The decline of pitcher plant bogs in alabama

摘要

Occurring in Alabama across the lower coastal plains ate special Eabitats known as bogs. The term "bog" has been variously used and is known by other names such as moist pine barrens, savannahs, pitcher plant bogs, and herb-bogs. In practice, the onlycharacteristic that bogs have in common is a foundation that causes the person walking across them to "bog down," at least during some seasons of the year. A bog usually occurs where underground water seeps to the surface, creating wet, spongy ground. Other bogs are created by springs occurring on slopes or hillsides, referred to as "hang bogs." The soil and water of a bog is extremely acid. This results from the constant leaching of nutrients from the soil, their association with pine trees, and because the plant remains cannot easily decompose in the oxygen-poor, water-saturated soils. It is this acidity that distinguishes a bog from a swamp or slough. It is also this acidity that causes them to support a different plant life.