Aquatic
Vegetation
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The aquatic plant community of the Chippewa Flowages is very interesting. Drawdown is an important determiner of the species composition and size of littoral zone (zone of plant growth), and the density of plant cover. The flowage’s littoral zone is dominated by species well adapted to fluctuating water level conditions. One trend that has become apparent by recent observations is the increasing amount of cattail. The following plants are commonly found in the Chippewa Flowage. |
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| Floating Bogs are unique plant communities that commonly
occur on the flowage. When water
levels were originally raised, shoreline bog mats floated loose and became
mobile islands. Many of the smaller
ones broke up and disappeared, but several larger ones still exist.
Their free floating habit sometimes causes nuisances by blocking
navigation channels or boat access points.
The plant species of the typical floating bog consists of 26 aquatic,
semi-aquatic, and terrestrial species. The
two most commonly occurring species are sphagnum moss and leatherleaf, Chamedaephne
calyculata. |
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