String Bogs and Other Patterned Organic Terrain Near Seney, Upper Michigan

Abstract

Treeless string bogs and topographically oriented strips of bog forest have been discovered near Seney, Michigan, lat 46 degrees 15' N, perhaps the southern limit of patterned bogs on the North American continent. Patterned ground has developed through paludification of a sandplain dotted with extinct dunes and sloping about 8 ft/mile. Many peatlands in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin have similar slopes and exhibit patterning in various degrees. Thus the principles that can explain the patterns and bog—forming processes at Seney may apply to large areas of forested and treeless peatland. Studies should be directed toward the interrelations between vegetation, water chemistry, local geology, peatland topography, peat hydrology, peat accumulation, and physical geomorphic processes.