Fens

©Ducks Unlimited Canada/ Kevin Smith

Fens are wetlands with layers of accumulated dead plant material known as peat. Water in fens comes from the ground or from surface runoff. This makes the water more mineral-rich and enables more plant growth overall, and especially, quicker plant decay, than in their closet wetland cousin, bogs.

Habitat

Fens are found mainly across the northern parts of the world in boreal ecosystems, such as northern forests, in North America, Europe, and Asia. They do exist in the south as well but are much less common. In northern areas fens are typically covered with sphagnum moss and sedges, which are grass-like plants with triangular stems. Trees and shrubs, if any, are few and spread out. A diverse array of birds, insects, amphibians, and mammals, all depend on fens.

Conservation

Like other wetlands, fens face the threat of drainage. Fen are drained for the planting of crops and other agricultural purposes, and for peat harvesting for home heating and as an additive for soil in gardening. Lowering water tables for quarrying, and fragmentation by roads and pipelines, are also damaging. Research to better understand their role in water and nutrient cycling, climate change mitigation, and as habitat, has helped to bring their importance to light.

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