Coal Trip--Day 2

Today we started with a trip to the yellow creek area to take some water samples.  Our group tested the water in a vernal pool in a bog.  I have never been in a bog before and while I did expect to be spongy, I was still amazed to see our guides leg disappear into the ground as he attempted to gather our water sample out of the pool.  The water was acidic but we later learned that this was not due to presence of pyrite in the mining area.  There is still some question in my head as to whether the water here is acidic from some other source and that acidity has dictated the plant life here or has the plant life caused the acidity of the water in the pool?  I need to clear this question up as it has puzzled me all day.  In any case there is no denying that the acidity of the water in this bog does dictate the plant life.  The bog is bordered quite clearly by ferns all along the edge and then the ground of the bog is covered by thick sphagnum moss interspaced with many low lying plants.  We saw sundew plants, blueberries, and other mosses and lichens covering the ground.  All of this, as I understand it, is nature reclaiming this area after mining ceased in 1906.  In a little over 100 years nature has begun to rebuild what man destroyed in about 25 years.  If man stepped in now to try and "fix" the acidity of the water it would destroy the plants that have adapted to this and we would lose this newly formed ecosystem.