The Doerun Pitcher Plant Bog is one of Georgia’s largest remaining pitcher plant bogs, supporting several species of the trumpet-shaped, carnivorous pitcher plants, including the federally endangered American Chaffseed which was discovered there in summer 2008.
About wetland bogs:
A bog is a type of wetland ecosystem characterized by wet, spongy peat deposits composed of a thick carpet of Sphagnum moss. The underlying rock is limestone, overlain with sandy soils. Drainage is typically poor. Bogs occur where the water at the ground surface is acidic, either from acidic ground water, or where water is derived entirely from precipitation. Because of their waterlogged conditions, the amount of dissolved oxygen, which is essential for plant growth, is severely limited. Because they are highly acidic, they are also low in nutrients. Water flowing out of bogs has a characteristic brown color, from dissolved peat tannins. Bogs are very sensitive habitats, of high importance for biodiversity.
Types of bogs:
Bog habitats may develop in various situations, depending on the climate and topography. The main types are:
1. Valley bog
Valley bogs develop in gently sloping valleys or hollows. A layer of peat fills the deepest part of the valley, and a stream may run through the surface of the bog. Valley bogs may develop in relatively dry and warm climates, but because they rely on ground or surface water, they only occur on acidic substrates.
2. Raised bog
Raised bogs develop from a lake or flat marshy area, over either non-acidic or acidic substrates. Over centuries there is a progression from open lake, to marsh and then fen, as silt or peat fill the lake. Eventually peat builds up to a level where the land surface is too flat for ground or surface water to reach the center of the wetland. This part therefore becomes wholly rain-fed, and the resulting acidic conditions allow the development of bog. The bog continues to form peat, and over time a shallow dome of bog peat develops: a raised bog.
3. Blanket bog
In cool climates with consistently high rainfall, the ground surface may remain waterlogged for much of the time, providing conditions for the development of bog vegetation. In these circumstances bog develops as a layer "blanketing" much of the land, including hilltops and slopes. Blanket bogs cannot occur in drier or warmer climates, because under those conditions hilltops and sloping ground dry out too often for peat to form – in intermediate climates blanket bog may be limited to areas which are shaded from direct sunshine. In periglacial climates a patterned form of blanket bog may occur, called a string bog.
4. Quaking bog
A quaking bog is a form of bog occurring in wetter parts of valley bogs and raised bogs, and sometimes around the edges of acidic lakes where bog is beginning to form. The bog vegetation forms a mat half a meter or so thick, floating over water or very wet peat. Walking on this surface causes it to move – larger movements may cause visible ripples of the surface, or they may even make trees sway.
About bog habitats:
Bogs, often containing pitcher plants and other wildflowers, develop where soils become waterlogged and poorly aerated during the rainy season. There is greater plant diversity in a square meter of coastal plain bog habitat than any other plant community in the southeast. In addition to special plants, bogs are home to many animals, including deer, raccoons, opossums, butterflies, dragonflies, turtles, and several other rare invertebrates. These wetland plant communities are threatened throughout the south due to loss of habitat resulting from construction, erosion, changes in hydrology, suppression of fire, and pollution. Collection of certain plant species for commercial purposes is also a factor.
About pitcher plants:
Sarracenia is a genus comprising 8 species of carnivorous North American pitcher plants. Seven of the eight species are confined to the south-eastern coastal plain of the United States. The plant's leaves have evolved into a funnel in order to trap insects, digesting their prey with proteases and other enzymes. The insects are attracted by a nectar-like secretion on the lip of pitchers, as well as a combination of color and scent. Slippery footing at the pitchers' rim, aided in at least one species by a narcotic drug lacing the nectar, causes insects to fall inside, where they die and are digested by the plant as a nutrient source. It is a myth that all species of pitcher plants contain water. In fact, the hoods help to keep out rain water in addition to keeping flying prey from escaping.
Pitcher plants inhabit acidic soils of open bogs, wet savannas, pond margins, low areas in pine flatwoods, sloughs, and ditches. The hooded pitcher plant is found in the Coastal Plain from southeastern North Carolina to the central Panhandle of Florida, across southern Georgia and to just west of the Apalachicola River in the Florida Panhandle. In former years, colonies of yellow pitcher plants were conspicuous in wet areas throughout the coastal plains but habitat loss has significantly reduced their numbers. Pitcher plants are threatened in the wild by development and the drainage of their habitat. Estimates indicated that 97.5% of pitcher plant habitat has already been destroyed in the southeastern U.S. Currently the biggest threats to surviving populations are urban development, drainage of habitat for forestry, runoff of herbicides from agriculture, fire suppression, cut pitcher trade for floristry, and plant trade.
When visiting the Doerun pitcher plant bog, park in the gravel parking area and take a moment to read the signs at the information kiosk about the bog and the plants and animals that are found here. Then proceed northwest down the trail to the wooden deck overlooking the pitcher plant bog area.
To get credit for visiting this Earthcache, please post a photo of yourself with your GPS at or close to the posted coordinates with the pitcher plant bog in the background. You must also email me with the answers to the following questions (required!):
1. At the trailhead, there is a brass plaque dedicating the wildflower trail to whom?
2. From the signs at the information kiosk, name two other wildflowers that grow in this area, in addition to pitcher plants.
3. From reading the information above about the different types of bogs, what type of bog do you think this is?
4. Use your GPS to mark a waypoint at one end of the bog, near the boardwalk. Walk to the opposite end and take another reading. What is the distance across the bog?
Do not post answers in your log. Logs without answers emailed will be deleted unless prior approval is given.