The water pH is 7.4-7.8 which should be right for a fen and might support alkaline adapted northern pitcher plants. The water is ground water and therefore very low nitrogen. I am hoping the submerged wood chips will behave anaerobically to remove nitrogen as they do in bioreactors (https://engineering.purdue.edu/watersheds/conservationdrainage/bioreactors.html). The project will be too large for me to be willing to purchase peat.

Sphagnum is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as peat moss.

Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter that is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, or mires.

https://mnfi.anr.msu.edu/communities/community.cfm?id=10667

Last edited by RAH; 12/31/16 06:35 AM.