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WEATHER
Peatlands
Ecoregion
in
MN
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This ecoregion is one of the largest areas of contiguous wetland in the conterminous US. Much of the wetland is peat with corresponding Hemists and Saprists, moderately and completely decomposed organic soils. The peat is interspersed with less organic lacustrine areas of wet forest Aqualfs, wet, sandy Aquents, and small areas of sandy Psamments. Landforms of the peatlands include raised bogs, water tracks, and spring-fen channels. These basic types are combined in various ways, and develop ecologically in different patterns (Glaser 1992a, 1992b). The climate, being cold (Lake of the Woods frequently claims the coldest temperatures in the conterminous US), and the soils, being frigid and wet, limits crops. Much of the peatland and interspersed areas of wet forest and brushland has not changed since Europeans arrived, although there were many attempts in the early 20th Century to construct ditches across the peatlands to prepare the land for agriculture (Bradof 1992). Many of the ditches were abandoned after failed attempts at settlement by farmers. There is today evidence of attempts to clear and plant land, particularly southwest of Lake of the Woods and just south and east of Lake of the Woods along the Rainy River. Lakota Sioux occupied the peatlands before the arrival of European settlers into North America in the 17th Century. The Red Lake Ojibwe succeeded the Lakota Sioux as the European settlers pushed the indigenous groups to the west from the East Coast of the continent. The indigenous peoples used many of the plants and animals of the peatlands for food, clothing, and other cultural uses (Whelan 1992). Lands of the Red Lake Nation, the only indigenous group in Minnesota whose lands avoided allotment into private property and whose lands are held in common, cover slightly less than 20% of the ecoregion. These indigenous people still continue some of their tribal customs and ways of life combined with partial participation in the external capitalist economy (Meyer 1992). About 75% of this ecoregion was wetlands and 15% open water in 2013.
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