Fen facts for kids

A small damp area in Suffolk, which might look like a fen.

An illustration showing what a fen looks like.

A fen is a special type of wetland. Wetlands are areas where water covers the soil, or is present near the surface, for all or part of the year. Fens are usually fed by water that flows over the ground or comes from underground. This water is rich in minerals.

Fens have water that is either neutral or alkaline. This means it's not acidic. The water also has lots of dissolved minerals. However, it doesn't have many other plant nutrients.

What is a Fen Like?

Fens are often covered by grasses and sedges. Sedges are grass-like plants. You can also find brown mosses in fens, like Scorpidium or Drepanocladus.

Many different kinds of plants grow in fens. Some fens even have carnivorous plants, like Pinguicula. These plants eat insects!

Fens can also be found along big lakes and rivers. Here, the water level changes with the seasons. This keeps the soil wet and stops many woody plants from growing. The types of plants in a fen depend on how much water there is and how many nutrients are in the soil.

Fen Indicator Species

Fens have certain plants that grow there very often. These plants are called "fen indicator species." They help scientists know if an area is a fen. They also show what the environment is like in that fen.

How Fens are Different from Bogs

Fens are different from bogs. Bogs are another type of wetland. Bogs have acidic water and very few minerals. They are usually covered by sedges and shrubs. Bogs also have lots of Sphagnum mosses. Fens, on the other hand, have neutral or alkaline water and more minerals.

Protecting Fens

In the past, many fens were damaged. People drained the land to use it for farming. They also cut peat from fens. Peat is a type of soil made from dead plants.

Today, people are working to restore fens. They use modern ways to manage these special places. The main goals are to bring back the natural flow of water. It's also important to keep the water clean. Another challenge is to stop woody plants from taking over the fen.

Related pages

• The Fens

Images for kids

• 

  Avaste Fen, Estonia. Sedges are common here, with few trees.

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  Wicken Fen, England. The grasses in the front are typical of a fen.

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  Spaulding Fen, Wisconsin.

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  A small, very rich fen in southwestern Minnesota. The white flowers, Parnassia glauca, show it's a fen.

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  Kakerdaja Fen, Estonia.

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  Dernford Fen, Cambridgeshire.

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  Sugar Fen, Norfolk.

See also

In Spanish: Tollo para niños