Freshwater Marsh - Bog
Habitat code: 523
This is Ronald Bog: a wetland (5) that is a freshwater (2) surrounded by deciduous trees (3). Freshwater marshes may receive water from streams, rivers, groundwater seeps or precipitation, whereas bogs' only source of fresh water is from precipitation. Bog soil is usually permanently saturated with water. There are very few bacteria and soil microbes that can live in a bog, so the dead plants accumulate on the bottom and decay very slowly. Bogs are acidic peatlands, while fens are non-acidic peatlands. The thick mat of dead plants forms sphagnum moss and peat, which is where we get our peat moss. Over a long period of time, the bog may fill up and a forest will grow in its place.

Amy Zeifman, Kate Jablonski, Christabella Wong, and Liz Edwards; 5th and 6th graders at Meridian Park Elementary took the photo and recorded the following information:

Ronald Bog is located on the intersection of Meridian Ave. N. and 175th. It is a local park where you can see many examples of Washington wildlife.

One way that bogs are different from other types of wetlands is that the water table is usually above the soil surface and the level of water changes often. Bogs do not have much inflow and outflow of water. With these features, bogs provide an ideal environment for many plants and animals.

Some of the resident animals at Ronald Bog are: Canada geese, American coots, ducks, turtles, frogs, and fish. There are also birds of prey that can be seen in the Ronald Bog treetops.

There are many different plants at Ronald Bog, such as: willows, oak, stranseavia, scoth broom, blackberries, blueberries, salmonberries, wild grass and algae. Ronald Bog is a very exciting place to see wildlife and plants. If you are interested in wetlands, we suggeest you visit Ronald Bog.

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