Fens are highly biodiverse ecosystems and often serve as habitats for endangered or rare species, with species composition changing with water chemistry. [2] . They also play important roles in the cycling of nutrients such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus due to the lack of oxygen (anaerobic conditions) in waterlogged organic fen soils. [1]

Fens are peat-forming wetlands that rely on groundwater input and require thousands of years to develop and cannot easily be restored once destroyed. Fens are also hotspots of biodiversity. They often are home to rare plants, insects, and small mammals. Larger animals like deer and livestock graze in this type of wetland.

Fens may harbor many of the typical bog plants, but because fens are richer in minerals they provide habitat for other less-restricted wetland plants as well. It is the presence of these mineral-loving plants that distinguishes a fen from a true bog.

Lowland fen is often found in small fragments, isolated by intensively managed farmland, but there are also more extensive areas in wetlands that have escaped drainage.

fen, type of wetland ecosystem, especially a low-lying area, wholly or partly covered with water and dominated by grasses and grasslike plants such as sedges and reeds. Fens develop on slopes, in depressions, or on flats as a result of sustained flows of …

May 22, 2017 · Essentially wet prairies, fens are unique wetlands on a slope, characterized by plant communities found in sun-drenched landscapes: A continuous flow of cool groundwater in and through fens makes them unique.

Because fens are predominately groundwater fed, the water chemistry of a fen habitat is largely determined by the bedrock of the entire watershed. Granitic rocks produce low pH waters, while limestone and volcanic rocks produce water with a higher pH.

Fens are wetland ecosystems that develop in areas with low nutrient availability, resulting in a unique set of conditions that support the growth of specific plant species. The formation processes of fens are closely linked to the hydrological dynamics of the surrounding landscape.

Fens are a type of freshwater peat-forming wetland fed by surface water run-off, ground water and rainfall. Fens are naturally thick with reeds and grasses, dark with peaty soil and are criss-crossed with scrapes, channels, dykes and ditches.

Ongoing monitoring of the fen is helping to assess its condition, detect future trends, determine sources of potential degradation, and inform preservation of this unique habitat. It may also provide recommendations for restoring disturbed fens elsewhere.