Term Papers on Burns Bog

Term Paper Title	Burns Bog
# of Words	1331
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	5.32

Burns Bog

Burns Bog is an area ten times larger than Stanley Park which plays an significant role in maintaining local plants and animal life, including ourselves. It should be preserved and safeguarded. Burns bog is located close to the mouth of the lower Fraser River, in Delta, British Columbia, Canada. It is the largest undeveloped urban area in Canada. Bogs are an exceptional kind of wetland. Only insect-eating plants, hardy northern shrubs, acid-producing mosses and dwarfed pines survive. These unique kinds of bog plants can conform only to wet, acidic and nutrient-poor conditions.  Most domed bogs started out as lakes and increasingly become filled in with plants. Eventually, they died and rotted plants formed peat. Burns Bog is a domed bog; which means that the peat is slightly more concentrated in the centre, providing the bog to be shaped like a stadium.  It is because of this shape, that rain is the only water source into the bog. Burns Bog also is an essential habitat for many wildlife. Therefore, Burns Bog should be conserved for the use of all forms of life and is in itself a magnificent array of treasures which need to be protected.

Habitat for over hundred-fifty species of birds, twenty-eight species of mammals and various types of fish, Burns Bog is a true haven for wildlife. It has the largest  population of Bald Eagles in the Lower Mainland.  Also, it is one out of only two large tracts of Crane habitat in Lower Mainland. Plus, this wetland is on the migratory flyway  for the birds. Thousands of waterfowl like Trumpeter Swan and other migratory birds, utilize the ponds in Burns Bog as  seasonal feeding grounds.  Among the 28 species of mammals, there are black bears, blacktail deer, red foxes, bobcats, coyotes, beavers, muskrats, snowshoe hares, spotted skunks, northwestern jumping mice, and the porcupines. Developing  Burns Bog means taking away their homes.  Burns Bog also serves as a breeding ground for thousands of salmon and as a nursery for their offspring. Declining of the Fraser River's salmon stocks has been a major concern for the commercial fishers and government regulators for several years. It would dramatically impact the slow recovery of the salmon if Burns Bog was developed. As a result, Burns Bog should be left alone for all the endangered animals that live there.

Edible and medicinal plants provided by Burns Bog are intensely useful. Here are a few examples of the useful medicinal plants in the bog. The Bog bilberry is high in iron and minerals. It is beneficial in urinary tract infections. Also, in World War 2, visions were improved after eating bilberry pie or jam. Cloudberry is a rare relative of the raspberry. The Burns Bog population has both male plants and female plants, so it produces berries; but the Richmond bog has only male plants. Cloudberries are used in pies, jam and a very expensive liquor used by the Scandinavians.  Its juices are used in treating hives. Labrador tea can be used to treat heartburn and hangovers. The Natives used it to cure tuberculosis, colds and arthritis. It works well for reducing the symptoms of food poisoning and  the tea is also laxative and diuretic. Not only are the plants useful for medicine, but the Sphagnum moss is advantageous in keeping the hydrology in the area.

Sphagnum moss is an antibiotic that can collect up to thirty times its weight in water. It soaks up water like a colossal sponge. In drier periods, the moss releases the drawn up water into the bog. If the bog is disturbed, the hydrology of the surrounding region will be altered. Moreover, changing the water table also lets the invasion of  temperate plant species into the Bog. It will imperil the survival of the plants inside the bog. It was also used as diapers for the Natives' children and as surgical dressings in World War 1. Therefore, Sphagnum moss plays a significant role in our hydrol...

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