Swamplands : tundra beavers, quaking bogs, and the improbable world of peat / Edward Struzik.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 267-282) and index.

Preface -- Introduction -- The Great Dismal Swamp -- Central Park -- Peat and endangered species -- Tropical peat -- Ash meadows, ancient bogs, and desert fens -- Sasquatches of the swamps -- Peat and reptiles -- Mountain peat -- Ring of fire : the Hudson Bay lowlands -- Pingos, polygons, and frozen peat -- Tundra beavers, saltwater trout, and barren-ground grizzly bears -- Portals to the Otherworld -- "Growing peat" -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Acknowledgments -- Index -- About the author.

"In a world filled with breathtaking beauty, we have often overlooked the elusive charm and magic of certain landscapes. A cloudy river flows into a verdant Arctic wetland where sandhill cranes and muskoxen dwell. Further south, cypress branches hang low over dismal swamps. Places like these-collectively known as swamplands or peatlands-often go unnoticed for their ecological splendor. They are as globally significant as rainforests, and function as critical carbon sinks for addressing our climate crisis. Yet, because of their reputation as wastelands, they are being systematically drained and degraded to make way for oilsands, mines, farms, and electricity.... Swamplands highlights the unappreciated struggle being waged to save peatlands by scientists, conservationists, and landowners around the world. An ode to peaty landscapes in all their offbeat glory, the book is also a demand for awareness of the myriad threats they face. It urges us to see the beauty and importance in these least likely of places­. Our planet's survival might depend on it"--Provided by publisher.