Fen - White Gull Creek, SK

Purpose / Scientific Focus

Carbon-cycling  •  Peatland Ecology  •   Soil Processes   •   Climate change and variability

The Fen site is located within a depression formed by glacial deposits. The peatland is characterized by alternating peat ridges and wetter hollows, with a water table that is generally at or near the peat surface except during very dry years. The site supports diverse wetland vegetation, including tamarack, black spruce, sedges, bog birch, and moss communities, and provides an important setting for long-term research on boreal peatland ecology, hydrology, carbon cycling, and ecosystem responses to climate change.

Boreal Ecosystem Research and Monitoring Sites

Fen is one of the three active monitoring sites in the Global Institute for Water Security (GIWS) BERMS program, a long-term research network that investigates interactions among climate, hydrology, and vegetation across representative boreal ecosystems. The active sites include Old Black Spruce (OBS), Old Jack Pine (OJP), and Fen.