Blanket Mire

Abstract

Blanket mire forms where the climate remains relatively cool and humid throughout the year and where losses, either through run-off or evapotranspiration, are not high. The resulting continuous saturation of the ground results in peat accumulation across entire landscapes, giving rise to a complex of ombrotrophic bogs and minerotrophic fens. The distinction between a raised mire landscape and a blanket mire landscape is that, in the former, the shape of the terrain is largely determined by peat accumulation whereas, in the latter, the shape of the peat-cloaked terrain is determined more by the topography of the underlying mineral-ground than by the thickness of accumulated peat. Blanket mires are usually considered to be associated with temperate oceanic regions but examples of orographic blanket mire can also be found in other parts of the world, although these examples are often described as other habitats such as ‘wet alpine heath’.