Fen

A fen is a type of peatland wetland fed not only by rain and snow, but also by groundwater and water moving across the surrounding landscape. As this water passes through soil and rock, it carries dissolved minerals into the wetland. This makes fens generally richer in nutrients than bogs and allows them to support an exceptional variety of sedges, wildflowers, mosses, shrubs and other plants.

The Black River Fen complex in Inverness County is an outstanding example. Its mineral-rich waters create rare alkaline fen habitat and support an unusually diverse plant community. Tamarack grows around the edges, while black ash and hoary willow occur in wetter areas. Across the fen, sedges and other wetland plants form a mosaic of open water, peat, low vegetation and small pools.

Black River Fen is especially important because it provides habitat for rare and endangered plants. Some plants that require the unusual conditions found in rich fens have very limited habitat in Nova Scotia. Protecting places such as Black River therefore helps protect species that may occur at only a small number of sites in the province.

The plants illustrated in this scene reveal some of this remarkable diversity. Showy lady’s slipper, fen orchid, white bog orchid, sticky false asphodel, Kalm’s lobelia, shrubby cinquefoil, northern bog violet and bog wintergreen bring colour to the fen. Northern bog sedge, horned beakrush, long-stalked yellow-sedge, few-flower spikerush, bog bedstraw, water smartweed and thread-leaved water-crowfoot occupy different parts of the wetland. The familiar purple pitcher plant, an insect-eating plant adapted to nutrient-poor wetlands, adds another distinctive feature.

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The fen also supports a rich community of wildlife. Moose use wetlands and surrounding forests for feeding and cover. The Olive-sided Flycatcher, a species at risk, hunts flying insects from exposed perches. Wetland insects include the Dorcas Copper butterfly and colourful dragonflies and damselflies such as the Eastern Red Damsel and Saffron-winged Meadowhawk.

Fens also store carbon in peat, filter water and help regulate water moving through the landscape. Black River Fen demonstrates why these uncommon wetlands are so important: unusual water conditions create unusual habitats, and those habitats provide a refuge for some of Nova Scotia’s rarest plants and wildlife.