View source for Muskeg

{{Short description|Bog-like ecosystem common in Arctic and boreal areas}}
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{{For|the Muskeg brand of tractor snowmobiles|Bombardier Recreational Products}}
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[[File:Muskeg-tongass-AVB-018.jpg|thumb|Muskeg in [[Tongass National Forest]]]]

'''Muskeg''' ({{Langx|oj|mashkiig}}; {{langx|cr-Latn|maskīk}}; {{langx|fr|fondrière de mousse}}, lit. ''moss bog'') is a [[peat]]-forming ecosystem found in several northern climates, most commonly in [[Arctic]] and [[boreal ecosystem|boreal]] areas. Muskeg is approximately synonymous with [[bogland|bog]] or [[peatland]], and is a standard term in [[Canada]] and [[Alaska]]. The term became common in these areas because it is of [[Cree language|Cree]] origin, {{lang|cr-Latn|maskek}} ({{lang|cr-Cans|ᒪᐢᑫᐠ}}) meaning "low-lying marsh".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.creedictionary.com/search/?q=muskeg&scope=3|title=Maskek|author=Cree Dictionary|access-date=15 April 2009|archive-date=5 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090605204207/http://www.creedictionary.com/search/?q=muskeg&scope=3|url-status=live}}</ref>

Muskeg consists of non-living organic material in various states of [[decomposition]] (as [[peat]]), ranging from fairly intact sphagnum [[moss]], to sedge peat, to highly decomposed [[humus]]. Pieces of [[wood]] can make up five to fifteen percent of the peat [[soil]]. The [[water table]] tends to be near the surface. The [[sphagnum]] moss forming it can hold fifteen to thirty times its own weight in water, which allows the spongy wet muskeg to also form on sloping ground.

Muskeg patches are ideal habitats for [[beaver]]s, [[pitcher plant]]s, [[agaricales|agaric mushrooms]] and a variety of other organisms.

==Composition==
Muskeg forms because [[permafrost]], [[clay]] or [[bedrock]] prevents water drainage. The water from rain and snow collects, forming permanently waterlogged vegetation and stagnant pools. Muskeg is wet, acidic, and relatively infertile, which prevents large trees from growing, although stunted [[Pinus contorta|shore pine]], [[Populus sect. Aigeiros|cottonwood]], some species of [[willow]], and [[Picea mariana|black spruce]] are typically found in these habitats.<ref>C. Michael Hogan. 2008</ref> It needs two conditions to develop: abundant rain and cool summers. A dead plant that falls on dry soil is normally attacked by [[bacteria]] and [[fungus|fungi]] and quickly rots. If the same plant lands in water or on saturated soil, it decomposes differently. Less oxygen is available under water, so aerobic bacteria and fungi fail to colonize the submerged debris effectively. In addition, cool temperatures retard bacterial and fungal growth. This causes slow decomposition, and thus the plant debris gradually accumulates to form [[peat]] and eventually muskeg. Depending on the underlying [[topography]] of the land, muskeg can reach depths greater than 30 metres (100&nbsp;ft).

==Description==
Although, at first glance, muskeg resembles a [[plain]] covered with short grasses, a closer look reveals a bizarre and almost unearthly landscape. Small stands of stunted (often-dead) trees, which vaguely resemble natural [[bonsai]], grow where land protrudes above the [[water table]], with small pools of water (stained dark red) scattered about. Its grassland appearance invites the unwary to tread on it; however, even the most solid muskeg is spongy and waterlogged. Traveling through muskeg is a strange and dangerous experience, for the unaccustomed. Muskeg can grow atop bodies of water, especially small ponds and streams. Because of the water beneath, the muskeg surface sometimes moves and ripples underfoot. Thinner patches can collapse under significant weight, and cause larger animals to fall-through and become trapped underneath, drowning if an escape route is not found. [[Alces alces|Moose]] are at a particular disadvantage, with their preferred diet of aquatic plants and grasses possibly drawing them dangerously near to muskeg; due to their long legs, minimal hoof area, and great weight, they are at great risk of falling and drowning. Hunters and hikers may occasionally encounter young moose in muskeg-covered ponds submerged up to their torsos or necks, having been unaware of the unstable ground.{{citation needed|date=June 2016}}

==Surface strength==
[[File:muskeg D6 caterpillar.jpg|thumb|right|Heavy equipment that has broken through thawing muskeg in [[Wabasca oil field]], Alberta]]
Muskeg can be a significant impediment to transportation. Legend holds that during the 1870s, muskeg in [[Northern Ontario]] swallowed a train and a thousand feet of track whole when a track was accidentally laid on muskeg.<ref>{{Cite web|date=24 June 2021|title=Building The Railroad Through The Canadian Shield|url=https://canadaehx.com/2021/06/24/building-the-railroad-through-the-canadian-shield/|website=canadaehx.com|access-date=7 May 2024|archive-date=7 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240507172622/https://canadaehx.com/2021/06/24/building-the-railroad-through-the-canadian-shield/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Many other instances have been reported of heavy construction equipment vanishing into muskeg in the [[Spring (season)|spring]] as the frozen muskeg beneath the vehicle thawed. Construction in muskeg-laden areas sometimes requires the complete removal of the soil and filling with gravel. If the muskeg is not completely cleared to bedrock, its high water content will cause buckling and distortion from winter freezing, much like [[permafrost]].

One method of working atop muskeg is to place large logs on the ground, covered with a thick layer of [[clay]] or other stable material. This is commonly called a [[corduroy road]]. To increase the effectiveness of the corduroy, prevent [[erosion]],<ref>[http://www.infratrans.gov.ab.ca/686.htm Government of Alberta: Geotechnical and Erosion Control<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071221080438/http://www.infratrans.gov.ab.ca/686.htm |date=21 December 2007 }}</ref> and allow removal of material with less disturbance to the muskeg, a [[geotextile]] fabric is sometimes placed down before the logs.  However temporary winter access roads on muskeg ([[ice road]]), created by clearing the insulating snow and allowing the muskeg to freeze, are more commonly used as they are cheaper to construct and easier to decommission. Water is often sprayed on these roads to thicken the ice allowing heavy trucks and equipment to safely access remote sites in the winter.{{citation needed|date=June 2016}}
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== In fiction ==
In [[Jack London]]'s short story, "Love of Life," the starving protagonist eats muskeg berries along the trail.  "A muskeg berry is a bit of seed enclosed in a bit of water.  In the mouth the water melts away and the seed chews sharp and bitter.  The man knew there was no nourishment in the berries, but he chewed them patiently with a hope greater than knowledge and defying experience."

In [[Martha Ostenso]]'s novel ''[[Wild Geese (novel)|Wild Geese]]'', the land owned and beloved by the antagonist plays an important role:
"Southeast, under the ridge, bottomless and foul, lay the muskeg, the sore to Caleb's eye. In the heat of summer it gave up sickly vapours in which clouds of mosquitoes rose. Cattle and horses, breaking through the pasture fence and heading for the hay field, had disappeared beneath its spongy surface." (p. 12)

In [[Rick Riordan]]'s novel ''[[The Son of Neptune]]'' (in the [[The Heroes of Olympus|Heroes of Olympus]] series), [[Percy Jackson]] steps off a path near [[Seward, Alaska]], and falls through the muskeg.  He would have drowned if another character, [[Hazel Levesque]], had not jumped in after him. [[Frank Zhang]], the third of their trio, pulled them out using his bow, with Hazel holding onto it and Percy holding onto her ankles.

== Gallery ==
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Wrangell Muskeg.JPG|Stunted [[Pinus contorta|shore pine]] growing on muskeg in [[Wrangell, Alaska]]
File:Tracked Excavator placing Corduroy.jpg|Tracked excavator placing corduroy on muskeg near [[Rocky Mountain House]], [[Alberta]]
File:Cat D300E on Corduroy Lease road.jpg|[[Caterpillar Inc.|Caterpillar]] D300E hauling on a [[corduroy road]] built over muskeg
</gallery>

== Sources ==
{{Wiktionary}}
{{Portal|Wetlands}}
* C. Michael Hogan. 2008. [https://web.archive.org/web/20111005174426/http://globaltwitcher.auderis.se/artspec_information.asp?thingid=44751 ''Black Spruce: Picea mariana'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg, November, 2008]
* {{cite web |title=What on Earth is Muskeg? |url=http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/forest_facts/resources/fauna_flora/muskeg.html |work=Forest Facts |publisher=Tongass National Forest |date=25 August 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114012629/http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/forest_facts/resources/fauna_flora/muskeg.html |archive-date=14 January 2012}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Wetlands}}{{Soil type}}
[[Category:Wetlands]]
[[Category:Types of soil]]
[[Category:Pedology]]
[[Category:Landforms]]
[[Category:Subarctic]]