Under Your Feet

(Nora) #1
24

Squelchy, muddy peat bogs are

found in wetland areas. They are home to

some unique and beautiful plants. The soil, called

peat, can preserve ancient objects and bodies.

Ancient things

Some things last for thousands of years

in bogs without breaking down. The

bodies of ancient people, called bog

bodies, have even been found!

How is peat made?

Boggy ground has little oxygen.

Most microbes need this to

decompose dead things. Most

bogland is also too acidic for

these microbes to live in. So

dead plants build up in layers

to form peat.

Barrels of

butter up to

2,000 years

old are some of

the strangest

bog finds.

P

e

a

t

c

o

n

t
a

i
n

s

a

s

m

u
ch

c

a

r

b

o

n

a

s

i

s

fo

un

d

i
n

t

h

e

a

i

r

.

D

eer gr
a
s

s

Pea

t

i

s

f

o

r

m

e

d

o

v

e

r

m

a

n

y

t

h

o

u

s

a

n

d

s

o

f

y

ea
r
s

.

C

r

o

s

s





l

e

a

v

e

d

h

e

a

t

h

A

z

u

re hawke
r
dr
a
g
o
n
fl
y

B


E


A


U


T


I


F


U


L


B


O


G


L


A


N


D


S


Common

frog

024-025_Beautiful_Boglands.indd 24 08/11/2019 09:39

Free download pdf