Peatlands are an important global carbon reservoir. The continued accumulation of carbon in peatlands depends on the persistence of anoxic conditions, in part induced by water saturation, which prevents oxidation of organic matter, and slows down decomposition. Here we investigate how and over what time scales the hydrological regime impacts the geochemistry and the bacterial community structur...

Northern peatlands can emit large amounts of carbon and harmful smoke pollution during a wildfire. Of particular concern are drained and mined peatlands, where management practices destabilize an array of ecohydrological feedbacks, moss traits and peat properties that moderate water and carbon losses in natural peatlands. Our results demonstrate that drained and mined peatlands in Canada and no...

Transport of nutrients, CO2, methane, and oxygen plays an important ecological role at the surface of wetland ecosystems. A possibly important transport mechanism in a water-saturated peat moss layer (usually Sphagnum cuspidatum) is nocturnal buoyancy flow, the downward flow of relatively cold surface water, and the upward flow of warm water induced by nocturnal cooling. Mathematical stability ...

Little is known about the processes of infiltration and water movement in the upper layers of blanket peat. A tension infiltrometer was used to measure hydraulic conductivity in a blanket peat in the North Pennines, England. Measurements were taken from the surface down to 20 cm in depth for peat under four different vegetation covers. It was found that macropore flow is a significant pathway f...

Approximately 15 percent of Sweden’s land area is covered by peat ( 30 cm deep). In drained peatlands, decomposition of the peat produces greenhouse gases such as CO2 and N2O. Electric conductivity, measured with the instrument EM38, can be used to assess spatial variation in soil properties. To easier decide the quantity of the CO2-emissions from a peatland the possible relation between electr...

Vertical peat profiles can only be used as archives of past changes in pollution levels if atmogenic elements are immobile after their burial. For mobile elements, similar pore-water concentrations can be expected at different peat depths. Concentrations of Pb, Cu, Zn, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co and Cd were determined in surface bog water and bog pore water 40 cm below surface in two Sphagnum-dominated pea...

Peat deposits occur in areas where water logging is common. Large areas of blanket mire occur throughout the temperate and cold regions of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and are particularly extensive in the UK Uplands. Mass movements of peat, reported usually as peat slides and bog bursts, have been well documented for over 150 years. However, the fundamental controls of this form of sh...

We found that peat moss, amended with various ratios of pellets comprised of equal proportions of biochar and wood flour, generally had chemical and physical properties suitable for service as a substrate during nursery production of plants. High ratios of pellets to peat (>50%) may be less desirable because of high C:N, high bulk density, swelling associated with water absorption, and low volu...

Viral contamination of public waters is a leading health concern around the world, including in Minnesota where cold climate, abundant onsite systems on poor or thin soils, and abundant surface water resources present a significant risk of wastewater pathogens reaching sensitive water sources. Three alternative onsite treatment systems, a sand filter, peat filter and subsurface-flow constructed...

Peatlands store an immense pool of soil carbon vulnerable to microbial oxidation due to drought and intentional draining. We used amplicon sequencing and quantitative PCR to (i) examine how fungi are influenced by depth in the peat profile, water table and plant functional group at the onset of a multiyear mesocosm experiment, and (ii) test if fungi are correlated with abiotic variables of peat...