Blanket bog on the Yell, Shetland Islands, with some peat working
Blanket bog or blanket mire, also known as featherbed bog, is an area of peatland, forming where there is a climate of high rainfall and a low level of evapotranspiration, allowing peat to develop not only in wet hollows but over large expanses of undulating ground.[1][2] The blanketing of the ground with a variable depth of peat gives the habitat type its name. Blanket bogs are found extensively throughout the northern hemisphere - well-studied examples are found in Ireland and Scotland, but vast areas of North American tundra also qualify as blanket bogs. In Europe, the southernmost edge of range[3] of this habitat has been recently mapped in the Cantabrian Mountains, northern Spain, but the current distribution of blanket bogs globally remains unknown.
In the southern hemisphere they are less well-developed due to the relatively low latitudes of the main land areas, though similar environments are reported in Patagonia,[4] the Falkland Islands and New Zealand.[5] The blanket bogs known as 'featherbeds' on subantarctic Macquarie Island occur on raised marine terraces; they may be up to 5 m (16 ft) deep, tremble or quake when walked on and can be hazardous to cross.[6] It is doubtful whether the extremely impoverished flora of Antarctica is sufficiently well developed to be considered as blanket bogs.
In some areas of Europe, the spread of blanket bogs is traced to deforestation by prehistoric cultures.[7]
^Gorham, E. (1957). The development of peatlands. Quarterly Review of Biology, 32, 145–66.
^Keddy, P.A. (2010). Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
^Chico et al., (2019). "Identification and classification of unmapped blanket bogs in the Cordillera Cantábrica, northern Spain". Mires and Peat, 24(2), 1-12
^Arroyo, M.T.K., P. Mihoc, P. Pliscoff and M. Arroyo-Kalin. (2005). "The Magellanic moorland". P. 424-445 in L.H. Fraser and P.A. Keddy (eds.). The World's Largest Wetlands: Ecology and Conservation. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
^"For Peat's Sake" (PDF). Environment Waikato. June 2006.
^Hince, Bernadette (2000). The Antarctic Dictionary: A Complete Guide to Antarctic English. Melbourne: CSIRO Publishing. p. 126. ISBN 0643102329.
^Moore, P. D. (1973). "The influence of prehistoric cultures upon the initiation and spread of blanket bog in upland Wales". Nature, 241, 350–353.
Blanketbog or blanket mire, also known as featherbed bog, is an area of peatland, forming where there is a climate of high rainfall and a low level of...
bog vegetation. In these circumstances, bog develops as a layer "blanketing" much of the land, including hilltops and slopes. Although a blanketbog is...
also differ in character from blanketbogs which are much thinner and occur in wetter, cloudier climatic zones. Raised bogs are very threatened by peat...
the road achieve higher altitudes). Fleet Moss is noted for its peat blanketbog, which has been dated to the Neolithic period. The area is ombrotrophic;...
reserve and the largest lowland raised bog in Britain; west of Stirling, Scotland Fleet Moss - a large peat blanketbog in the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire...
consisting of over 230,452 acres (932.61 km2), much of which is mountainous blanketbog. It has extensive sea coasts along its west and north boundaries. The...
Northumberland, England, near Carter Bar. A large part of the moor is blanketbog. It is a national nature reserve, and is in a Special Area of Conservation...
and ash. Wales has over 70,000 hectares of peatlands. Most of it is blanket peat bog in the highlands, but there are a few hundred hectares of peatland...
and cool, wet winters. The dominant habitat of the uplands consists of blanketbog, heath and upland grassland. The uplands support a number of bird species...
counties of Tyrone and Londonderry. The landscape is mostly moorland and blanketbog. The region has a population of some 150,000 and is a designated Area...
the largest expanse of blanketbog in Europe, and covers about 4,000 km2 (1,500 sq mi). It is an area of deep peat, dotted with bog pools and a very important...
include blanketbogs. The bog at Ballycroy is especially important in this regard because it is one of the largest examples of a blanketbog habitat left...
has 12,000 km2 (about 4,600 sq miles) of bog land, consisting of two distinct types: blanketbogs and raised bogs. There is also a modest amount of surviving...
spread into drier conditions, forming larger mires, both raised bogs and blanketbogs. Thus, Sphagnum can influence the composition of such habitats,...
tombs. The land was once part of the Kylemore Abbey estate. Western blanketbog and heathland are the most common vegetation of Connemara National Park...
county contains extensive tracts of blanketbog which are concentrated in western and upland regions. Blanketbog covers an area of 148,656 ha (367,337...
the hollows in the granite. The vegetation of the bogs depends on the type and location. Blanketbog, which forms on the highest land where the rainfall...
gritstone fells covered with tracts of heather-covered peat moorland, blanketbog and steep-sided wooded valleys linking the upland and lowland landscapes...
away and blanketbog covered the land farmed by the Neolithic people. Extensive pre-bog field systems have been discovered under the blanketbog, particularly...
Easkey Bog is a blanketbog, national nature reserve, and Ramsar site of approximately 1,500 acres (6.1 km2) in County Sligo. Easkey or Easky Bog was legally...
East Ayrshire, the site is a protected area because of the extensive blanketbogs. In 1680 it was the location of a clash between troops loyal to King...
drainage and peat extraction, but can cover large areas. One example is blanketbog where precipitation is very high i.e., in maritime climates inland near...
Lough Barra Bog is a blanketbog, Ramsar site and national nature reserve of approximately 436 acres (1.76 km2) in County Donegal. Lough Barra Bog was legally...
nearly 200 square kilometres (77 sq mi). It is either the largest area of blanketbog in Wales, or the second largest, after the Berwyn range, further to the...
is dominated by open moorland and blanketbog known as the Flow Country which is the largest expanse of blanketbog in Europe, extending into Sutherland...
golden eagle dwells in mountains. These areas include upland grasslands, blanketbog, and sub-Arctic heaths but also fragmented woodland and woodland edge...
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