Anaerobe: an organism that can grow without oxygen,

Anaerobic: or an environment without oxygen- also called anoxic

Archaea: One of the three domains of life. Like Bacteria, they are all microorganisms and lack a nucleus.

Bacteria: One of the three domains of life. Like Archaea, they are all microorganisms and lack a nucleus.

Bog: Peatlands dominated by Sphagnum moss and typically low pH. See Types of Peatlands for more information.

Eukaryotes: One of the three domains of life. They contain a nucleus and can be microorganisms, like yeast and protozoa, or multicellular organisms like plants and animals. Also called Eukarya.

Fen: Peatlands dominated by sedges and

Greenhouse gas: A gas in Earth's atmosphere that traps heat and can contribute to global warming. Carbon dioxide and methane are the two most important.

Methanogens: A group of anaerobic Archaea that convert simple compounds like carbon dioxide or acetic acid to methane.

Mineratrophic: Mineral-rich groundwater is the main source of water.

Ombrotrophic: Rain, which is very poor in minerals is the main source of water.

pH: a scale for measuring the acidity/alkalinity of a solution. pH 7, the pH of pure water is neutral, and pH values below this value are acidic. Bogs tend to be near pH 4, and very strong acid would be near pH 0.

Peat: Undecayed plant organic material that builds up in certain wetlands.

Prokaryote: Microorganisms with cells lacking a nucleus, such as Bacteria and Archaea.

Sedges: Vascular plants, such as cattails, found in fens and bogs.

Sphagnum: Predominant moss genus found in bogs, sometimes called peat moss.