The Fluxnet Canada Mer Bleue site was created to investigate the response of northern peat lands to climate change. This location has no restrictions but requests that no one touches the equipment or disturbs the landscape due to the research being done. After walking down Dolman Ridge road for 18 min., I found the test site through a narrow passage way. I was stunned at the length of the boardwalk when I arrived, it seems like it went on for miles. The main boardwalk is only 2.5 feet across with no railings making it easy to fall into the water or even into the 6 meter deep peat moss. There are other boardwalks that branch out from the main boardwalk line that seems unstable and only 1 foot wide. Some boardwalks are flooded and some are covered with vegetation. Once you arrive at the end of the main boardwalk you will feel like you’re on a different planet. I stood there only hearing the wind blowing and the odd bird chirp here and there. The NCC owns the land and universities and government entities due research at the site on a regular basis. Therefore I visited the site in November on a weekend and no one seemed to be working that day.
The following information is written and provided by the university of Trent. "The principal PCARS research site is Mer Bleue, a 35 km2ombrotrophic bog located 10 km east of the city of Ottawa in the Ottawa River valley. The central portion of the peatland started to form about 8400 years ago accumulating Peat nearly 6 m deep. The porewater at Mer Bleue is highly acidic, rich in dissolved organic carbonb and poor in nutrients. The surface is slightly domed. Vegetation on the surface is composed of ericaceous shrubs (dominantly Chamaedaphne calyculata, Kalmia angustifolia, and Ledum groenlandicum) and grasses. The hummocks are covered by Sphagnum moss (dominantly Sphagnum capillifolium and Sphagnum fuscum) while the hollows are covered by Smilacina trifolia, Eriophorum vaginatum and Sphagnum magellannicum and Sphagnum angustifolium. The instrument tower is located in the western end of the bog, about 250 m from the shore in a northwesterly direction. Instrumentation includes a full suite of meteorological and flux measurements, including energy balance and carbon dioxide. Tower measurements are supported by a number of on-going field investigations on biomass quantification and decomposition, soil water content, hydrology of the bog, and others. A more detailed description of the instruments and measurements is provided on the FCRN website and at Ameriflux." Location ID #LS0018
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