In this study, the possibility of using tea production waste as a new casing material in mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) cultivation was investigated. Some physical and chemical characteristics of tea waste, fermented tea waste and a mixture of tea waste with peat were compared with that of peat casing, as were their effects on yield. The highest yield was obtained from peat casing. Using tea prod...

We measured the carbon isotopic composition of pore water carbon dioxide from Sallie's Fen, a New Hampshire poor fen. The isotope profiles are used in combination with a one-dimensional diffusion-reaction model to calculate rates of methane production, oxidation and transport over an annual cycle. We show how the rates vary with depth over a seasonal cycle, with methane produced deeper during t...

Mineral oil, peanut oil and soybean oil were compared with water and gum arabic for their suitability as adhesives for seed inoculation with peat inoculants. Inoculated seeds were stored at 4, 28 and 34°C, and sampled after 1, 3 and 9 days to determine the survival of rhizobia. Germination and nodulation tests were performed on the inoculated seeds. Results showed that oils were suitable adhesi...

Peat is an easily available natural material and a source of biologically active substances widely used, not only in agriculture but in human and animal medicine as well. In recent years, interest in the use of peat as a feed supplement has increased, particularly due to its capability to prevent enteric diseases and to stimulate growth in piglets and pigs. The purpose of this review was to com...

[1] Discrete zones of groundwater discharge in a stream within a peat-dominated wetland were identified on the basis of variations in streambed temperature using a distributed temperature sensor (DTS). The DTS gives measurements of the spatial (±1 m) and temporal (15 min) variation of streambed temperature over a much larger reach of stream (>800 m) than previous methods. Isolated temperature a...

Indo-Malaysian tropical peat swamp forests (PSF) sequester enormous stores of carbon in the form of phenolic compounds, particularly lignin as well as tannins. These phenolic compounds are crucial for ecosystem functioning in PSF through their inter-related roles in peat formation and plant defenses. Disturbance of PSF causes destruction of the peat substrate, but the specific impact of disturb...

Lake Agmon is a newly created shallow body of water which is a principle component of a reclamation project (Hula Project, HP) in the Hula Valley (Israel). The objectives of the HP are aimed at Lake Kinneret water quality protection, and improvements of the hydrological, and agricultural managements within the entire Hula Valley including the eco-touristic quality of the Agmon site. Thirteen ye...

Peat with an approximate 60% carbon content collected in the suburbs of Palangka Raya, Indonesia, was carbonized, followed by activation with steam in an electric furnace. The resultant activated carbon (AC) had ca. 900 m/g of BET surface area and 1000 mg/g of iodine adsorption. This performance implies that this AC can be used as an adsorbent for environmental purification. We had a carbonizin...

A simple method for the installation of groundwater lysimeters in peat soils was developed which reduces both time and financial effort significantly. The method was applied on several sites in the Rhinluch, a fen peat land 60 km northwest of Berlin, Germany. Over a two-year period, upward capillary flow and evapotranspiration rates under grassland with different groundwater levels were measure...

Northern and tropical peatlands represent a globally significant carbon reserve accumulated over thousands of years of waterlogged conditions. It is unclear whether moderate drying predicted for northern peatlands will stimulate burning and carbon losses as has occurred in their smaller tropical counterparts where the carbon legacy has been destabilized due to severe drainage and deep peat fire...