Camosun Bog
苔蘚溼地生態(Chinese)

Camosun Bog lies within Pacific Spirit Regional Park, on the west side of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

The bog is many things: a memento of the last ice age, a rare ecosystem, an open classroom , a scientific laboratory, and a fragile and beautiful urban wilderness. Human development in and around the area nearly destroyed the bog, until a concerned group of local nature lovers joined forces to save it.

A bog is an unusual place formed under very particular conditions. Camosun Bog's history can be traced back ten thousand years.

The existence of the bog depends on one plant, Sphagnum moss. This thrives in soil of low oxygen content and with poor nutrient availability. Its stems are hollow and it holds large amounts of water, helping to keep the water table close to the surface. It does not rot easily and the dead shoots remain attached to the living plant forming a giant "sponge". Thus the peat below the surface and the growing sphagnum may form continuous structures which can be hundreds of years old.

Sphagnum also acidifies water as it absorbs nutrients, and this makes decomposition still more difficult. Nutrients are locked up in the peat, which does not decompose, thus keeping the nutrient levels low. The only source of new nutrients is rainfall and this water is quite pure.

Camosun Bog Trail Loop
Meeting place: Park info kiosk at Camosun Street & 19 Ave., Vancouver
Trails (Clockwise): Camosun(34)-Queen Elizabeth School-Top(25)
Ecosystem: Camosun Bog
Special plants: Crabapple, Labrador Tea, Hemlock, Salmonberry, Mixed, Shore Pine-Birch, Sundew, Salal-Cascara
Special animals: Newt, Toad, Tree Frog
Season: June/Early Summer