Historical records of mercury (Hg) accumulation in lake sediments and peat bogs are often used to estimate human impacts on the biogeochemical cycling of mercury. On the basis of studies of lake sediments, modern atmospheric mercury deposition rates are estimated to have increased by a factor of 3-5 compared to background values: i.e., from about 3-3.5 microg Hg m(-2) yr(-1) to 10-20 microg Hg ...

The oribatid mite genus Protoribates Berlese (Haplozetidae) is reviewed for North America and the genus diagnosis is revised to account for the North American species, Protoribates robustior (Jacot, 1937) is redescribed and newly reported from western North America and a new species from Alberta is described. Protoribates haughlandae sp. n. is bisexual, heterotridactylous, and lives primarily i...

this experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of different substrate on growth and yield of gerbera flower. the experiment was performed using 10 treatments as fallow: fine sand, peat +fine sand (%25+%75), peat + fine sand ( %50 +%50), perlite + peat (%75 + %25), perlite + peat (%50 + %50), perlite + peat (%25 + %75), perlite + peat + expanded clay (%25 + %70 + %5), perlite + peat +...

The saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks ) is a key characteristic of porous media, describing the rate of water flow through saturated porous media. It is an indispensable parameter in a broad range of simulation models that quantify saturated and/or unsaturated water flow. The constant-head permeameter test is a common laboratory method to determine Ks on undisturbed soil samples collected fr...

Tropical peatlands cover an estimated 440,000 km2 (~10% of global peatland area) and are significant in the global carbon cycle by storing about 40-90 Gt C in peat. Over the past several decades, tropical peatlands have experienced high rates of deforestation and conversion, which is often associated with lowering the water table and peat burning, releasing large amounts of carbon stored in pea...

[1] Blanket peat catchments exhibit flashy regimes, but little is known about the exact nature of runoff production processes within these catchments. Catchment, hillslope, and plot-scale monitoring results are presented from the blanket peats of the northern Pennines, United Kingdom. Catchment efficiency for three study catchments with areas of 11.4 km, 0.83 km, and 0.44 km were 72%, 77%, and ...

Peat bogs have historically represented exceptional carbon (C) sinks because of their extremely low decomposition rates and consequent accumulation of plant remnants as peat. Among the factors favoring that peat accumulation, a major role is played by the chemical quality of plant litter itself, which is poor in nutrients and characterized by polyphenols with a strong inhibitory effect on micro...

Abstract Bryophytes generally have broad geographical ranges that suggest high dispersal ability. The aim of this study was to test hypotheses about limitation, as indicated by isolation distance, in four spore-producing species the moss genus Sphagnum (Sphagnum carolinianum, missouricum, macrophyllum and pylaesii) assess whether plants southern USA harbour levels unique alleles and/or other in...

Research was carried out to evaluate composted olive-mill waste as a peat substitute in foliage potted plant production. Rooted cuttings of Codiaeum variegatum (L.) A. Juss and Syngonium podophyllum Schott were grown for 5 months and Ficus benjamina L. for 10 months in media containing olive-mill waste compost (OWC), sphagnum peat and perlite in 1:3:4, 1:1:2, and 3:1:4 ratio (by volume), respec...

Plant communities of the geologic past can be reconstructed with high fidelity only if they were preserved in place in an instant in time. Here we report such a flora from an early Permian (ca. 298 Ma) ash-fall tuff in Inner Mongolia, a time interval and area where such information is filling a large gap of knowledge. About 1,000 m(2) of forest growing on peat could be reconstructed based on th...