Peat bog

At the opposite end of the fertility scale from ricefields are peat bogs in pluvial landscapes. Nutrient inputs come almost entirely from rainfall, and the nutrient reserves in the organic matter buffering the soil solution are small (Moore and Bellamy, 1974). The chemistry of peat bogs is therefore precarious and changes in the composition of the rainfall can have a large effect on the composition of the soil solution. 

An example of the fragile nutrient balance in peat bogs is given in Table 7.2 for a blanket bog in northern England. The table shows the losses of N through erosion of the peat, and the losses of nutrient cations through leaching and removal in stream water. 

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According to the autochthonous, in situ theory of coal formation, peat beds and subsequently coal were formed from the accumulation of plants and plant debris in place. According to the allochthonous theory, the coal-producing peat bogs or swamps were formed from plant debris that had been transported, usually by streams or coastal currents, to the observed burial sites. 

Martinez-Cortizas A, Pontevedra-Pombal X, Garcia-Rodeja E, N6voa-Munoz JC, Shotyk W. 1999. Mercury in a Spanish peat bog archive of climate change and atmospheric metal deposition. Science 284 939-942. 

Van Winden JF, Reichart GJ, McNamara NP, Benthien A, Sinninghe Damste JS. Temperature-induced increase in methane release from peat bogs a mesocosm experiment. PLOS One. 2012 7 e39614. 

I. Surowiec, A. Quye and M. Trojanowicz, Liquid chromatography determination of natural dyes in extracts from historical Scottish textiles excavated from peat bogs, J. Chromatogr. A, 1112, 209 217 (2006). 

Biester H, Kilian R, Franzen C, Woda C, Mangini A, Scholer HF (2002) Elevated mercury accumulation in a peat bog of the Magellanic Moorlands, Chile (53 degrees S) - an anthropogenic signal from the Southern Hemisphere. Earth Planet Sci Lett 201 609-620... 

One is compelled to pose the question if experimentally it will become possible to decide whether the 14C variations observed on tree-ring samples, peat bogs, sediments, etc., are primarily caused by an external forcing of the system (production rate variations) or by an internal one. Recent progress in detection of small numbers of nuclei of an isotope by mass spectrometry based on the use of a particle accelerator [57,58] make it possible to measure the cosmic ray produced 10Be or 36C1 deposited in only 1 kg of ice. These isotopes get attached to aerosol particles and deposited with them. 

Natural archives Tree-rings, peat bogs, sea- and... 

In many northern regions, peat bogs are widespread. Our study shows that peat groundwater can have geochemical responses consistent with its interaction with kimberlite rocks (Sader et al. 2007). The geochemical responses can be different from those in mineral soil. Therefore, exploration in peat bog terrains requires specific sampling methods. 

Longinelli, A. (1995). Stable isotope ratios in phosphate from mammal bone and tooth as climatic indicators. In Problems of Stable Isotopes in Tree-rings, Lake Sediments and Peat-bogs as Climatic Evidence for the Holocene, ed. Frenzel, B., European Science Foundation, Strasbourg, pp. 57-70. 

AG° = -17.7kJmor at pH 7. Consequently the microbes mediating the decomposition derive less energy and produce fewer cells per unit of carbon metabolized. The accnmnlation of organic matter in marshes and peat bogs illns-trates this point. (Bnt note the rarity of tropical wetland soils with large organic matter contents, discnssed in Section 3.7.)... 

Table 7.2 Nutrient balance for blanket peat bog in the Pennines, northern England...

Clymo RS. 1984. The limits to peat bog growth. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society ofijondon 303B 605-654. 

Intentional preservation such as that of Egyptian and Chinese mummies is not the only means by which archaeologists find ancient bodies. Sometimes accidental circumstances set up environmental conditions that also preserve a body. For example, peat bogs are wetlands with an accumulation of peat—partially decayed plants—and are common in northern Europe. Bodies that fell or were thrown into peat bogs thousands of years ago have been preserved, possibly due to the bog s lack of oxygen or the presence of antimicrobial chemicals. Hundreds of bog mummies, and partial mummies, have been found. 

Analysis of pollen and spores preserved in acid soils and peat bogs has given rise to palynology. This approach is based on the assumption that the type of tree and plants growing in a particular terrestrial region are indicator of the climate. Morphological characteristics of the specimens are observed with the help of light and electron microscopes [64]. 

Figure 5. Comparison of TA100 mutagenic activities of XAD-2/ethyl ether extracts of treated water and chlorinated model compounds. O, treated water , amino acids A, humic acids (Fluka AG) , humic acids (aquatic) and A, humic acids (peat bogs). (Reproduced with permission from reference 16. Copyright 1986 Water Research Centre.)...

Where peat bogs ahound, as in those countries already alluded to, the inhabitants make use of the article, after undergoing a very simple preparation, as fuel for domestic uses. With the exception of a few localities on the Continent, but little has been done to bring peat into requisition in those arts which are... 

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