Watery Facts for World Wetlands Day

February 2, 2025


I collect information the way crows collect shiny things! Historically, this impulse to collect the weird and wonderful found expression in cabinets of curiosities: precursors of modern museums assembled by aristocrats, explorers, and early scientists. While I acknowledge the devastating context of colonialism* in which these cabinets were assembled, I share the deep sense of awe and wonder that motivated their creators. And so:

Welcome to my own cabinet of curiosities—facts, quotes, and oddments about pretty much everything!


Today’s Cabinet of Curiosities is in honour of World Wetlands Day. I did a lot of research on wetlands for The Boreal Forest, much of which simply would not fit in the book. Here are some favourite facts about these incredible habitats:

1. A LOT of different words are used to categorize wetlands, depending on which country you’re in. I’m partial to quagmire (which more or less means “quaking bog”) and strangmoor – a Scandinavian word that means “string bog.”

2. In Canada, there are two main types of boreal wetlands: fens and bogs.

3. Fens are connected to rivers, lakes, or groundwater.

4. Bogs are “cloud fed,” meaning all of the water in them comes directly from precipitation (mostly rain or snow). How much do I love the phrase “cloud fed?” So, so much.

5. Covering 372,000 square kilometers (almost 150,000 square miles), Canada’s Hudson Bay Lowlands are the second-largest boreal wetland in the world (the biggest one is in Russia).

6. Sphagnum moss loves to grow in boreal wetlands. This moss is a sponge, holding up to 4000 times its own weight in water!

7. In wetlands with deep moss layers, it can take decades for water to filter all the way through. 

8. Sphagnum isn’t just spongey — it’s sticky! The moss binds minerals, like phosphorus, and poisons, like mercury. In other words, water coming out of a fen is cleaner than the water going in. Washing water is a vital service that wetlands provide.

9. Sphagnum decomposes very, very slowly, forming peat. Scientists estimate that more than 400 billion tonnes of carbon is stored in boreal peatlands. Because they trap carbon, wetlands actually help slow down climate change, another incredibly important service they provide.

10. Wetlands are home to lots of life forms, but my favourites are the carnivorous plants!  In most habitats, decomposition of dead plants and animals releases nitrogen — an essential nutrient for plants. In wetlands, slow decomp means there’s not enough nitrogen to go around. Carnivorous plants get theirs from eating bugs!

Pitcher plants growing in a wetland in Newfoundland

 


* For more info on historical cabinets of curiosities, check out these articles:

Smithsonian Mag: How Cabinets of Curiosities Laid the Foundation for Modern Museums

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-cabinets-of-curiosities-laid-the-foundation-for-modern-museums-180983265/

Sotheby’s Institute of Art: Cabinets of Curiosities and the Origin of Collecting

https://www.sothebysinstitute.com/news-and-events/news/cabinets-of-curiosities-and-the-origin-of-collecting

Art & Object: The Cabinet of Curiosities & Colonialism

https://www.artandobject.com/news/cabinet-curiosities-colonialism



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