32 Nebraskaland • May 2024
Anatomy of a Sandhills Fen
Some groundwater under dunes moves laterally, surfacing as seeps low on hillsides at the edges of valleys and
in the valley floor. Where the cool groundwater has flowed to the surface for hundreds or thousands of years,
the decomposition of plant material is slowed and deposits of peat have formed, some 22 feet thick. In some
parts of fens, where groundwater wells to the surface, the rate of decomposition is even slower and mounds of
peat rise as much as 8 feet above the surface of the fen.
ILLUSTRATION BY TIM REIGERT, NEBRASKALAND
By Jon Farrar
Marsh marigold (Caltha palustris) blooming in a fen as an April thunderstorm passes overhead. Marsh marigold is typically
found in regions with cooler and wetter climates than Nebraska. The cold and saturated soils found in fens have allowed
marsh marigold and a handful of other plants to persist as relics from glacial periods.
ETHAN FREESE
