Hummock and Hollows

Source:

adapted from transect worksheet in part 2 of the Peatlands Pack http://www.snh.org.uk/publications/on-line/Education/schoolsOutPeatlands.asp

Did you know?

‘Raised bogs’ are so called because they grow above the surrounding landscape, and are rare habitats. Most were wiped from the map by drainage, cutting and the expansion of farming.

They form immense domes of peat, with a living skin of plants. Amazingly, water can form up to 98% of the bog! These domes began to form thousands of years ago, after the last Ice Age, in lowland hollows that once held lake plantlife.

‘Sphagnum’ mosses power the upward growth of a raised bog, slowly adding layer upon layer and forming the bulk of the plant material in the peat. Raised bogs may have several sphagnum species, creating a colourful patchwork of emerald, amber, tawny and claret.

These mosses soak up water like a sponge and grow upwards from their tips, leaving the lower, shaded parts to die. Gradually, this material forms peat, adding less than a needle-width 1mm a year to the bog height.

For flowering plants, the all-swamping moss and high water levels can make life tricky here at any season. Cranberries and bog rosemary are among a fairly small bunch of plants found on raised bogs. Tough, fast-growing shoots help them to avoid being totally swamped by the growth of saturated moss around them. In drier areas you may find shrubby bog myrtle with its aromatic leaves. Other plant gems are flesh-eating sundews that use sticky hairs to trap small insects on their leaves, while fluffy, white flowered cotton grasses wave above the mossy layers.

(Adapted extract from Flanders Moss NNR leaflet

Before the activity

Children can work in groups of 2’s or 3’s. For each group you will need 2 bamboo rods tied together with a piece of string about a meter long. It would help to show the children a diagram of a transect (see relevant worksheet in Peatlands Pack 2). Hand lenses can help the children to appreciate the miniature beauty of many peatland plants.

The activity

Each group must first select a bumpy bit of bog! One end of the bamboo cane should be placed in the top of a hummock and the other pole placed in the bog as far away possible. Try to make the string touch the top of the highest plant as it stretches between the bamboo canes. On a sheet each pupil or group can make a drawing of their transect landscape.

Make notes and pictures on this transect with short descriptions and arrows pointing to each feature found e.g. tall leafy plant, small yellow flower, tiny frog etc.

What plant is the tallest?

Mark on all the different plants along your transect. Special colours can be noted.

Each group could repeat this activity for another piece of bog. Is it different?

The end result is a picture of a section of peatland hummocks and hollows with the variety of plants found. (NB named drawings of typical peatland plants are shown in Peatlands pack 1 ‘Peatland Plants’ worksheet.)

This activity could be followed by ‘Plants of the Peatlands Hummocks and Hollows’ worksheet  activity in Peatlands Pack 1. This reinforces the discovery that some peatland plant species are adapted to live on the drier hummocks while others thrive in the wetter hollows.

Suggested follow-up

Back in the classroom, each group could transcribe their mini – landscape of hummocks and hollows (minus the notes on plants) on to a transparent sheet or acetate. Each outline could be overlaid or joined to another groups to create a ‘big bog’ landscape, with special plants found added, and thus create one collective peatland landscape picture.

From the point of view of a dragonfly or beetle, this bog terrain does have its own mountains and valleys. How can the class show that their landscape picture is tiny from a human point of view?  Plants, insects and other peatland wildlife can be added to create a sense of scale.

Downloads

Information on Flanders Moss NNR - “This ancient gem now forms the largest intact raised bog left in Britain, home to many scarce plants, birds and insects. And within its treasure chest of peat lies evidence for thousands of years of change in landscape, wildlife and human culture”

Information on sphagnum moss including its place in human history and culture.