Dead Man's Lake Is A Bog

The classification of an ecosystem is vital to shaping how scientists and laypeople understand the functions and properties of a particular landscape. A controversy has been noted about whether or not the Western portion of Dead Man’s Lake at Pilot Knob State Park is a bog. Although some have argued that the lake is actually a fen, I believe that the “bog” is indeed a bog. Based off of United States Fish and Wildlife standardized wetland characteristics and the Aquatic Ecology class’s observations and data collections there is enough evidence to suggest that the Western portion of Dead Man’s Lake is a bog.

In class we learned that bogs are ombrotrophic systems that are composed of plants that are able to grow with little nutrients such as
Interestingly, Dead Man’s Lake is a two-part system, wherein the Eastern portion of the Lake is categorized as a PUBF fresh water pond according to the USFWS National Wetland Inventory. There are many hypothesizes for how this stark divide in ecosystems occurred but I believe the best answer is the lake is undergoing a transition- wherein, the Western part has developed to become a raised bog. According to the Irish Peatland Conservation Council, a raised bog develops from a lake or flat marshy area and over centuries there is a progression from open lake, to marsh, then fen and carr, as peat fills the lake. Eventually, the peat begins tor build up to a level where the land surface is too flat for surface water to reach the center of the wetland, in turn becoming a fully ombrotrophic system. Over time the bog continues to develop peat mat and a shallow peat dome forms. These systems are surrounded by strips of fens or other wetland vegetation at the edges or along streamsides where ground water can percolate into the system. The characteristics of a raised bog is supported in the Dead Man’s Lake system due to the fact that the bog portion is occasionally fed by the freshwater isthmus of the Eastern