Peatlands of eastern Newfoundland: distribution, morphology, vegetation, and nutrient status

Abstract

The peatlands of eastern Newfoundland are classified into six morphological types: domed bog, blanket bog, slope bog, basins bog, ribbed fen, and slope fen. The separation of types is based on peat depth, surface physiognomy and slope, underlying basin or slope morphology, botanical constituents, and degree of humification of the peat strata. Low elevation aerial oblique photographs and stratigraphical profiles of the six representative morphological peatland types are presented.The peatland vegetation is classified into eight associations and four pool communities; three alliances are also proposed and comparisons with syntaxonomical classifications of European peatlands are discussed. Phytosociological tables are presented for the dry bog vegetation, wet bog vegetation, and fen vegetation; a summary table showing differential species groups of each syntaxon is also presented. pH and total contents of nitrogen, calcium, and iron are determined for the major vegetation types.