biology 11 blog

Camosun Bog Restoration As early as 5000 years ago, the Camosun Bog started as a lake to a swamp and ending as a bog due to a depression in the land. The bog thrived, until 1929, when drains were installed, completely drying out the bog. The lack of water and nutrients caused the sphagnum moss to die, outcompeted by other invasive species. As a result, in order to restore the bog to its previous glory, volunteers had to remove many hemlock trees, lower the ground, and plant many sphagnum mosses.  The Camosun bog was important to Musqueam people. Urbanization was a means of calling the bog useless, unusable to Western people. However, to Musqueam people, it was an essential part of their history. To them, the bog told stories, memories, and was so full of life. Through the loss of the bog, it destroyed all traces of their previous history, as it was something that was always there before urbanization and everything else. It was a part of the land for so long, and to have the origin

1. How was the bog formed? A bog is an ecosystem where plants are adapted to an acid environment, low nutrients, high water table, and little oxygen in the water. The bog is formed when a lake slowly fills up with plant debris. Sphagnum moss and other plants grow out from the lake's edge.  As sphagnum dies, more sphagnum grows on top of it. 2.  What is the keystone species of a bog?  Read about sphagnum moss.   How does Sphagnum maintain the acidic conditions?  The keystone species of a bog is sphagnum moss. The sphagnum moss is a plant that is favored by low oxygen, low nutrients, and moist acidic conditions. Sphagnum moss is sometimes referred to as peat is essential to a bog. Without sphagnum a bog would not exist. Sphagnum maintains acidic conditions by absorbing water and pumping hydrogen ions into its surroundings which creates a very acidic environment. 3.  What is peat?  How is it different from soil? Peat is dead sphagnum.  As sphagnum

Its 3:15 pm, a bright sunny hot day. It’s been a while since we’ve experienced sunshine like this in Vancouver. I take a stroll to Norquay park, right outside my apartment. Before quarantine, this place was buzzing with activity. The waterparks would’ve been on by now and you would hear children yelling and the sound of bouncing basketballs. Many people come here for runs, biking, and even just a simple picnic out in the sun. But currently, the park stands in stillness without the liveliness it used to hold. There are only a few people walking and a small family in the playground. I see the colors green, the trees and grass surrounding the park. But there are dashes of yellow and red, the colors painted on the playground, and the faded brown colors of the woodchips lining the floor. I hear the few cars that pass by the playground and the chirping of a few crows. I can hear the gravel on the ground from the shuffling of my feet with every step. There’s a feeling of tranquility and