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The Wetland Book pp 1515–1528Cite as

Peatland Classification

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Abstract

Many approaches to the classification of peat-forming (mire) systems have been devised over the years, each with its own particular focus. The present review restricts itself to those classification systems which focus on peatlands as ecosystems. Such systems are in broad agreement that there is a significant ecological difference between mires which are waterlogged by groundwater or accumulated surface water, broadly known as ‘fens’, and mires which are waterlogged only through direct precipitation, broadly termed ‘bogs’. Within these broad concepts, however, mires have been variously classified according to their vegetation, their chemistry, their source of water and their hydromorphology. This last system of classification is widely employed, and its hierarchical, or ‘Tope’, approach offers the potential to incorporate other classification systems at various levels within the hierarchy.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sustainability Research Institute, University of East London, University Way, London, E16 2RD, UK

    Richard Lindsay

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  1. Richard Lindsay
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Correspondence to Richard Lindsay .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, Albury, NSW, Australia

    C. Max Finlayson

  2. International Water Security Network, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK

    Mark Everard

  3. UNESCO-IHE, Institute for Water Education, Delft, The Netherlands

    Kenneth Irvine

  4. RM Wetlands and Environment Ltd., Littleworth, Oxfordshire, UK

    Robert J. McInnes

  5. U.S. Geological Survey, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, Lafayette, LA, USA

    Beth A. Middleton

  6. Aquatic Ecosystems Group, Department of Water Science and Engineering, UNESCO-IHE, Institute for Water Education, Delft, The Netherlands

    Anne A. van Dam

  7. Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, Albury, NSW, Australia

    Nick C. Davidson

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Lindsay, R. (2018). Peatland Classification. In: Finlayson, C.M., et al. The Wetland Book. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9659-3_341

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