Pottageville, Ontario

The Pottageville Wetland Complex is a provincially significant 7.8 km² wetland complex composed of 43 individual wetlands.[2] The wetland consists of 93.1% swamp, 6.3% marsh and 0.6% fen. A diversity of soil types is present in this complex, including: humic and mesic (63%); clay and loam (16.7%); sand (15.9%); silt or marl (2.6%); and fibric (1.8%). The site is principally palustrine (93.6% with inflow, 3.6% without inflow), with small areas which are of riverine (2.2%) and isolated (0.6%) nature. The vegetation found within the complex is also varied, though primarily deciduous (62.6%). Other constituent vegetation includes coniferous trees (16.5%), tall shrubs (11.1%) and dead trees (3.5%).

The Pottageville Southeast Upland Forest, situated north of Happy Valley Forests, is a 0.9 km² forest on the north-facing slope of the Oak Ridges Moraine. It consists primarily of Maple, Beech and Hemlock trees. A number of creek valleys, containing tributaries of the Holland River, are found within the forest. It is classified as a regionally significant Life Sciences Area of Natural and Scientific Interest by the Government of Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.[3]

The Pottageville Swamp is a 6.58 km² provincially significant Life Sciences Area of Natural and Scientific Interest.[4] The swamp complex includes a 2 km² section Pottageville Swamp North, a deciduous swamp which extends north from Highway 9 and consists largely of muck overlaying glaciolacustrine deposits.[5] The southern extent of the swamp is a 5.27 km² area of "poorly drained soils".[6]

The swamp was originally contiguous with the Holland Marsh, but became isolated from it during the 1920s when the land was prepared for agricultural use through drainage projects,[6] which has had a "drying effect" on the bog[7] The swamp and bog were classified via the International Biological Program.