will-o-the-wisps are the result of the interaction of hydrogen phosphide and methane. Phosphorus compounds, which are part of animal and human corpses, decompose under the influence of groundwater to form hydrogen phosphide. When there is a loose embankment over a grave or a small layer of water in a swamp, the gas, coming to the surface, is ignited by the vapor of liquid hydrogen phosphide.

There is also a belief that the glow in the swamps is caused by certain entities (dead people, swamp spirits).

Mummifying effect of swamps

The swamp is 90% water with a high content of peat acids (decomposed plant matter). Such an environment slows down the growth of bacteria, which is why bodies of organic origin that drown in the swamp are not destroyed. The presence of acids in the swamp, combined with low water temperatures and a lack of oxygen, has a tanning effect on the skin, which explains the dark brown color of the bodies found, thus, due to the lack of oxygen and the antibacterial properties of sphagnum, which is a powerful preservative, the bodies are perfectly preserved.

Over the past 300 years, well-preserved human bodies have been discovered in abandoned peat bogs in Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. Most of these mummies date back to the 1st century. BC e. - IV century n. e.

One of the most famous mummies is the Man of Tollund.

Swamp in cultural images (in cinema, literature, mythology, folklore)

Mythology

In the mythology of many cultures, a swamp is associated with a bad, disastrous, unclean place.

According to East Slavic mythology, a marsh man lives in the swamps, who can lead a traveler astray.

Since ancient times, people have been frightened by the night glow in the swamps. Due to the characteristic location of the lights - at the height of a human hand - they are called “dead man’s candles”. It is believed that whoever saw them received a warning about imminent death, and they were carried by aliens from the other world. In Germany they said that the lights in the swamp are the ghosts of those who stole land from their neighbors - as punishment, their souls wander through the swamps in search of solid ground. The Finns called them "lecchio" and believed that they were the souls of children buried in the forest. In Northern Europe, it was believed that the lights in the swamp were the spirits of ancient warriors guarding treasures.

According to English beliefs, these so-called will-o'-the-wisps try to lure a person into a swamp or other dangerous place. This element of folklore is well illustrated in the film The Lord of the Rings when the hobbits walk through the moors.

In one of the myths about the creation of the world, swamps arose from a devil spit out of the mouth, hidden from the God of the earth.

Poetry

The mysterious beauty of swamps is sung by Alexander Blok in the poems “Love this eternity of swamps...”, “A swamp is a deep depression of the huge eye of the earth...”, “Swamp priest”, “The white horse barely steps with a tired foot...” and others (cycle “Bubbles of the Earth” ,1904-05)

Notes

Blinova K. F. et al. Botanical-pharmacognostic dictionary: Reference. allowance / Ed. K. F. Blinova, G. P. Yakovleva. - M.: Higher. school, 1990. - P. 33. - ISBN 5-06-000085-0
Vyacheslav Shtepa. What secrets do the swamps hide? (Russian) . Ufolog.ru - Educational magazine about the unknown and unusual. Ufolog.ru(July 11, 2008). Archived from the original on August 22, 2011. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
Miracles in the swamp
Definition: balta | DEX online
Vasmer's Dictionary
Innovation for business. The use of peat in feeding pigs
Geographical encyclopedic dictionary / Ch. editor A.F. Treshnikov. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1988. - 432 p. - 100,000 copies.
Four-language encyclopedic dictionary of terms in physical geography / Compiled by I.S. Shchukin. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1980. - 703 p. - 55,000 copies.
"Swamp as an ecosystem"
Kats N.Ya.
http://www.wetlands.ru/
International World Conservation Group
Shlionskaya Irina_Encyclopedia of evil spirits. - Geleos Publishing House, 2006. - 320 pp. Circulation 5000 ISBN 5-8189-0527-6, ISBN 978-5-8189-0527-3 pp.
Horrors of the Swamps @ National Geographic - Russia
Bog bodies of northern Europe "Myrta Reading Room
Gazeta 2.0 - The largest swamp on the globe
7dnei.com
The Great Vasyugan Swamp - natural attractions of Russia
Great Vasyugan swamp
Wonders of Russia: Vasyugan swamp
Tolstoy N.I., Agapkina T.A. Slavic antiquities: ethnolinguistic dictionary. In 5 volumes (T.1). - International Relations, 1995. - 577 p., ISBN 5-7133-0703-4, ISBN 978-5-7133-0703-5 p.
Min-min lights
Grushko Elena_Dictionary of Russian superstitions, spells, signs and beliefs. - Russian merchant, 1996. - 559 c ISBN 5-88204-047-7, ISBN 978-5-88204-047-4 p.

Literature

// Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional ones). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
Bogdanovskaya-Gienef Ivonna Donatovna Regularities of formation of raised-type sphagnum bogs. Using the example of the Polistovo-Lovatsky massif. - L.: Science, Leningrad. department, 1969. - 186 p.
Bondarenko Nikolay Filippovich, Kovalenko Nikolay Pavlovich Water-physical properties of peatlands. - L.: Gidrometeoizdat, 1979. - 160 p.
Boch Marina Sergeevna, Mazing Viktor Viktorovich Ecosystems of marshes of the USSR. - Science, Leningrad branch, 1979. - 186 p.
Vasyugan swamp (natural conditions, structure and functioning) (edited by L. I. Inisheva). - Tomsk: CNTI, 2000. - 136 p.
Wetlands of European Russia - a guidebook (compiled by E. Yu. Pogozhev). - 2008.
Wetlands of Russia. Volume 1. Wetlands of international importance (under the general editorship of V. G. Krivenko). - M., Publisher: Wetlands International Publication No. 49. - 1998. - 256 pp., ISBN 1-900442-16-7
Wetlands of Russia. Volume 2. Valuable swamps (under the general editorship of M. S. Boch). - Publisher: Wetlands International Publication No. 49. - 1999. - 88 pp., ISBN 1-900442-17-5
Wetlands of Russia. Volume 3. Wetlands included in the Perspective List of the Ramsar Convention (under the general editorship of V. G. Krivenko). - Publisher: Wetlands International Publication No. 49. - 2000. - 490 pp., ISBN 90-5882-003-3
Wetlands of Russia. Volume 4. Wetlands of North-East Russia
Genesis and dynamics of swamps: [doc. meeting : in 2nd issue]. Part 1. - M.: Moscow State University Publishing House, 1978. - 200 p.
Genesis and dynamics of swamps: [doc. meeting : in 2nd issue]. Vol. 2. - M.: Moscow State University Publishing House, 1978. - 137 p.
Gulenkova Maria Andreevna, Sergeeva Maria Nikolaevna Plants of swamps / Series: Atlas of native nature. - M: Egmont, 2001. - 64 p. Circulation: 10,000 copies. ISBN 5-85044-546-3
Denisenkov V. P. Fundamentals of swamp science. - Publishing house St. Petersburg. University, 2000. - 224 p. ISBN 5-288-02181-3
Swamps and peatlands, their development and structure. M., 1922
Dokturovsky Vladimir Semenovich From the history of the formation and development of peat bogs in the USSR.
Dokturovsky Vladimir Semenovich Interglacial peat bog near Galich. Izv. scientific-exp. peat, institute, No. 5, 1923.
Dokturovsky Vladimir Semenovich Method of analysis of pollen in peat, Izv. Scientific and Experimental Peat Institute", 1923, No. 5
Dokturovsky Vladimir Semenovich About some features of the structure of the swamps of Central Russia.
Dokturovsky Vladimir Semenovich Peat bogs. Origin, nature and characteristics of the marshes of the USSR, 2nd ed., M.-L., 1935.
Elina Galina Andreevna Pharmacy in the swamp: Journey into an unknown world. - Science, 1993. - 493 p.
Elina G. A., Lopatin V. D. Many-faced swamps. - L.: Science, Leningrad. department, 1987. - 192, p. - (Man and the environment).
The importance of wetlands in the biosphere: Hydrological aspects: [collection. Art.]. - M.: Nauka, 1980. - 175 p.
Isaev D. Swamps of Northern Kyrgyzstan. - Frunze: [b. i.], 1956. - 88 p.
Kats Nikolay Yakovlevich Swamps of the globe. - M.: Nauka, 1971. - 295 pp., 2 l. kart.
Kats Nikolay Yakovlevich On the types of oligotrophic sphagnum bogs in European Russia. - 1928. - 60 p.
Ivanov K. E. Hydrology of swamps.-L.: Gidrometeoizdat. - 1953.-298 p.
Ivanova K. E., Novikova S. M. Swamps of Western Siberia, their structure and hydrological regime. - Publishing house: Gidrometeoizdat, 1976. - 448 p.
Kats Nikolay Yakovlevich Swamps and peatlands: a guide for universities. - State educational and pedagogical publishing house of the People's Commissariat of Education of the RSFSR, 1941. - 399 p.
Kats Nikolay Yakovlevich On the types of oligotrophic sphagnum bogs in European Russia. - 1928. - 60 p.
Kiryushkin Viktor Nikolaevich Formation and development of swamp systems. - L.: Science, Leningrad. department, 1980. - 88 p.
Liss Olga Leopoldovna, Astakhova Valentina Grigorievna Forest swamps. - M.: Lesn. industry, 1982. - 128 p.
Lopatin Valentin Danilovich Swamp ecosystems of the European North. - Karelian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Institute of Biology, 1988. - 206 p.
Issues of ecology of plants of swamps, swamp habitats and peat deposits. - Karelian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Institute of Biology, 1985. - 190 p.
Lopatin Valentin Danilovich, Yudina V. F. A comprehensive study of the vegetation of Karelia swamps. - Karelian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Institute of Biology, 1982. - 189 p.
Lopatin Valentin Danilovich, Yudina V. F. Vegetation structure and resources of bogs in Karelia. - Karelian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Institute of Biology, 1983. - 176 p.
Lopatin Valentin Danilovich Ecological and biological features of productivity of swamp plants. - Karelian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Institute of Biology, 1982. - 208 p.
Nitsenko Andrey Alexandrovich Short course in swamp science: [for biol. specialties of university and pedagogy. Institute]. - M.: Higher. school, 1967. - 148 p.
Platonov G.V. Forest-steppe swamps of Central Siberia. - M.: Nauka, 1964. - 116 p.
The nature of swamps and methods of their research: [meeting materials]. - L.: Science, Leningrad. department, 1967. - 291 pp., 4 l. ill.
Natural features of the Amur region swamps: [collection. Art.]. - Novosibirsk: Science, Sibirsk. department, 1973. - 198 p.
Pyavchenko N. I. Peat bogs, their natural and economic significance. - M.: Nauka, 1985. - 152 pp., 1 department. l. schemes
Romanov V.V. Hydrophysics of swamps.-L.: Gidrometeoizdat.-1961.-360 p.
Storozheva M. M. Materials for the characteristics of swamps on the eastern slope of the Northern Urals and Trans-Urals. - Sverdlovsk: [b. i.], 1960. - 54 p.
Types of swamps of the USSR and principles of their classification: [collection. Art.]. - L.: Science, Leningrad. department, 1974. - 254 pp., 2 l. schemes
Heikurainen Leo Swamps. - M.: Lesn. industry, 1983. - 41 p.
Chechkin S. A. Water-thermal regime of undrained swamps and its calculation. - L.: Hydrometeorological Publishing House, 1970. - 205 p.
Charlotte Wilcox Bog Mummies: Preserved in Peat. - Capstone Press, 2002. - 32 pages, ISBN 0-7368-1306-3, ISBN 978-0-7368-1306-8.
James M. Deem Bodies from the God. - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2003. - 48 pages, ISBN 0-618-35402-6, ISBN 978-0-618-35402-3.
Hans Joosten, Donal Clarke Wise use of worlds and peatlands - Background and principles including a framework for decision-making. - 2002.

Have you ever wondered about the answer to the question of what a swamp is? Or, perhaps, you were curious to find out in more detail about the nature of its occurrence and the main features? If yes, I note that you are far from the only ones who are so inquisitive.

For example, since childhood I wanted to understand why people associate so many secrets and legends with this area, what is so unusual about it and what plants and animals inhabit it.

Section 1. General definition of the concept

A swamp is a fairly complex natural formation, which is an area of varying area in which a huge amount of moisture is constantly concentrated, both low-flow and stagnant. It should also be noted that although the swamp ecosystem is in most cases stable and perfectly balanced, it is also fraught with many mysteries. For example, many do not know that a given body of water, such as a typhoon, is characterized by the presence of a so-called eye, which is a small absolutely clean lake.

Most swamps on our planet are located in the tropical and subtropical zones. It is difficult to imagine that their total area is millions of hectares.

Of course, every schoolchild will immediately answer that the area around South America is considered the most swampy. However, Russia can boast of having the largest reservoir of this type in the world - Lake Vasyugan can be seen in Western Siberia.

Section 2. What is a swamp and how is it formed?

At first glance, it may seem that all the current swamps were once lakes, but this is not entirely true. How then can we explain the fact of their emergence on land?

Let's imagine a small area that has been damaged by a forest fire. For greater clarity, let’s mentally draw before our eyes the black remains of trees, branches, ash and burnt stumps firmly seated in the soil.

Nature will try to heal its wounds at all costs, which means that some time will pass, and the first plants to appear in such a forest, for example, moss, called cuckoo flax in nature. Due to the lack of foliage on the branches, lower vegetation will receive more moisture. Gradually, the speed of its growth will gain more and more momentum. If the rampant growth continues for a long enough period of time, it will eventually change the character of the soil itself, making it wetter.

There is another way. According to experts, if for some reason a low-permeability layer is formed underground at a not too great depth, it will certainly retain moisture in the upper layers, as a result of which gradually appear which, as in the first case, will change the nature of the soil, turning it into swampy .

Section 3. What is a swamp, its flora and fauna

As a matter of fact, it does not matter how exactly this or that swamp was formed, in any case it will gradually grow.

Undoubtedly, at first these changes will be barely noticeable, but several years, or even decades, will pass, and the peat layer will strengthen. Let's put it this way: in about 1000 years, in place of the burnt forest, it will already be ten or even twelve meters high.

Trees will appear here. Wetlands are characterized by the presence of birch, pine, spruce or alder trees. If the humidity is high enough, then all plants, as a rule, take on an unusual shape.

Most of the inhabitants of these territories, say, insects and amphibians, are quite small or very tiny, but there are also large representatives.

If we talk about the entire territory of the planet as a whole, then it is in the swamps that predators such as pythons or alligators live; crocodiles hunting smaller prey are also frequent guests. Of the herbivores, one cannot fail to mention nutria, tapirs, muskrats and beavers. Unfortunately, drainage of swamps leads to a significant reduction in their numbers.

Large ungulates also adapt to this semi-aquatic lifestyle. Nature made sure that the hooves of, for example, Asian buffaloes were widened. This significantly increases the area of support, and heavy animals, although they can wander through the swamp, plunging up to their chests, will never get completely bogged down.

Swamp. Moscow region

Swamps are areas of the earth's surface characterized by excessive moisture in the upper horizons of soils and rocks, the development of marsh vegetation and the formation of peat. One of the main features of a bog is the process of accumulation of peat, the thickness of which is quite large, and the roots of plants are located entirely in it, not reaching the underlying mineral base. In contrast, wetlands are often identified. These include areas where the thickness of the peat is small and plant roots reach the mineral base. Apparently, such a distinction is conditional, and wetlands, having the same characteristics, essentially represent the initial stage of marsh development.
Swamps occupy vast areas in Russia, but are unevenly distributed. The largest number of swamps is concentrated in the northern and northwestern regions of the forest zone, where in some places swampiness reaches 30-40%. In the southern and southeastern direction, the degree of swampiness decreases and in the forest-steppe zone does not exceed one or even tenths of a percent. The total area occupied by swamps on the globe, according to data, is estimated at 175 million hectares.
Swamps form on various elements of the relief - wherever conditions are created for excessive soil moisture. In Western and Eastern Siberia, as well as in the north of the European part of Russia, waterlogging is facilitated by the presence of waterproof permafrost rocks lying close to the surface. In other territories, the aquiclude is clayey rocks of different genesis. Swamps form both within continents and on coastal lowlands. Based on the nature of water-mineral nutrition, the composition of the vegetation cover, and the shape of the surface, swamps within continents are divided into lowland, highland and transitional.

Lowland marshes

Lowland swamps are located in depressions of the relief and are characterized by a flat or concave surface. In addition to atmospheric precipitation, ground or river waters, which have a significantly higher content of mineral nutrients, participate in their nutrition. Therefore, so-called autotrophic vegetation develops here, i.e. vegetation that is demanding in terms of nutritional conditions (sedges, horsetails, green mosses, and among woody ones - alder, birch). Peatlands formed from the remains of autotrophic vegetation often have high ash content and low calorie content. Low-lying swamps often form on the site of lake reservoirs, which gradually become overgrown and swampy. The intensity of overgrowth and swamping of a reservoir depends on the topography of its bottom and banks. The processes of overgrowing and swamping are widespread in lakes with a flat bottom and gently sloping shores; In lakes there is an intensive process of sedimentation, the formation of various silts. In this process, a significant role is played by the smallest planktonic organisms, which, when they die, fall to the bottom of the reservoir and form a loose sapropel sediment.
Dying vegetation falls to the bottom of the reservoir, where it accumulates and undergoes only slight decomposition due to the lack of oxygen in the water. As the lake shallows, vegetation takes over more and more new spaces; coastal plants move closer to the center of the reservoir, maintaining the same sequence. All these types of vegetation form peat of the appropriate composition.
The process proceeds somewhat differently in stagnant lakes with steep banks and greater depth near the latter. In such lakes, in places protected from wind and waves, floating vegetation settles on the surface of the water - whitefly, cinquefoil with long rhizomes creeping along the surface, inside which mosses and some other plants settle. In this way, a “carpet” of vegetation floating on the water, called rafting, is formed. As the power of the “carpet” increases, the rafting sinks. Dead, half-decomposed parts of plants come off from below and fall to the bottom, where they accumulate. This process can gradually lead to the fact that the raft and the plant debris accumulating at the bottom close together and turn from a “shaky” swamp (when the raft covers the water surface of the lake) into a continuous dense swamp.

Raised bogs

Raised bogs are usually located on watersheds and have a convex surface. The groundwater lies deep in them, and the main nutrition is carried out mainly by surface (atmospheric) waters, poor in mineral salts. As a result, oligotrophic vegetation develops here, which is not very demanding in terms of nutrient content, and among it the most important peat-forming plant is sphagnum moss. The remains of such vegetation form peat accumulations, which are characterized by high calorie content and low ash content.

Transitional swamps

Transitional swamps with mesotrophic vegetation, which differs in its characteristics by its intermediate character, since its growth requires a relatively small amount of minerals. However, in a number of cases, all of these types of swamps are connected by mutual transitions and represent only different stages of a single complex development process. One of the first to draw attention to this was V.N. Sukachev, then this was reflected in the works of other researchers who used a huge amount of aerial photography material. In this case, the following development scheme is outlined. In a lowland swamp, during the initial stages of its formation, the vegetation receives the greatest amount of nutritious mineral salts from silts. As the peat builds up, conditions change. The vegetation no longer reaches the silts, but feeds only on the mineral substances found in the peat. Each new generation of plants will extract nutrients from the semi-decomposed remains of the previous generation, and gradually more and more depletion of mineral salts will occur. Finally, a moment may come when there are not enough nutrients for autotrophic vegetation. It is then replaced by a less demanding, mesotrophic one. The process developing further in the same direction leads to the replacement of mesotrophic vegetation by oligotrophic vegetation and, consequently, to the transition of one type of swamp to another. Due to the fact that the depletion of nutrients occurs unevenly over the area of the swamp, unequal conditions are created in its central and marginal parts. The outskirts of the swamp receive a greater amount of nutrients due to the supply of water from the surrounding dry lands, while at the same time in the center there may be a significant lack of them. Therefore, undemanding oligotrophic plants, in particular sphagnum moss, appear primarily in the center. The growth of sphagnum peat in the center affects the shape of the surface of the bogs. Instead of being flat or concave, it gradually becomes convex. Shrubs and woody vegetation (pine) can settle on the surface of the central part of the swamp. In swamps located in river floodplains and deltas, such depletion of nutrients is usually not observed due to river floods, the waters of which contain dissolved salts and fine silt suspensions.

Swamps of the coastal lowlands

Swamps of coastal lowlands are characteristic of tropical and subtropical zones. They are developed on the low-lying Atlantic coast of North America, on the islands of Indonesia and in other areas. A feature of the coastal lowlands is significant water content. They are periodically filled with water during high tides or constantly filled with water. In such conditions, forest swamps predominate. At the same time, woody vegetation adapts to long-term existence under water by developing a unique root system. It diverges in different directions along radii or in knee-shaped bends from the tree trunk and is equipped with breathing devices located above the water level. These aerial “breathing roots” supply air to the underwater parts of the root system. Radiating from the trunk in all directions, they serve as supports and ensure the stability of the tree. An example is the mangrove forests of the tropics.

Swamp sediments

Typical swamp sediments are some chemogenic and especially organogenic sediments. The first of these include bog lime or bog marl, as well as bog or sod iron ores. Their formation is associated with the introduction of corresponding compounds into swamps by groundwater. Swamp lime is formed when swamps are fed by hard groundwater, with a high content of dissolved calcium carbonates. Ferrous compounds brought by groundwater form swamp iron ores. In restorative swamp conditions, ferrous compounds are deposited in the form of a creamy mass, corresponding in composition, formed from various remains of swamp vegetation - mosses, grasses, shrubs and trees. These deposited organic remains undergo further complex processes of decomposition and transformation.
Plant fiber, consisting of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, is of greatest importance in the formation of peat. In this case, a necessary condition is the transformation of the original organic matter without access to air, since otherwise it will be oxidized and converted into simple inorganic compounds, CO 2, etc. In swamps, where large thicknesses of plant residues saturated with water accumulate, there is no or almost no there are no conditions for the penetration of air oxygen, especially in that part that is located deeper than the surface of the swamp and buried by accumulating sediments. In this case, there is a very slow decomposition and transformation of organic matter with the help of numerous microorganisms (bacteria and lower fungi), and part of it remains almost unchanged in the peat. During this decomposition process, the carbon content increases to 57-59%. At the same time, humus substances are formed during the decomposition of plant residues. This slow process of cellulose decay, occurring without access to air and leading to the formation of peat, is called humification, or the initial stages of carbonification. Thus, peat is semi-decomposed dead plant remains of brown, brown or almost black color.

Sources

Gorshkov G.P., Yakushova A.F. General geology. - Ed. Moscow University, third edition, 1973

Fauna and a peat layer of at least 0.3 m. With the exception of the extremities, swamps are common in the subarctic and northern hemisphere no further south than 45° north latitude. In Russia, swamps occupy about 80% of the area.

Most often, swamps arise where they come to the surface, as well as in clearings and burnt areas: due to the lack of plants that “suction”, the groundwater level rises. There are a lot of swamps in... This is explained by the fact that the layer prevents surface water from penetrating into the ground. Swamps are often found at the mouths and floodplains of rivers, which are flooded during floods (see). Based on their food sources, swamps are divided into lowland, transitional and upland.

Raised bogs are located mainly in the tundra zone and, that is, in areas with excess moisture. These swamps, unlike lowland ones, are not fed by groundwater, but therefore there are fewer of them.

Lowland marshes can be located on large river watersheds, on river terraces. They are overgrown with a thick cover of sedges, horsetails and reeds, and moss. There is a rich bird population here, which also contributes nitrogenous fertilizers.

Raised bogs, as a rule, are located in the interfluves. They are overgrown with tough plant species: cotton grass, wild rosemary, dwarf birch species, rare trees, and most importantly, sphagnum moss.

However, there are increasing calls to protect the wetlands. It turns out that they play an important role in the life of birds, animals, and plants. Here you can get good harvests of herbs, berries, and medicinal plants. Reed and reed are used in paper production, sphagnum mosses are good antiseptics. They are also used as bedding for livestock. The swamps are home to many animals and birds of economic importance: muskrats, otters, wild boars, wood grouse, black grouse, and waders. It turned out that the air above the swamp is rich in oxygen. But the main importance of swamps is that they serve as a natural regulator of surface and groundwater. In some cases, swamps have caused a decrease in groundwater levels, which leads to a decrease in fertility in elevated areas. Peat is extracted from swamps. If previously it was used only for heating, today resin, purifying substances, water, and medicines are obtained from it. Feed mixtures, organic fertilizers and building materials are prepared from peat.

But swamps are different from swamps. Vast swampy expanses or the Arctic must be largely drained, and peat bogs must be developed. But with the swamps of the European part of Russia, the situation is not so simple. Intensive management, the growth of cities and industrial enterprises, the reduction of forest area - all this makes it necessary to conserve and rationally use groundwater. There are even nature reserves that preserve swamps (for example, in Polesie). In the Ivanovo region, 20 forest swamps have been taken under protection. In the coming years, it is planned to increase the number of protected wetlands in our country. Raised bogs are the most in need of protection. They perform a very important function - they retain and regulate moisture, feed rivers, lakes, etc. But it's not only that. As practice has shown, on the site of drained swamps, a good harvest is harvested only in the first few years, and then the land is subject to (destruction). Therefore, the problem of draining swamps requires preliminary research and economic calculations.

), characterized by excessive moisture, high acidity and low soil fertility, the emergence of standing or flowing groundwater to the surface, but without a permanent layer of water on the surface. A swamp is characterized by the deposition on the soil surface of incompletely decomposed organic matter, which later turns into peat. The peat layer in swamps is at least 30 cm; if less, then these are wetlands. Swamps are an integral part of the hydrosphere. The first swamps on Earth formed at the junction of the Silurian and Devonian 350-400 million years ago.

They are more common in the Northern Hemisphere, in forests. In Russia, they are distributed in the north of the European part, in Western Siberia, and Kamchatka. In Belarus and Ukraine, swamps are concentrated in Polesie (the so-called Pinsk swamps). Research into the nature of swamps was started by M.V. Lomonosov, and a great contribution was made by the Soviet botanist V.S. Dokturovsky, the creator of a manual on swamp science.

Origin of the term

According to Vasmer's dictionary, the word is of Slavic origin and is related to the Lithuanian word báltas (white). At the same time, the relatedness of the English word pool (puddle, pond) is questioned.

Swamp formation

Swamps arise in two main ways: due to waterlogging of the soil or due to overgrowing of water bodies. Waterlogging can occur due to human fault, for example, during the construction of dams and dams for ponds and reservoirs. Waterlogging is sometimes caused by the activity of beavers.

The role of swamps

Wetlands play an important role in the formation of rivers.

Swamps prevent the development of the greenhouse effect. They, no less than forests, can be called “the lungs of the planet.” The fact is that the reaction of the formation of organic substances from carbon dioxide and water during photosynthesis, in its overall equation, is opposite to the reaction of oxidation of organic substances during respiration, and therefore, during the decomposition of organic matter, carbon dioxide, previously bound by plants, is released back into the atmosphere (mainly due to respiration of bacteria). One of the main processes that can reduce the carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere is the burial of undecomposed organic matter, which occurs in swamps that form peat deposits, which are then transformed into coal. (Other similar processes are the deposition of carbonates (CaCO3) at the bottom of reservoirs and chemical reactions occurring in the earth's crust and mantle). Therefore, the practice of draining swamps, carried out in the 19th-20th centuries, is destructive from an environmental point of view.

Swamps are natural water filters and orderlies for agroecosystems.

Valuable plants (blueberries, cranberries, cloudberries) grow in the swamps.

Peat is used in medicine (mud therapy), as fuel, fertilizer in agriculture, feed for farm animals, and raw material for the chemical industry.

Peat bogs serve as a source of finds for paleobiology and archeology - well-preserved plant remains, pollen, seeds, and bodies of ancient people are found in them.

For the latter, swamp ore was a source for the manufacture of iron products.

People sought to drain the “dead places” and use the land for fields and pastures.

Classification of swamps

Depending on the conditions of water and mineral nutrition, swamps are divided into:

Lowland (eutrophic)- a type of swamp with rich water and mineral nutrition, mainly due to groundwater. They are located in floodplains of rivers, along the banks of lakes, in places where springs emerge, in low places. Typical vegetation is alder, birch, sedge, reed, cattail, green mosses. In areas with a temperate climate, these are often forest (with birch and alder) or grass (with sedge, reed, cattail) swamps. Grassy swamps in the deltas of the Volga, Kuban, Don, Danube, and Dnieper are called floodplains, combined with channels, lakes, estuaries, eriks and other microreservoirs of the primary and secondary delta. In the lower reaches of rivers in desert and semi-desert regions (Ili, Syrdarya, Amudarya, Tarim, etc.), wetlands and their vegetation are called tugai.

Transitional (mesotrophic)- in terms of the nature of vegetation and moderate mineral nutrition, they are located between lowland and raised bogs. The most common trees are birch, pine, and larch. The grasses are the same as in the lowland swamps, but not as abundant; characterized by shrubs; Mosses are found both sphagnum and green.

Horse (oligotrophic)- usually located on flat watersheds, fed only by precipitation, where there are very few minerals, the water in them is sharply acidic, the vegetation is dominated by sphagnum mosses, many shrubs: heather, wild rosemary, cassandra, blueberry, cranberry; cotton grass and Scheuchzeria grow; There are swamp forms of larch and pine, and dwarf birch trees. Due to the accumulation of peat, the surface of the bog may become convex over time. In turn, they are divided into two types:

Forest - covered with low pine, heather bushes, sphagnum.
Ridge-hollows are similar to forest ones, but are covered with peat hummocks, and there are practically no trees on them.

In general, according to the type of predominant vegetation, they are distinguished: forest, shrub, grass and moss swamps.

By type of microrelief: lumpy, flat, convex, etc.

By type of macrorelief: valley, floodplain, slope, watershed, etc.

By climate type: subarctic (in permafrost areas), temperate (most swamps in the Russian Federation, the Baltic states, the CIS and the EU); tropical and subtropical. Tropical wetlands include, for example, the Okavango wetlands in South Africa and the Paraná wetlands in South America. The climate determines the flora and fauna of the swamps.

Vegetation

Nikolai Yakovlevich Kats divides the raised bogs of Central Russia by type of vegetation:

type with complexes of shrub associations;
type with complexes of cotton grass and dwarf shrub associations;
type with urinary complexes.

Related terms

Mar' is a swampy sparse larch forest, interrupted by areas of treeless hummocky swamps and dwarf birch forests.
Mochazhina is a wet, swampy, swampy place between hummocks in a swamp, low-lying meadow.
Swamp ore is bottom deposits of brown iron ore in a swamp as a result of the activity of iron bacteria.
A swamp is a waterlogged area of a swamp with a liquefied peat deposit, a high water level and loose, fragile turf.
A quagmire is an unsteady, swampy place.
Nyasha is a (northern) unsteady swampy silty or clayey place.

Animals of temperate swamps

European marsh turtle (Emys orbicularis).
Various types of toads, frogs.
Mosquitoes, ticks and other insects.
Moose, raccoons, otters, minks, muskrats.
Birds (cranes, partridges, herons, waders, lapwings, ducks, moorhens, etc.)

Swamp plants

Lingonberry grows in peat bogs.
Blueberry.
Cranberry grows in raised and transitional bogs.
Cloudberry grows in peat bogs.
The sundew, due to a lack of minerals in the soil, passively catches insects.
Swamp cypress, common in North America and acclimatized in the Danube Delta.
Sphagnum moss.
Ledum.
Sedge.
Cotton grass.
Pemphigus.

Protection of swamps, specially protected natural areas (SPNA)

The following organizations are involved in the problem of wetland conservation:

Wetlands International;
International Mire Conservation Group - IMCG.

Botanical natural monuments

The Big Tavatui swamp, Malinovskoe, Kukushkinskoe are located next to Lake Tavatui.
The Sestroretsk swamp is a specially protected natural area (SPNA).
Mshinskoe swamp is a state nature reserve of federal subordination.
Staroselsky moss is a state complex reserve of regional significance.
The Vasyugan swamps are one of the largest swamps in the world. The area of the swamps is 53 thousand km² (for comparison: the area of Switzerland is 41 thousand km²).

Properties of swamps

Glows in the swamps

There is also a belief that the glow in the swamps is caused by certain entities (dead people, swamp spirits).

Mummifying effect of swamps

One of the most famous mummies is the "Man of Tollund".

The largest swamp in the world is the Russian Great Vasyugan Swamp. Its area is 53-55 thousand square meters. km.
According to legend, Ivan Osipovich Susanin, one of the Russian national heroes, was hired by a detachment of Polish interventionists in the winter of 1612-1613. as a conductor. Saving Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, Susanin led the Poles into a swampy forest, where he was brutally tortured by them for refusing to show the right path.
Russian proverb: Every sandpiper praises its swamp.
The Bottom of the Swamp is a train station from the anime Spirited Away.
Saransk translated from Erzya-Moksha “sara”, “sarana” means swamp, swamp, quagmire - and in fact, on the site of Saransk, vast areas were occupied by low-lying swamps and impassable bogs

Swamp in cultural images (in cinema, literature, mythology, folklore)

Mythology

In the mythology of many cultures, a swamp is associated with a bad, disastrous, unclean place.

According to East Slavic mythology, a swamp man lives in the swamps, who can lead a traveler astray.

In Slavic mythology, swamp kikimoras live in swamps. They lure travelers into the quagmire by loudly calling for help. Sometimes people are led into the swamp by lesavki - the children of kikimora and goblin. In Slavic mythology, a swamp has its own guardian spirit, the owner is the bog dweller. He looks like a gray-haired old man with a wide, yellowish face. It is he who scares those walking through the swamp with sharp sounds, sighs, and loud smacking. It is he who lures the self-confident and careless into the quagmire and, on the contrary, shows a safe path to those who respect nature.

In Finno-Ugric mythology, the swamp gives unprecedented strength to its inhabitant, the giant Yar Mort.

In Celtic mythology, swamps were the “gates of spirits” - in the place where the seemingly solid soil instantly disappears from under your feet, the gates open to the world of mysterious nature spirits and deities. The Celts brought sacrificial gifts in the swamps.

The Khanty and Mansi believed that the whole world was born from “liquid earth,” that is, from a swamp.

The Egyptian goddess Isis hid her son there, the god Horus.

In one of the myths about the creation of the world, swamps arose from a devil spit out of the mouth, hidden from the God of the earth.

Poetry

The mysterious beauty of swamps is sung by Alexander Blok in the poems “Love this eternity of swamps...”, “A swamp is a deep depression of the huge eye of the earth...”, “Swamp priest”, “The white horse barely steps with a tired foot...”, etc. (cycle “Bubbles of the Earth” , 1904-1905).

(Visited 1,513 times, 1 visits today)

What are swamps? Report of a swamp at three

Swamp formation

The role of swamps

Classification of swamps

Vegetation

Related terms

Illustrations

Animals of temperate swamps

Swamp plants

Protection of swamps, specially protected natural areas (SPNA)

Properties of swamps

Glows in the swamps

Mummifying effect of swamps

Swamp in cultural images (in cinema, literature, mythology, folklore)

Mythology

Poetry

see also

Notes

Literature

Swamp sediments

Origin of the term

Swamp formation

The role of swamps

Classification of swamps

Vegetation

Related terms

Animals of temperate swamps

Swamp plants

Protection of swamps, specially protected natural areas (SPNA)

Properties of swamps

Glows in the swamps

Mummifying effect of swamps

Swamp in cultural images (in cinema, literature, mythology, folklore)

Mythology

Poetry