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C .
Fen Peat
This type of peat material occurs on very wet fens (Tarnocai, 1970) .
The peat material is derived primarily from Carex , Carex-Drepanocladus ,
Carex-Betula or Salix and Carex-tamarack types of vegetation .
The
dominant peat-formers among these vegetation types are Carex sp .,
Drepanocladus moss and tamarack . Fen peat is usually moderately well
decomposed (mesic), dark brown to very dark brown, and the fibers
are fine to medium with a horizontally matted or layered structure .
Fen peat is non-sticky to slightly sticky ;
the unrubbed fiber content
is approximately 40 to 60 percent ; and the peat is medium acid to
neutral (pH 5 .6 to 7 .3) . The moderately well decomposed material is
fairly dense (bulk density greater than 0 .1 gm/cm3 ) . Three subtypes
of fen peat were separated, based on the dominance of the plant
material, and these are :
C .1 :
C .2 :
C .3 :
Carex - Fen Peat
Drepanocladus - Fen Peat
Woody - Fen Peat
D .
Aquatic Peat
This type of peat material usually develops on very wet sites in
shallow lakes and ponds .
The peat is primarily derived from various
aquatic mosses, plants and algae .
The material is slightly sticky,
dark brown to black in color and is usually well decomposed (humic)
(unrubbed fiber content less than 30 percent) . Aquatic peat is usually
found at the bottom of the peat deposits .