A tree does not tend to live long in Cranberry Glades. The soil is too thin and in the bog is floating on an ancient lake. A heavy wind or snowfall can topple a tree easily that is nor well anchored. Once a tree falls in the bog area it becomes an opportunity for colonization by many plants. This “nurse log” provides an area that is less saturated than the bulk of the bog. The breakdown of the tree also makes many nutrients available to the other bog plants that begin to grow on the downed log.
The saturated soil of Cranberry Glades’ bogs provides the perfect environment for crustaceans called crawfish, crawfish or crawdads by some. These arthropods burrow into the substrate up to six feet in depth where water infiltrates their tunnels and allows the crawfish to use their gills to obtain oxygen. The crawfish burrows provide habitat for any number of small animals living in the bogs. In addition, the mixing of soil from the crayfish excavation helps to distribute scarce nutrients throughout the soil.
Plants found growing in the open bog area of Cranberry Glades lack a substrate like soil with a high nutrient availability. Since the bog is filled with sphagnum moss in varying stages of decay, there is nothing in the reach of the plants that can be considered “soil” in the common sense of the word.
When glaciation from the most recent ice age retreated from the area that is now Cranberry Glades a number of plants that are adapted to cool climates remained. Since the area is at about 3500 feet above sea level, these tundra type plants could thrive in the bogs. The cool temperatures of Cranberry Glades made the conditions for the subalpine flora. The dominant sphagnum moss (Sphagnum sp.), reindeer lichen (Cladonia sp.) and small cranberry (Vaccinum oxycoccos) are example vestiges of the post glacial period over 10,000 years ago.
Yew Creek is a small stream that starts in the hills surrounding the bogs then winds through the bogs of Cranberry Glades draining excess water to ultimately form the Cranberry River. Yew Creek is often stained from tannins that have leeched from the peat as well as the conifers growing along the small stream. The pH of the stream is typically acidic, mostly from the tannin although the measured pH will vary depending on the rainfall, snowmelt or other local weather conditions.
Skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) comes by the name honestly because when crushed, the leaves have a strong skunk odor. Skunk cabbage can thrive in the saturated soil of the bog forest or shrub zone. When the flowers appear in spring they emit a skunk odor which is said to attract pollinating flies and stoneflies. A western species of skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus) is common in the temperate rain forests of the Pacific Northwest.
Plants found growing in the open bog area of Cranberry Glades lack a substrate like soil with high nutrient availability. Since the bog is filled with sphagnum moss in varying stages of decay, there is nothing in the reach of the plants that can be considered “soil” in the common sense of the word. Because of the reduced nutrient availability in the bogs, some carnivorous plants like pitcher plants (Sarracenia purpurea venosa) and sundews (Drosera rotundifolia) have colonized. Because of their ability to capture and breakdown insects, these carnivorous plants can supplement their nutrient needs for survival in the peat bogs. The plants break the insects, spiders and other small prey items down and extract the high nitrogen compounds from their bodies.
Not surprising from the name, a common plant in the bogs at Cranberry Glades is the small cranberry (Vaccinum oxycoccos) which is a common bog plant throughout North America and Europe. While not considered a commercially valuable source of cranberries today, the small cranberry was used historically as a food source by Native American.
The shrub zone is found between the bog forest and the open glade. This area is characterized by low growing woody and herbaceous plants that can tolerate the saturated soil. Common woody plants in the shrub zone are speckled alder (Alnus incana), rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum) and wild raisin (Viburnum nudum). Common herbaceous plants include spotted jewelweed (Impatiens capensis), skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamomea) and many other ferns as well as mosses. The shrub zone surrounding a bog is typically located along the edges of the bogs rather than in the open glade. These areas can become a nearly impenetrable ring around the bogs because of the thick growth of shrubs.
Because of the nature of the bog, tree roots have difficulty anchoring. The bog consists of layers of sphagnum moss and other plants in varying stages of decay floating on the remains of an ice age pond. Trees may sprout in the bog but are vulnerable to toppling in the frequent wind gusts. The overturned trees provide habitat for a variety of bog plants and animals. The decaying wood returns nutrients to the bog that are utilized by other plants.
The boardwalk through the Cranberry Glades area provides an opportunity to explore the eight-acre Round Glade and the twenty-eight-acre Flag Glade. Because of the fragile nature of the ecosystem, visitors are cautioned to stay on the boardwalk constructed by the U.S. Forest Service. The boardwalk through the bog forest which is a wetland area between the bogs. About one hour is required to walk along the boardwalk to read the interpretative signage, take a few photographs and listen for the calls of the many songbirds that call the Cranberry Glades home.
This Tour is a Hiking Trail.
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This tour takes visitors through a high elevation bog located in the Monongahela National Forest of Pocahontas County, West Virginia. This region has an environment that is in many ways like the muskegs of Alaska or the peat bogs of Scotland. Stops along the board permit visitors to learn about the special plants and their growing conditions that make this area so unique.
