Wildlife Journal Junior New Hampshire Public Television Knowledge Network

  Main      Wild Files      N.H. Animals      Animals A-Z      Episodes     KN Home      NHPTV Home

Fens

    Created by Glaciers

FenA fen is a bog-like wetland. Like bogs, fens formed when glaciers retreated. Grasses and sedges are common plants in fens and fens often look like meadows. They are like bogs because they have peat deposits in them, but unlike bogs some of their water comes from small streams and groundwater. The main difference between a fen and a bog is that fens have greater water exchange and are less acidic, so their soil and water are richer in nutrients.

    Fen to Bog
FenFens are often found near bogs and over time most fens become bogs. Insects like mosquitoes and horseflies are common in fens as are amphibians, insect-eating birds and mammals like shrews, voles and muskrats.

MESY = Math + ENGINEERING + SCIENCE + YOU!
Privacy | Pressroom

New Hampshire Public Television
268 Mast Road, Durham, NH 03824. 603-868-1100 Fax 603-868-7552
Contact NHPTV
©2010 All rights reserved