Bog manganese

Braunstsin, m. pyrolusite, manganese dioxide (roter) rhodochrosite (schwarzer) hausman-nite, -blende, /. alabandite. -kies, m. ala-bandite. -kiesela m. rhodonite, -rahm, -schsum, m, bog manganese, wad. braunstichig, a. brownish. 

WAD. The mineral wad, sometimes called bog manganese, occurs in amorphous masses, and consists of mixtures of manganese oxides, MnOi and MnO, and oxides of odter metals such as copper, lead, cobalt, and iron. It is bluish- to brownish-black, usually soft enough to soil the fingers and often porous and light. It is not a distinct mineral species. 

The best known forms of these precipitates are Bog ore, hydrothermal incrustations of manganese and iron, desert hamish, marine manganese nodules and crusts and marine red or brown clay. 

Parallel observations have been made in the case of manganese bog ore. This bog ore pr ipitates as crust in the sod. The parts of this bog ore crust are disturbed by tree roote on these parts the precipitate has the form of nodules (Ortlam personal communication). 

Humus can hold copper in concentrations of up to 1% of its weight. Indeed some bogs through which copper-enriched artesian waters flow naturally contain up to 100,000 iigig copper probably in their humus as Cu +, as CuOH ", and as occlusions in iron or manganese oxides, and as mixed oxides. It was therefore found that copper applied to the surface soil did not move downward into groundwater except when a single application of 1500... 

The retardation of decomposition of plant materials in a peat bog may also be aided in some instances by the formation of toxic materials. According to Robinson (1930) these may include ferrous iron and manganese. The chief gases evolved are carbon dioxide, methane, hydrogen, and hydrogen sulfide, but these probably have little effect on the anaerobic population if not used by the microorganisms present in the bog water they readily escape to the atmosphere. 

A newly-reclaimed peat bog is usually an unsatisfactory medium in which to grow cultivated crops. The reasons include lack of aeration and oxidation, especially of the lower layers. Peat bogs have been under anaerobic conditions for centuries, and the roots of cultivated plants do not thrive in, or even penetrate, such an environment. This is due in part to lack of adequate oxygen, but often also to the presence of toxic amounts of such substances as ferrous iron, manganese compounds, sulfuric acid, and possibly soluble aluminum. Methane, hydrogen and sulfides are also likely to be present at least in traces initially, but are no longer formed when oxygen is abundant. 

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