Peatlands (eBook)

Cover 1
Copyright page 5
Contents 10
Foreword 6
Preface 8
List of contributors 14
List of reviewers 18
Chapter 1. Peatlands: a concise guide to the volume 20
A. Peatland basin analysis: evolution and structure 21
B. Selected characteristics of peat and peatland environments 24
C. Peatlands as multi-signal archives of environmental changes 28
D. Direct human impact on peatlands 31
Part A. Peatland basin analysis: evolution and structure 34
Chapter 2. Northern Peatlands: their characteristics, development and sensitivity to climate change 36
Introduction 36
Area and extent 37
Peatland regions 38
Peatland classification 41
Peat materials 45
Peatland development 46
Age of peat deposits 54
Peat accumulation 58
Carbon stocks 62
Sensitivity to climate change 63
References 66
Chapter 3. The cold-climate peatlands of the Hudson Bay Lowland, Canada: brief overview of recent work 72
Introduction 72
Peatland evolution 74
Peat stratigraphy 83
Pb Chemistry in peat 88
Peatlands and the carbon cycle 92
Resources 97
References 100
Chapter 4. Mountain mires from Galicia (NW Spain) 104
Introduction 104
Mires development 104
Composition and properties 115
Galician mires: geochemical archives of environmental changes 121
Conclusions 123
References 125
Chapter 5. Geomorphologic emplacement and vegetation characteristics of Fuegian peatlands, southernmost Argentina, South America 130
Introduction 130
Methodology 132
Results 133
Relationships between geomorphology and vegetation 138
Conclusions 145
References 146
Chapter 6. The peatlands of Argentine Tierra del Fuego as a source for paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental information 148
Introduction 148
Geographic setting 148
Methodology for peatland studies 150
Glacial history of Tierra del Fuego and basal peat chronostratigraphic data 151
Peat accumulation rates 153
The occurrence of Holocene tephras in Fuegian peatlands 154
Coastal wetlands 155
Climatic variability as demonstrated by proxy elements 155
Dendrochronology 158
Bogs and archeology 159
Final comments 160
References 161
Chapter 7. Lowland tropical peatlands of Southeast Asia 164
Introduction 164
History, location and extent of lowland tropical peatlands in Southeast Asia 166
Structure and hydrology of lowland tropical peatlands 167
Classification and genesis 169
Physical and chemical characteristics of lowland tropical peat 170
Vegetation and biodiversity 171
Biomass and nutrient dynamics 175
The geochemical record 176
Age and rates of peat and carbon accumulation 178
The role of tropical peatlands in the global carbon cycle 178
Modern tropical peatlands and past coal deposits 183
Future prospects for tropical peatlands: the wise use approach 184
References 185
Part B. Selected characteristics of peat and peatland environments 192
Chapter 8. The redox–pH approach to the geochemistry of the Earth’s land surface, with application to peatlands 194
Introduction 194
Physico-chemical background 195
Predominance fields 197
Geochemical fences 197
The pedogenic grid 200
Geochemical trends in the weathering zone 201
The peatland environment 203
Discussion 206
Conclusions 212
References 213
Chapter 9. Weathering of inorganic matter in bogs 216
Introduction 216
Characterization of the weathering milieu 217
Mechanisms and rates of weathering 224
Perspectives 229
Conclusions 230
References 231
Chapter 10. Molecular chemistry by pyrolysis–GC/MS of selected samples of the Penido Vello peat deposit, Galicia, NW Spain 236
Introduction 236
Materials and methods 238
Results and discussion 240
Conclusions 256
Future research 256
References 257
Chapter 11. Mineral matter, major elements, and trace elements in raised bog peat: a case study from southern Sweden, Ireland and Tierra del Fuego, south Argentina 260
Introduction 260
Methods 261
Results and discussion 263
Summary and final remarks 283
References 284
Chapter 12. Consequences of increasing levels of atmospheric nitrogen deposition on ombrotrophic peatlands: a plant-based perspective 290
Introduction 290
Effects of increasing N input: the plant species level 292
Effects of increasing N input: the community level 294
Conclusions 301
References 302
Chapter 13. Microbial diversity in Sphagnum peatlands 306
Introduction 306
Microbial diversity in peatlands 307
Functional importance of microbial communities in peatlands 324
Practical applications 328
Open research questions 330
References 331
Chapter 14. Peatland hydrology 338
Introduction 338
Water sources and water budget for peatlands 339
Introduction to hillslope hydrology 347
The acrotelm–catotelm model 349
Runoff processes within peatlands 349
Conclusions 360
References 361
Chapter 15. Hydrogeology of major peat basins in North America 366
Introduction 366
Properties of large peat basins in North America 371
Hydrogeologic investigations in large North American peat basins 378
Problems, prospects, and future directions 387
Conclusions 389
References 389
Chapter 16. Slope instability and mass movements in peat deposits 396
Introduction 396
Failure types 399
Causes of instability in peatlands 404
Peat properties 408
Failure mechanisms 411
Case example of blanket bog instability: Cuilcagh Mountain, Ireland 413
Future research directions 420
References 422
Part C. Peatlands as multi-signal archives of environmental changes 426
Chapter 17. Using bog archives to reconstruct paleopollution and vegetation change during the late Holocene 428
Introduction 428
The metallurgical industry as an agent of vegetation change 431
Experimental archeology and peatland research 440
Conclusions 444
References 445
Chapter 18. Beyond the peat: synthesizing peat, lake sediments and soils in studies of the Swedish environment 450
Introduction 450
Combining peat and lake sediment records 452
Using the peat record to determine the fate of lead in the Swedish environment 458
Conclusions 464
References 465
Chapter 19. Occurrence and fate of halogens in mires 468
Introduction 468
Sources of halogens in peatlands 470
Halogens in peat 470
Net accumulation and retention rates of halogens 473
Halogen and peat accumulation 474
Halogens in peat porewaters 475
Release of halogens from peat 477
Conclusions 481
References 482
Chapter 20. Mercury in mires 484
Introduction 484
Atmospheric deposition and retention of mercury 485
Mercury concentrations in peat 486
Mercury concentrations and peat decomposition 488
Mercury accumulation rates 490
Mercury accumulation rates and influence of peat diagenesis 492
Hg accumulation and climate variation 493
Outlook 495
References 495
Chapter 21. Archiving natural and anthropogenic lead deposition in peatlands 498
Introduction 498
Lead from a geological perspective 498
Geochemical tools and interpretation 499
The lead story told in peatlands 507
Final thoughts and future directions 513
References 514
Part D. Direct human impact on peatlands 518
Chapter 22. Impacts of artificial drainage of peatlands on runoff production and water quality 520
Introduction 520
History and extent of drainage 521
Impact of peat drainage on catchment hydrology 522
Impact of peat drainage on soil properties 526
Impact of peat drainage on water chemistry 531
Impacts of peat drainage on erosion 533
Peatland restoration and the utility of field and modeling approaches 535
Conclusions 542
References 543
Chapter 23. Peatland subsidence in the Venice watershed 548
Introduction 548
Peat oxidation and geochemical land subsidence 550
Description of the study area 551
Field measurements and model setup 556
Results 559
Conclusions 566
References 567
Glossary 570
Subject Index 592