Swamplands

September 1, 2021
Not many of us have heard of peatlands, let alone visited these unique ecosystems. How does one explore or write invitingly about an ambiguous landscape that is neither land nor water and which can be dangerous to visit? Peat is formed when partially decomposed plant material builds up over centuries in waterlogged, oxygen-starved conditions in which decay can't keep up with deposition from new growth. Fens, bogs, marshes, and swamps can all accumulate peat. In lyrical prose, Struzik (Firestorm, 2017) describes his often arduous journeys to the peatlands of the world, often in the company of scientists or his wife. From Virginia's Great Dismal Swamp (once a refuge for people escaping enslavement), New York's Central Park (which was created by draining a huge bog), and North Carolina's Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (home of the last red wolves), the author moves on to Kauai's Alaka'i Swamp (full of rare plants) and bogs in Ontario's Georgian Bay region (where rattlesnakes hibernate in thick beds of peat). Struzik writes with immediacy and a sense of awe, bewitching readers with the unexpected beauty of peatlands.

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Starred review from October 1, 2021

In a series of 13 essays, Struzik (Inst. for Energy and Environmental Policy, Queen's Univ., Kingston, Ont.; Firestorm: How Wildfire Will Shape Our Future; Future Arctic: Field Notes from a World on the Edge) takes readers on a global tour of peatlands, bogs, fens, swamps and marshes. One might think of these underappreciated ecosystems as dark, dank, dismal environs filled with biting creatures, but Struzik's informative book reveals that swamplands (peatlands is an interchangeable term) teem with a variety of wildlife and plants and have had a vital role in human histories. Swamplands cover approximately four percent of the planet and store twice as much carbon as the Earth's forests, but they are being destroyed at an alarming rate, Struzik writes. He points out swampy ecosystems in India, the United States (including Hawai'i, Louisiana, and Texas), and Canada and explains why each of them is so essential. The essays make connections between history and science, in Struzik's personalizing writing style that might motivate readers to save the swamps. The book includes photographs. VERDICT A powerful, impressive feat of popular science that is vitally needed in an era of climate change. Highly recommended for all libraries.--Patricia Ann Owens, formerly at Illinois Eastern Community Coll., Mt. Carmel

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