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Review of Water Chemistry Research in Natural and Disturbed Peatlands

Article in Canadian Water Resources Journal / Revue canadienne des ressources hydriques · December 2009
DOI: 10.4296/cwrj3404393

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 Review of Water Chemistry Research in Natural
and Disturbed Peatlands

Richard A. Bourbonniere

Abstract: The chemical components in water, and changes thereof, can control the ecology of peatlands
and impact the accumulation of peat; while at the same time ecological characteristics, hydrology
and interactions with the atmosphere and geosphere control peatland water chemistry. This review
summarizes results from Canadian and northern European research published over the past two decades
for major and minor, inorganic and organic constituents dissolved in surface or pore waters associated
with bogs and fens. First those studies that describe natural peatlands are discussed, followed by those
that involve peatlands that are disturbed by various direct or indirect anthropogenic influences. Finally
several recommendations are made regarding future studies and how they can assist in modelling efforts
that can inform peatland management and further scientific inquiry.

Résumé : Les composantes chimiques de l’eau, et les changements qui en découlent, peuvent contrôler
l’écologie des tourbières et influer sur l’accumulation de la tourbe; parallèlement les caractéristiques
écologiques, l’hydrologie et les interactions avec l’atmosphère et la géosphère contrôlent l’hydrochimie de la
tourbière. Cette étude résume les résultats tirés de recherches menées au Canada et en Europe du Nord et
publiées au cours des deux dernières décennies à l’égard des composés inorganiques et organiques, majeurs
et mineurs, dissous dans les eaux interstitielles ou de surface associées aux tourbières et aux marais. Sont
d’abord traitées les études qui décrivent les tourbières naturelles, suivies de celles qui portent sur les tourbières
perturbées par diverses influences anthropiques directes ou indirectes. Enfin, plusieurs recommandations
sont formulées à l’égard de futures études et de la façon dont elles pourraient contribuer aux efforts de
modélisation pouvant éclairer la gestion des tourbières et les futures recherches scientifiques.

Introduction as indicated by poorly drained soils, hydrophytic

A definition of wetlands that is widely accepted in
Canada was given by the National Wetlands Working
Group (1988): “. . . land that is saturated with water
long enough to promote wetland or aquatic processes
vegetation and various kinds of biological activity
which are adapted to a wet environment.” This working
group further stated that wetlands can be “organic” or
“mineral”. This review is limited to organic wetlands
which are often referred to as “peatlands”. To further

Richard A. Bourbonniere1

1
Water Science and Technology Directorate, Aquatic Ecosystem Impacts Research Division, Environment
Canada, Burlington, ON L7R 4A6

Submitted September 2009; accepted September 2009. Written comments on this paper will be accepted until
June 2010.

Canadian Water Resources Journal Vol. 34(4): 393–414 (2009) © 2009 Canadian Water Resources Association
Revue canadienne des ressources hydriques
394 Canadian Water Resources Journal/Revue canadienne des ressources hydriques
refine the definition peatlands contain more than
40 cm of organic soil or “peat” (National Wetlands
Working Group, 1997). Throughout this review the
term “water chemistry” most often is used to describe
the chemical content of peatland waters as most studies
are descriptive in nature. Some studies involve chemical
reactions, either directly or implied, and “chemistry”
occurs in the more formal sense.
To understand their water chemistry one must
have some familiarity with the hydrological, botanical,
geological, and ecological aspects of peatlands,
their formation and their susceptibility to change.
Fortunately several reviews which cover these aspects
in depth pre-date this one (see forthcoming section)
so this review can focus primarily on the water
chemistry of bogs and fens and will concentrate on the
past two decades. Although much of this review will
be presented in a Canadian context, many examples
from other boreal systems (e.g., northern Europe) will
be used. In many ways the water chemistry of bogs
and fens is a necessarily descriptive endeavour. To be
more useful this review will attempt to link peatland
water chemistry changes to natural processes and
anthropogenic impacts so that readers can be guided by
example to assist interpretation of their own results.
The scientific understanding of peatlands and
their development has grown over a long period
of study by botanists and ecologists as well as
geochemists and geologists and other related sciences.
It is beyond the scope of this review to delve in detail
into the botanical and geological aspects of peatland
development but fortunately several excellent and
comprehensive reviews have already appeared. For a
botanical and ecological view the book by Moore and
Bellamy (1974) is highly recommended, especially
since it synthesizes much of the early work and thus
provides an historical context. In the same way the
inorganic geochemistry of peatlands and especially the
water they contain was comprehensively reviewed by
Shotyk (1988). This work also delved rigorously and
critically into much of the historical understanding
and examined peatland chemistry. A more recent
review by Wheeler and Proctor (2000) set out to clarify
some of the ecological understanding and terminology
in current use by workers with diverse interests in
peatlands. Their review is narrower in scope than the
two mentioned above but no less rigorous and useful.
It delves into our understanding of how ecological
gradients are primarily responsible for the character
and classification of peatlands. A global and up-to-date
view of all aspects of wetlands, including peatlands,
can be found in the encyclopaedic text by Mitsch and
Gosselink (2000). Reference will be made to these
reviews, but little repetition of them will be found in
the present paper; instead the reader is encouraged to
seek out the original works.
Peatlands – Bogs and Fens
Often the term “peatlands” includes both bogs and
fens. Here we will not discuss minerogenous systems
such as marshes, swamps, and pond wetlands. Fens
are included because they are intermediate containing
many of the characteristics of bogs, but are situated in
the landscape such that they experience some influence
of surface or groundwater flows (National Wetlands
Working Group, 1997). Bogs and fens are common
in the cool boreal zones where excess moisture is
abundant. Bogs are isolated from groundwater; they
get all of their water and nutrition from atmospheric
sources so they are called ombrotrophic. Because of
their interaction with groundwater fens can contain
higher concentrations of mineral-sourced components.
True fens are thus minerotrophic (rich fens) and those
with less groundwater contact are transitional and are
called “poor fens” (Mitsch and Gosselink, 2000).
Importance of Hydrology to the Ecology of
Peatlands
When classified according to hydrologic criteria
wetlands are either ombrogenous or minerogenous
systems. Ombrogenous systems receive water solely
from precipitation, are isolated from surface or
groundwater flows and occur only where precipitation
exceeds evaporation during the growing season
(National Wetlands Working Group, 1997). A positive
water balance and an appropriate annual distribution
of precipitation, e.g., the absence of hot dry summers,
are hydrological conditions necessary for a peatland
to develop. This means precipitation is greater than
evaporation on an annual basis; evaporation ranging
from 50–70% of precipitation (Mitsch and Gosselink,
2000). Bogs are the only true ombrogenous wetlands
(National Wetlands Working Group, 1997).
© 2009 Canadian Water Resources Association
Bourbonniere
The water table of peatlands often varies seasonally
according to climate variations and because of changes
in evapotranspiration. This seasonality generally means
lower water table in the summer and results in the
vertical structure of peatlands. The upper portion is
termed the acrotelm and its depth is equal to the level of
the lowest annual water table. The living plants occupy
the top few centimetres of the acrotelm, below which
are degraded plant remains. Below the acrotelm the
peat column is called the catotelm, which is perpetually
saturated so it becomes anoxic. The acrotelm is thus the
oxic portion of the peat.
Successional Development of Peatlands
Peatlands can be seen as transitional between aquatic
and forest ecosystems, and such a view constitutes the
autogenic process of succession whereby the transition
happens due to environmental modification by the biota
in place. Allogenic succession has also been inferred
from paleoecological studies where evidence suggests
that factors external to the ecosystem undergoing
succession, such as the rise of the regional water table,
were driving development (Mitsch and Gosselink,
2000).
A comprehensive discussion of the development
of bogs and fens is beyond the scope of this review,
but descriptions of the development of two peatlands
in Elk Island National Park (near Edmondton, AB)
by Nicholson and Vitt (1994) provide by example two
common autogenic successional paths leading in one
case to a bog and in another to a rich fen. The succession
was discerned by macrofossil analysis of cores collected
from the centre of each peatland. Both peatlands
began as aquatic systems but the sediment phase at the
bottom of the core from the rich fen contains mineral
grains and fossils that indicate a permanent water
body including: (i) abundant seeds of aquatic plants,
(ii) low abundance of sedge and bryophyte fossils,
and (iii) presence of ostracod and gastropod shells.
In contrast the sediments at the bottom of the bog
core contain more bryophyte fragments and no fossil
shells suggesting a less permanent aquatic phase and
the transition from aquatic through rich fen to bog
occurred more quickly (Nicholson and Vitt, 1994).
395
Peat, Organic Soils and Water
On a dry weight basis organic soils contain at least
20% but often more than 35% organic matter and
peat is nearly all organic content. When compared
to mineral soils, organic soils and peat exhibit: (i)
lower bulk density and higher porosity, (ii) widely
ranging but generally lower hydraulic conductivity,
(iii) nutrients and minerals that are bound to organic
matter thus not bioavailable, and (iv) higher cation
exchange capacity. These properties broadly determine
the biogeochemistry of peatlands and the character of
the water contained in them (Mitsch and Gosselink,
2000).
Water is also an important agent in the overall
biogeochemical cycling in peatlands. Chemical
components in peatland waters are more mobile and
can be more reactive while in solution than when
they are associated with the solid phases. Water
chemistry is also linked to the hydrology of peatlands.
For instance the diffusion rate of oxygen in aqueous
media, like the water filled pore spaces in saturated
peat, is 10-4 times that in air filled pore spaces. This
leads to the consumption of dissolved oxygen, resulting
in its depletion (hypoxia and anoxia) and with time
a sequence of other redox transformation occur, e.g.,
nitrate and sulphate reduction (Mitsch and Gosselink,
2000).
Water Chemistry of Natural Peatlands
Ecologists are often concerned first with the species
composition of the biota in peatlands. To a large extent
the biota that exist in any peatland is dependent upon
the chemical composition of the aqueous phase, and
conversely, the biota present can influence the water
chemistry. This section will review some of the patterns
and controls that have been observed on bogs and
fens over the past two decades. The review includes
inorganic and organic constituents whether they are
major or minor components.
Major Constituents
Acidity and pH
Shotyk (1988) reviews the differences between
“acidity” or “total acidity” and “pH”; and provides
© 2009 Canadian Water Resources Association
396 Canadian Water Resources Journal/Revue canadienne des ressources hydriques
some methodological cautions. Through examples in
the historical and recent literature he shows correct
and incorrect observations regarding acidity and pH
and changes thereof. The pH of water is a measure of
hydrogen ions (H+) dissolved in it, formally the activity
of H+ and is expressed as: pH = -log [H+], where [H+]
is a concentration in moles per L. The concentration of
H+ is often confused with the total amount of available
H+ in the peat and/or water, including those that
are still bound to ligands (i.e., total acidity) which is
determined by titration with base (e.g., NaOH) and
can be precisely described as the base neutralizing
capacity (Kramer, 1982).
Bimodality of the pH found in peatlands has been
noted by several authors (Gorham et al., 1985 – citing
earlier work of Gorham and co-workers; Shotyk,
1988; Sjörs and Gunnarsson, 2002; Urban et al., 1989;
Wheeler and Proctor, 2000). One mode with pH values
ranging from 3.5-4.5 is characteristic of bogs, and the
fen mode ranges from 5.5-7.5 (Urban et al., 1989). The
explanation of bimodality is related to the differing
buffer systems operating in each mode. Bog water pH
is controlled by the carboxylic acid (COOH) content
of dissolved organic matter (DOM) originating in the
peat, and to a variable extent by ion exchange with
living plants, e.g., bryophytes (Sjörs and Gunnarsson,
2002). Bicarbonate (HCO3-) and carbonate (CO3-2)
originating in the groundwater buffers the pH of fens
(Shotyk, 1988; Sjörs and Gunnarsson, 2002; Urban et
al., 1989; Wheeler and Proctor, 2000). Vitt et al. (1995)
show how pH and bicarbonate alkalinity are the most
critical chemical components to use when studying
peatlands along the bog-fen gradient, correlating well
with vegetation-based classes.
Many authors commented that the pH of
peatland waters is the most stable chemical parameter
measured, i.e., it shows less temporal variability in
seasonal studies (e.g., Hájková and Hájek, 2004; Vitt
et al., 1995). However recent work by Tahvanainen
and Tuomaala (2003) showed that water sampling
location, sampling method, sample treatment and
holding time, and even time of day can have a large
effect on the pH determined. Their work confirmed
some of the cautions posed previously (see Shotyk,
1988) and they recommend sampling by pre-inserted
wells with minimal vacuum, storage with no headspace
and measuring pH within two hours.
Major Cations
In addition to the division of bogs and fens by pH
and bicarbonate content the higher concentration of
Ca+2 ions found in fen pore waters is often used as a
distinguishing parameter because, like bicarbonate,
Ca+2 content is related to contact with mineral soils
(Gorham et al., 1985; Vitt et al., 1995; Wheeler and
Proctor, 2000). Three other base cations are important
components in peatland waters: Mg+2, Na+ and K+.These
four elements constitute the bulk of the cations found
in bog and fen waters in the northern hemisphere.
Shallow (acrotelm) pore water concentrations of these
four major cations, published over the past two decades,
were separated into four peatland types according to
the description of the original authors, or using pH
ranges guided by the results of Vitt et al. (1995): Bog
(pH ≤4.3); Poor Fen (pH 4.3-5.5); Moderately Rich
Fen (pH 5.5-6.2); and Rich Fen (pH 6.2-7.0). Table 1
lists the ranges of base cation concentrations found in
peatlands in Canada and the northern United States
and for northern and central Europe. There is a lot of
overlap between the geographic regions and also among
the wide concentration ranges determined for fens.
Differences among peatland types for all base cations
are less pronounced for the minimum values than
for the maximum values. It is instructive to plot the
Northern Hemisphere maxima for these base cations
according to peatland type (Figure 1). Bogs and poor
fens are similar in terms of the maximum base cation
concentrations found in them, and the progressively
increasing maximum concentrations of base cations in
the moderately rich and rich fens are considerable and
exponential in nature.
Pore waters from rich fens showed base cation
concentrations three to five times higher than
poor fens (Bendell-Young and Pick, 1997) and in
another study Bendell-Young (2003) notes that the
Ca:Mg ratio of peatland pore waters from poor
and moderately rich fens approached that of rainwater
rather than bedrock and the reverse was true for rich
fens. Based on major ion chemistry Malmer et al.
(1992) concluded that the difference between poor
and rich fens is greater than between bog and poor
fen (see also Figures 1 and 2). Similarly Bendell-
Young (2003) used principal components analysis
of Ca+2, Mg+2 and alkalinity to show that surface
water in poor fens and moderately rich fens could be
distinguished from that in rich fens.
© 2009 Canadian Water Resources Association
Bourbonniere 397

450

400
Calcium
350 Magnesium
Sodium
300 Potassium

250

200

150

100

50

0
Bog Poor Fen Mod. Rich Rich Fen
Fen

Figure 1. Maximum concentrations in mg/L of base cations determined in surface water or acrotelmic pore
water from Northern Hemisphere bogs and fens in the past two decades. Peatland classifications by original
authors (see Table 1) or guided by Vitt et al. (1995).

Table 1. Concentrations of major (base) cations reported for natural waters from bogs and fens in the Northern
Hemisphere. Values are ranges, expressed in mg/L, determined from those reported by the cited sources
which cover the past two decades of peatland research.

Cation Bogs Poor Fens Mod. Rich Fens Rich Fens

a
Canada and Northern United States:
Ca+2 0.06-6.8 0.10-16 0.80-179 1.4-428
Mg+2 0.04-2.8 0.16-4.6 0.10-29 0.27-47
Na+ 0.03-16.5 0.03-4.9 0.05-76 0.80-36
K+ 0.02-1.4 0.02-3.4 0.05-11 0.40-23
b
Northern and Central Europe:
Ca+2 0.10-5.0 3.1-10.9 12.9-24 29-408
Mg+2 0.09-2.6 0.41-0.95 1.0-17 1.1-125
Na+ 0.40-21 0.05-2.6 2.3-23 2.9-132
K+ 0.05-2.1 0.30-3.3 1.0-21 0.19-185

Sources:
a
Belland and Vitt (1995); Bendell-Young (2003); Bendell-Young and Pick (1997); Cooper and Andrus (1994); Foster et al. (1988);
Glaser et al. (2004); Godwin et al. (2002); Gorham et al. (1985); Malmer et al. (1992); Reeve et al. (1996); Shotyk et al. (1992);
Szumigalski and Bayley (1997); Vitt and Bayley (1984); Vitt et al. (1995); Weider (1985)
b
Bragazza and Gerdol (1999); Bragazza and Gerdol (2002); Bragazza et al. (2005); Gabka and Lamentowicz (2008); Gorham et al. (1985);
Hájek et al. (2002); Navratilova et al. (2006); Proctor (2003); Tahvanainen (2004); Verhoven and Arts (1992); Wassen and Joosten (1996)

© 2009 Canadian Water Resources Association

398 Canadian Water Resources Journal/Revue canadienne des ressources hydriques
900
800 Bicarbonate
Chloride
700 Sulphate
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
Bog Poor Fen
Figure 2. Maximum concentrations in mg/L of major anions determined in surface water or acrotelmic pore
water from Northern Hemisphere bogs and fens in the past two decades. Peatland classifications by original
authors (see Table 2) or guided by Vitt et al. (1995).
Major Anions
Fewer data are reported for the major anions HCO3-, Cl-
and SO4-2 than for the major cations. Reported pore
water (acrotelm) concentrations were separated by
peatland type and geographic location as was done for
the base cations and the resulting ranges are shown
in Table 2. Here again there is much overlap and the
overall differences between bog and poor fen are far
less than among those two types and the richer fens.
Confirmation of the ability of HCO3- to distinguish
mineral soil contact in much the same way as Ca+2
(Vitt et al., 1995), is shown in Figure 2. Also shown in
Figure 2 where the maxima are plotted, it is clear that
lower Cl- contents are typical of bog, poor fen, and rich
fen pore waters with moderately rich fens somewhat
higher. Only rich fen pore waters are high in SO4-2
content.
It should be noted that the concentration of
HCO3- is most often estimated by alkalinity titration.
Such titrations are commonly used in aquatic chemistry
and several texts cover this material well and go way
beyond the scope required for this review (Morel, 1983;
Stumm and Morgan, 1981; Wetzel, 1983). Recall that
Mod. Rich Rich Fen
Fen
the upper pH limit for rich fens under consideration
here is pH=7.0. Wetzel (1983), citing previous workers,
shows graphically and in tabular form the distribution
of “Total CO2” (H2CO3 + HCO3- + CO3-2) in pure
water. At pH=7 HCO3- makes up 79.2% and 20.8%
is H2CO3; CO3-2 is nil, so for this review we need not
be concerned with it. It has often been suggested that
H2CO3 is a significant contributor to the acidity of
peatland waters as suggested by the pure water example
above. However work by Urban et al. (1989) proved
the often repeated statement that organic acids are
responsible for the acidity of bogs and fens (see below).
The maximum concentrations of Ca+2 and HCO3- are
inversely related to the concentration ranges of H+ used
for defining the peatland type (Figure 3), underscoring
the utility of these three water constituents as
distinguishing properties related to contact with
mineral soil. The majority of peatland studies involve
some measurement of pH and the four base cations in
Table 1, and to lesser extent the three major anions in
Table 2. Many of these studies also involved surveys
of plant species present and statistical analyses were
often used to merge chemical and floristic components
resulting in ecological classification of peatlands (e.g.,
© 2009 Canadian Water Resources Association
Bourbonniere 399

Table 2. Concentrations of major anions reported for natural waters from bogs and fens in the Northern
Hemisphere. Values are ranges, expressed in mg/L, determined from those reported by the cited sources
which cover the past two decades of peatland research.

Anion Bogs Poor Fens Mod. Rich Fens Rich Fens

a
Canada and Northern United States:
HCO3- 0.001-12 0.03-32 0.55-688 6.3-805
Cl- 0.07-29 0.10-7.0 0.10-119 2.1-27
SO4 -2
0.03-11 0.03-1.9 0.03-29 1.4-620
b
Northern and Central Europe:
HCO3- 0.001-1.2 30-43 19.7 -135 nd - nd
Cl-
0.90-35 1.3-11 11.5 -62 0.03-15.6
SO4-2 0.03-27 6.3-37 9.5 -40 5.7-78

nd = no data available
Sources:
a
Bendell-Young (2003); Bendell-Young and Pick (1997); Glaser et al. (2004); Godwin et al. (2002); Gorham et al. (1985); Malmer
et al. (1992); Reeve et al. (1996); Szumigalski and Bayley (1997); Vitt et al. (1995); Vitt and Bayley (1984); Wieder (1985)
b
Bragazza and Gerdol, (1999); Bragazza and Gerdol (2002); Bragazza et al. (2005); Gabka and Lamentowicz (2008); Gorham et
al. (1985); Hájek et al. (2002); Navratilova et al. (2006); Proctor (2003); Tahvanainen (2004); Verhoven and Arts (1992); Wassen
and Joosten (1996)

Figure 3. Inverse relationships between H+ concentration ranges (moles/L) characteristic of bogs and fens (Vitt
et al., 1995) and the maximum concentrations of Ca+2 and HCO3- from Tables 1 and 2 plotted as: 1/mg L-1.

© 2009 Canadian Water Resources Association

400 Canadian Water Resources Journal/Revue canadienne des ressources hydriques

Table 3. Concentrations of nitrate, ammonium, and phosphate reported for natural waters from bogs and fens
in the Northern Hemisphere. Values are ranges, expressed in mg/L, determined from those reported by the
cited sources which cover the past two decades of peatland research.

Nutrient Bogs Poor Fens Mod. Rich Fens Rich Fens

a
Canada and Northern United States:
NO3- 0.02-1.7 0.01-10 0.01-24 0.01-28
NH4+ 0.01-2.3 0.01-8.0 0.01-2.9 0.01-0.07
PO4 -3
0.01-0.05 0.08-2.0 0.01-11 0.01-12
b
Northern and Central Europe:
NO3- 0.02-2.4 0.02-2.4 0.01 -9.3 0.01-23
NH4 +
0.01-0.13 0.01-1.67 0.01-13 0.01-0.09
PO4-3 0.01-0.1 0.01-0.37 0.01 -5.4 0.01-18

Sources:
a
Glaser et al. (2004); Godwin et al. (2002); Kingsbury and Moore (1989); Szumigalski and Bayley (1997); Vitt and Bayley (1984);
Vitt et al. (1995); Wieder (1985)
b
Bragazza and Gerdol (1999); Bragazza and Gerdol (2002); Bragazza et al. (2005); Gabka and Lamentowicz (2008); Hájek et al.
(2002); Navratilova et al. (2006); Proctor (2003); Tahvanainen (2004); Verhoven and Arts (1992); Wassen and Joosten (1996)

30
Nitrate
25 Ammonium
Phosphate
20

15

10

0
Bog Poor Fen Mod. Rich Rich Fen
Fen

Figure 4. Maximum concentrations in mg/L of N and P species determined in surface water or acrotelmic pore
water from Northern Hemisphere bogs and fens in the past two decades. Peatland classifications by original
authors (see Table 3) or guided by Vitt et al. (1995).

© 2009 Canadian Water Resources Association

Bourbonniere
Belland and Vitt, 1995; Glaser et al., 2004; Hájková
and Hájek, 2003). In this way defining the bog-fen
gradient using pH, reduced conductivity, HCO3- and
Ca+2 became well accepted (Vitt et al., 1995). Sjörs and
Gunnarsson (2002) stressed that the bog-fen gradient
in water chemistry should be considered continuous
with considerable overlap rather than one with discrete
boundaries.
Proctor (2003) used five years of water chemistry
data from an ombrotrophic system and was able to
learn much about the sources and seasonal fluctuations
of the major constituents—cations and anions with
factor analysis. As well ratios of cations and anions were
useful in detecting seasonal changes, e.g., evaporation
and biological activity in the long-term data that are
often lost in the variability of short-term data. Cation
and anion results from this study suggested that ion
exchange between the peat and the pore water can be
responsible for short-term changes in water chemistry.
The equivalent sum of the base cations, other
cations determined and H+ is often compared to the
equivalent sum of the major anions and other anions
determined in an attempt to balance the ionic charge.
In peatlands this always results in an excess of cations
or an “anion deficit” which is “balanced” by organic
anions in the DOM (see below and Proctor, 2003;
Urban et al., 1989).
Minor Constituents
Nutrients
Table 3 lists the reported ranges for acrotelm pore water
NO3-, NH4+ and PO4-3 according to peatland type.
Even the maximum values are considered low for all
peatland types. The maximum NO3- and PO4-3 values
show a progressive increase along the bog-fen gradient
and those for NH4+ appear to be highest for the poor
fen (Figure 4). These data illustrate the long held notion
that peatland pore waters are nutrient poor and thus may
be nutrient sinks (Mitsch and Gosselink, 2000). Vitt et
al. (1995) showed that nutrient elements (N and P)
correlate somewhat with peatland types and exhibited
strong seasonal variations. Gabka and Lamentowicz
(2008) studied peatlands along a bog to moderately rich
fen gradient and also found significant relationships
between nutrients to peatland type. Proctor (2003)
showed that NO3- tends to be highest during the colder
months when biological activity is low.
401
Metals
Bendell-Young (2003) showed that pore water
concentrations of Mn and Fe come from groundwater
exchange at the bottom of the peat profile in a poor
fen. Similarly Bragazza et al. (2005) suggested that
pore water concentrations of metals in bogs mirror
the composition of the groundwater particularly at
the margins. Al and Fe were found to be enriched in
bogs relative to fens by Vitt et al. (1995) and this was
attributed to chelation by DOM. Helmer et al. (1990)
showed that interaction with DOM was important to
model the speciation of Al in bog waters.
Wetlands were shown to yield methylmercury
(MeHg) from 26-79 times higher than from upland
portions of boreal catchments (St. Louis et al., 2004).
Sulphate was shown to stimulate production of MeHg
by sulphate reducing bacteria which can have important
consequences wherever SO4-2 concentrations are
increased by atmospheric or other sources (Branfireun
et al., 1999). Studying whether microtopography affects
the chemical constituents of bog and fen pore water,
Branfireun (2004) found MeHg at the water table to
be 3.5 times higher in shallow hollows compared to
deep hollows, and the sequence of these concentrations
among four topographic locations was shallow hollows
> hummock > lawn > deep hollow. At 25 cm below
the water table there were no significant differences
in MeHg concentration. More detailed profiles of
pore water chemistry (pH, SO4-2, DOC, and MeHg)
along the microtopographic gradient suggested that
hydrology and biogeochemistry were also important
controlling factors in the complex relationship.
Because of its ombrotrophy, bog vegetation is used
to monitor changes in atmospheric deposition of metals
(Martinez-Cortizas et al., 1999; Shotyk et al., 1998).
Bragazza (2006) investigated whether bog surface
water could be used as a monitoring medium instead
of vegetation and found a significant relationship
between bog water and rainwater concentrations of
several trace metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Zn, and Pb). At his
study site in the Italian Alps he noted the same patterns
in bog water and vegetation concentrations but mosses
exhibited higher concentrations.
Dissolved Organic Matter in Peatlands
Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is produced in peat
and soils by the microbial degradation of plant material
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402 Canadian Water Resources Journal/Revue canadienne des ressources hydriques
and subsequent dissolution in the pore waters (Moore
and Dalva, 2001) and related to temperature, roughly
doubling with each 10ºC increase (Moore et al.,
2008). Increased primary production can also result in
increased DOM concentrations (Freeman et al., 2004).
The concentration of DOM is generally expressed
as the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) content of
the water. Since DOM is approximately 55% C, the
approximate conversion is:
DOM = 1.8 × DOC.
The range of DOC concentration typical for bog
associated waters is illustrated by the results obtained
from Mer Bleue in Ontario: 30-60 mgC/L (Fraser et
al., 2001). The natural leaching processes that occur
in peatlands increase the DOC concentration, and
the concentration of DOC exported from peatlands
is generally greater than that from precipitation and
upland sources (Vasander and Kettunen, 2006).
Chemically DOM is a complex mixture of organic
compounds varying widely in molecular weight from
small molecules like organic acids (some volatile) and
sugars to intermediate polymers like hemicellulose
and large polycondensates usually called humic matter.
Some early workers isolated and identified particular
organic constituents from peat (see Shotyk (1988)
for some fascinating examples), but in the past two
decades aquatic and soil chemists and ecologists have
viewed DOM in many of the same ways they did soil
organic matter or DOM in lakes, stressing its complex
(humic) nature. The study of humic matter originated
in soil chemistry and has a 200 year history. Humic
matter is isolated from soil, sediment and peat by
various methods and the resulting fractions - fulvic
acid (FA), humic acid (HA) and humin (HU) – have
been studied extensively for their physical and chemical
properties, reactivity in the environment, relationship
to soil fertility as well as theories of their formation,
All of this and more has been extensively reviewed
– see: Kononova (1966), Poveledo and Golterman
(1973), Schnitzer and Khan (1972) and Stevenson
1982) among many others.
Aquatic chemists began about 40 years ago to
consider the DOM in natural waters as “aquatic humic
matter” and developed isolation techniques so that
many of the soil scientists’ methods for studying FA
and HA could be applied to those fractions of DOM
(Aiken et al., 1979, 1985, 1992; Leenheer, 1981;
Thurman, 1985; Thurman and Malcolm, 1981 among
others). Recent attempts to unravel the nature of DOM
have moved away from fractionation and returned to
viewing DOM as a whole, utilizing modern sensitive
techniques that help to understand the biogeochemical
function of DOM or its component parts.
Organic Acidity and DOM
The acidity of DOM is one property that interests
ecologists and chemists alike because of its relationship
to the pH of peatlands and their floristic composition,
and to the interaction of DOM with metals.The “organic
acidity” of DOM and its fractions is determined most
often by base titration to pH=7.0 (e.g., Kramer, 1982;
McKnight et al., 1985; Oliver et al., 1983; Urban et al.
1989). Organic acidity is often expressed as charge or
carboxylic density (µeq COOH/ mg DOC) and values
ranging from 7 – 24 were reported by Urban et al.
(1989). Evidence that FA and HA fractions of DOM
are polyfunctional, made up of a complex mixture of
monomers and polymers, is the monotonous shape of
base titration curves. This suggests that the titratable
H+ in DOM exist in a multitude of environments;
that acids with dissociation constants characteristic of
strong and weak acids co-exist in the mixture. Urban
et al. (1989) illustrated this using multiple samples of
bog water and two prominent modelling techniques.
They determined acid dissociation constants expressed
as pKa ranging from 3.5 to 7.4.
The organic acidity, or total carboxylic acid
concentration determined by base titration of natural
peatland waters is often equal to the anion deficit
calculated by subtracting the total anion concentration
from that of the total cations determined by a variety
of methods. This correspondence between two
independent measures, is taken as evidence that the
[H+] in natural peatland waters is provided mostly
by protons released from DOM. A tight relationship
between anion deficit and DOC concentration
was shown by Gorham et al. (1985) for their North
American bog transect and by Marin et al. (1990) in a
Wisconsin poor fen. The same authors also found good
relationships between [H+] and DOC concentration.
A further indication that DOM was responsible for
low pH in bog and poor fen waters was provided by
degrading it photochemically and noting the resulting
increase in pH (Gorham et al., 1985; Marin et al.,
1990).
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Bourbonniere
Characterization of Peatland DOM
The character of DOM in peatlands was investigated
utilizing a comprehensive resin based fractionation
technique initially used by Leenheer (1981) which
separated the DOM into several hydrophobic and
hydrophilic acid, base and neutral sub-fractions.
Interstitial waters from bogs in Nova Scotia contained
59-64% of their DOC in the acidic sub-fractions
of DOM: HA, hydrophobic acid (HPOA) and
hydrophilic acid (HPIA) (Bourbonniere, 1989) and
a continental bog contained 82% (Moore and Matos,
1999). Moore et al. (2003) found 85-93% of the DOC
in these acidic fractions in shallow bog water from
the Experimental Lakes Area in Ontario. The sums
of these operationally defined “acid” fractions are high
enough to account for the organic acidity and anion
deficit of peatland waters discussed above. These
same workers also found that deeper bog waters were
usually higher in HA content, reflecting the diagenetic
modification that occurs as peat accumulates and is
buried (Bourbonniere, 1989; Moore et al., 2003). The
higher summer HA concentrations in bog drainage
water and streams that contain bogs in their watersheds
suggests that as water table drops seasonally, older HA
enriched water is a greater proportion of the drainage
than in other seasons.
DOM can also be characterized by size exclusion
chromatography into fractions defined by molecular
weight. Sachse et al. (2001) studied the interstitial water
in a poor fen and reported depth-averaged results: 72%
of the DOC in their highest molecular weight humic
substances fraction, 3% in the intermediate molecular
weight polysaccharides fraction and 4% in the low
molecular weight acids fraction.
Spectroscopy in the ultraviolet and visible spectral
ranges has a long history in the characterization DOM
from peatlands. Measures that came from the study of
soil organic matter like the E4/E6 ratio (absorbance at
465 nm / absorbance at 665 nm) can indicate the fulvic
vs. humic character of DOM: HA 3-5 and FA >8 which
in turn indicate molecular weight and aromaticity (see
Chen et al., 1977). Moore (1987) (using absorbances
at 400 and 600 nm) found that peatland waters with
higher E4/E6 (13.2) also contained a greater proportion
of low molecular weight components, and those waters
with higher molecular weight constituents gave lower
E4/E6-ratio (5.5-7.3). These subarctic peatland waters
also exhibited marked seasonal differences in E4/E6-
higher earlier in the growing season than at the end
403
suggesting that over winter degradation and early
summer production affect DOM character and that
more HA character is dominant in the late summer
(Moore, 1987). Zaccone et al. (2009) characterized bog
pore waters using E4/E6 and, though highly variable,
found higher ratios in the upper portions of a one
meter bog core (FA like) than at the bottom portions
(HA like).
Specific UV absorbance (SUVA) has also found
utility as a measure of the aromatic character of DOM
in soils and has sometimes been used in peatland
waters. Frequently measured at 254 or 280 nm,
SUVA is the ratio of absorbance per m of path length
normalized to DOC in mg/L [units: L mgC-1 m-1];
higher SUVA indicates higher aromatic character or
aromaticity. Chin et al. (1994) showed that SUVA
was related to total aromaticity and weight average
molecular weight determined by high pressure size
exclusion chromatography. Sachse et al. (2001) found
higher aromaticity in fen pore waters than in adjacent
ponds.
Fluorescence spectra have been widely used to
characterize the DOM in many natural water samples
(cf. McKnight et al., 2001) including DOM from soils
and peatlands. Techniques vary in terms of the types
and amount of pre-treatment (e.g., isolation on resins,
see above), but Kalbitz et al. (2000) showed that UV
absorbance at 285 nm and a humification index (HIX)
obtained by synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy
were typically lower by about 15% when applied to
DOM without any sample preparation compared to
resin isolated FA. Humification indices proposed by
Kalbitz et al. (2001) are ratios of emission intensity
in synchronous fluorescence spectra (e.g., 390/355
nm, 400/360 nm, 470/360 nm, 470/400 nm) and are
similar to the fluorescence index proposed for aquatic
FA by McKnight et al. (2001). The ratio of emission
intensities 450/500 nm, at 370 nm excitation showed
a strong negative linear relationship to aromaticity
derived from 13C NMR spectroscopy for aquatic FA
isolated from a broad range of water samples with
microbial DOM and terrestrial DOM as end members.
The fluorescence index is suggested for use between
1.9 (microbial) and 1.2 (humic), but should be used in
conjunction with SUVA (McKnight et al., 2001).
Fraser et al. (2001) used the fluorescence index
of McKnight et al. (2001) on pore water from Mer
Bleue and found increasing values from 1.1 to 1.6 with
increasing depth to 4.5 m in the peatland, indicating
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404 Canadian Water Resources Journal/Revue canadienne des ressources hydriques
a decrease in aromaticity of the DOM with depth.
Using the HIX (390/355 nm) Zaccone et al. (2009)
also showed decreasing aromatic character of bog
pore water DOM with depth. HIX (470/400 nm)
and SUVA (280 nm) in bog waters decreased after
removal of HA, suggesting a more humified character
of HA than the bulk DOM (Glatzel et al., 2003).
Taken together these results suggest that some of the
HA produced by humification of peat at depth may
precipitate from the pore water resulting in decreased
aromatic character of DOM at depth.
Role of DOM in the Peatland Carbon Budget
As recent interest in the global carbon budget focussed
a lot of peatland research on the cycling of carbon
within them, an appreciation of the role that DOM
plays has emerged (Moore et al., 1998; Vasander and
Kettunen, 2006). Hydrology is usually the controlling
factor determining DOM export from peatlands
(Fraser et al., 2001; Freeman et al., 2001; Hinton et
al., 1997; Koprivjnak and Moore, 1992) with greater
export generally associated with higher discharge.
Several studies have quantified the export of DOM
(as DOC) from northern bogs and fens during the
growing season which ranged from 0.8–29.4 gC/m2,
the highest values from bogs on the Precambrian
Shield and the lowest from subarctic fens (Moore,
1987; Koprivnjak and Moore, 1992; Moore et al.,
2003). There is some uncertainty in estimating annual
DOC exports, particularly if the estimation is based on
three to four month growing season data (Koprivnjak
and Moore, 1992), but where annual budgets were
determined they ranged from 1.5–40 gC/m2 (Schiff et
al., 1998; Urban et al., 1989; Fraser et al., 2001). The
magnitude of annual DOC export from peatlands
is about 2-8% of the annual CO2 exchange by soil
respiration and photosynthesis and about twice the
emissions of CH4 (Moore et al., 1998). Waddington
and Roulet (1997) showed that movement of dissolved
components (DOC, CH4 and CO2) within a peatland
may have implications for carbon cycling.
Water Chemistry of Disturbed Peatlands
Potential Changes in Water Chemistry
Much of the recent interest in peatland water chemistry
is related to questions of anthropogenic disturbance.
This can be as profound as complete degradation
by drainage, utilization or even urbanization. More
moderate and much slower changes in water chemistry
can occur because of direct and indirect anthropogenic
influences that gradually modify the relationships that
exist among peatland vegetation, groundwater and the
atmosphere.
Disturbances by Atmospheric Deposition
Atmospheric components are potentially important
contaminants of peatlands, particularly ombrotrophic
ones (Gorham et al., 1985; Shotyk, 1988). Airborne
SO4-2 and NO3- from anthropogenic and natural
sources might decrease the pH of peatlands and if
they are not assimilated or otherwise utilized in
biogeochemical reactions, they may replace a portion
of the natural organic acidity. Over recent decades
increased atmospheric deposition of SO4-2 and NO3-
in northern Sweden, though only slight compared to
other locations, impacted the pH and Ca+2 content
of bog waters. At all sites studied Ca+2 increased over
50 years and pH decreased for the fen sites while
remaining largely unchanged at the bog sites (Sjörs
and Gunnarsson, 2002). The water chemistry of bogs,
fens and associated pools in central Ontario were
analyzed for 27 chemical variables and the results
of factor analysis yielded three main factors that
together explained 81% of the variance (Blancher and
McNicol, 1987). The first factor (39% of variance)
was attributed to DOM influence and metals like
Al, Fe, other trace metals, colour, and anion deficit
were positively weighted on this factor. Factor 2 (28%
of the variance) was heavily weighted on the base
cations, pH and alkalinity and was interpreted to
represent mineral influence or buffering capacity. The
third factor (14% of the variance) are heavily loaded
on SO4-2, Mn and Ni and negatively loaded on pH;
all indicating local sources of atmospheric deposition.
Proctor and Maltby (1998) noted a strong correlation
between surface water pH of bogs and rainwater
pH and a slightly less strong correlation with total
deposited [H+] when dry deposition was included.
Similarly non-marine sulphate in wet and total
deposition, a surrogate for air pollution, was correlated
with surface water pH. Such close correlation would
be expected in ombrotrophic systems and the authors
suggest that they are likely better buffered against
moderate air pollution than more neutral systems like
fens (Proctor and Maltby, 1998).
© 2009 Canadian Water Resources Association
Bourbonniere
Drainage from acid impacted bogs was studied by
Hruska et al. (1996) in the Czech Republic and though
organic acids were similar in character (carboxylic
density, pKa) to sites in North America and northern
Europe, the calculated anion deficit (OA-) comprised
only 21-32% of the total anion charge because of high
SO4-2 contents from acid deposition. The pH of these
drainage streams is controlled by mineral acids because
it was highly correlated with SO4-2 and not with OA-.
Laboratory experiments using peat and soils confirmed
that the increased discharge of DOM recorded at a
reservoir was related to the increase in pH which
occurred because of reductions in acid deposition to
the previously highly acidified and disturbed watershed
(Scheithauer et al., 2005).
Changes Brought about by Peatland Development and
Restoration
Peatlands may undergo development for forestry,
agriculture, mining, urbanization, waste disposal or
harvesting of peat. All of these uses require drainage
which constitutes a profound disturbance of the natural
functioning of the peatland (i.e., acrotelm destruction).
Once a decision is made to drain a peatland for one
of these uses, interest turns to the quality, chemical
composition, and fate of the drained water as it may
impact upon downstream uses and water bodies. As
well, in some cases there is interest in recording the
retention or loss of certain components (e.g., nutrients)
from the drained peatland.
Lundin and Bergquist (1990) reported on a long-
term controlled bog drainage study in a single watershed
containing two bogs. Changes in chemical composition
were monitored in discharge from an upstream control
basin and a drained basin as well as small catchments
within the drained basin. Most dissolved components
(e.g., base cations, SO4-2, DOC) showed net losses in
both basins but greater losses occurred in the impacted
basin. A deviation from this was the retention of N in
both sub-basins which occurred because of a decrease
of export of organic N.
Drainage of a small bog in Ohio appears to have
increased groundwater inflow and the chemistry of
the bog water became more like a moderately rich
fen (Miletti et al., 2005). Similarly an Alberta bog
that had been drained and harvested was compared
to a nearby natural bog. The groundwater chemistry
and that of the water in the drainage ditches showed
405
higher concentration of all components determined;
chemistry more like a moderately rich fen than a bog
(Wind-Mulder and Vitt, 2000).
DOC export was studied for three years at a
drained and cutover bog in Quebec in conjunction
with a parallel study of a restored portion of the same
bog (Waddington et al., 2008). The drainage occurred
28 years prior to the start of the DOC study and
harvesting activity ended 19 years prior; the site was
abandoned for those years. Bog restoration involved
removing invasive vegetation, ditch blockage, milling,
seeding with Sphagnum, fertilization, and protecting
with straw (Rochefort et al., 2003); none of this
was done to the cutover portion. The study focussed
on the comparison for three years and showed that
DOC export from the restored portion was 2-2.5
times less than from the cutover portion reflecting
the decreased discharge. DOC concentrations in
discharge and surface waters from the restored portion
were consistently higher than those from the cutover
portion reflecting increased leaching of peat, vegetation
and the straw used to protect the Sphagnum diaspores
during the initial restoration procedure. At a block
cut operation DOC concentrations increased during
harvesting and decreased after the initial harvesting.
Blocking the drainage ditches to stimulate restoration
resulted in the highest DOC concentrations observed
(Glatzel et al., 2003).
Strack et al. (2008) report on the short and long-
term changes in DOC concentrations in surface and
pore water, and export after artificial lowering of the
water table in a poor fen complex. DOC concentration
in pools was increased immediately after drawdown
and export was also high initially. In subsequent seasons
after drawdown, DOC concentrations in surface and
pore waters remained higher than an undrained control
fen for up to 11 years. Seasonal DOC export from the
experimental fen decreased after the first season to
values that were not significantly different from those
of a fen drained nine years previously.
Impacts of Adjacent Land-Use
Peatlands adjacent to agricultural areas such as the
mid continental prairies of North America are
influenced by soil derived dust with consequential
increases in Ca+2 concentrations. On their North
American transect Gorham et al. (1985) found a five
times decrease in bog water Ca+2 concentrations from
Minnesota east to Newfoundland.
© 2009 Canadian Water Resources Association
406 Canadian Water Resources Journal/Revue canadienne des ressources hydriques
Clay et al. (2009) investigated managed burning
of the uplands in blanket bogs to determine whether
it had a detrimental effect on the quantity and quality
of DOM exported. Although an initial increase in
DOM quantity occurred in the weeks after burning, it
was short-lived and there was no significant difference
between DOM quantity in the year after the burn
compared to the year before. Twenty years post burn,
there was a decrease in DOM colour compared to an
unburned control.
Blanket bogs in Ireland that were utilized for
silviculture were studied for the effects on water
quality after clear-felling and reforestation (Cummins
and Farrell, 2003a; b). Generally higher pH and
concentrations of base cations, NH4+, NO3-, DOC
and alkalinity were found in receiving streams and
drains from clear cut areas than from control areas.
Cl-, SO4-2, and conductivity showed little difference;
aluminum was complicated by seasonality between
organic and inorganic forms (Cummins and Farrell,
2003b). Phosphorus showed large increases (Cummins
and Farrell, 2003a) which was expected because of the
fertilizers applied to the forest.
Highway development near or through peatlands
can affect not only their hydrology but also their water
chemistry. A common problem in northern areas is
the effect of road salt. Pugh et al. (1996) showed that
Na+ and Cl- concentrations as well as K+, Ca+2 and
Mg+2 in surface and pore waters of a poor fen decrease
exponentially from a major Maine highway that had
been salted in winter for 30 years. They found evidence
that cation exchange processes have been impacted so
that cation ratios also change regularly with distance
from the highway, suggesting a long-term impact on
peat chemistry. The bulk of applied road salt is however
flushed through the system during a few weeks of
snowmelt every spring. In western Massachusetts
concentrations of Na+ and Cl- from road salt also
decreased with distance from a highway (Richburg et
al., 2001). In northwestern Indiana a bog was impacted
by runoff from an uncovered salt storage facility such
that pH, alkalinity and base cation levels were all
elevated (Wilcox, 1986).
Impacts of Climate Change
The potential impacts of climate change on peatlands
(and the potential impacts of peatlands on climate)
are objects of current research and international
negotiations (IPCC, 2007). Much of the interest is
expressed in studies of carbon cycling in peatlands that
are primarily interested in exchange of CO2 and CH4
with the atmosphere as a warming climate is expected
to lower water tables in peatlands (Roulet, 2000).
Some studies discuss the potential changes in water
chemistry, particularly DOM export that may occur as
water tables drop (Moore et al., 1998 among others).
Simulated summer drought (16-20 weeks in
duration, followed by re-wetting for 32-36 weeks)
decreased the usual summer peaks of DOC and Fe
concentrations, increased the SO4-2 concentrations
in autumn and decreased pH (Hughes et al., 1997).
Drawdown of a poor fen to a water table position
equal to the anticipated amount that would result from
warming and higher evapotranspiration, caused an
initial increase in DOC concentrations and discharge.
Subsequently DOC concentrations decreased, though
they remained higher than an undrained control after
three years. DOC discharge also decreased and the level
reached in the third year equalled that of a site that was
eleven years from drainage (Strack et al., 2008). Using
a combination of DOC discharge measurements and
modelled CO2 and CH4 fluxes Clair et al. (2002)
suggest that DOC export from a poor fen might
double under a two times CO2 warming scenario.
Peat monoliths in mesocosms and incubation
studies were used by Blodau et al. (2004) for a
comprehensive investigation of the effect of water table
on the processing of carbon in bogs. They determined
rates of CO2 and CH4 exchange and DOC production
under aerobic (lowered water table) and anaerobic
(saturated) conditions. Under saturated conditions
DOC production dominated the carbon turnover, and
its production rate did not change when the water
table was lowered; but soil respiration and microbial
biomass carbon rates increased. All production rates
decreased with depth under saturated conditions
indicating that fresh organic matter is an important
perquisite for release of carbon as DOC, or dissolved
CO2 and CH4.
DOC concentrations in rivers and streams have
increased (Worrall et al., 2004). Freeman et al. (2004)
inferred that CO2 enrichment results in increased
DOC concentration found in outflows from a drought
experiment by increasing net primary productivity and
thus the leaching of fresh biomass. This explanation
follows after showing how three alternate explanations:
(i) warming, (ii) increased river discharge, and (iii)
shifting rainfall patterns are unable to account for the
© 2009 Canadian Water Resources Association
Bourbonniere
increase in stream DOC concentration (Freeman et al.,
2004; Worrall et al., 2004).
Concluding Remarks and Recommendations
Over the past two decades research on the water
chemistry of peatlands has strengthened our
understanding of the links among botany, hydrology,
and water chemistry. In addition studies began to look
at other environmental drivers that can alter water
chemistry (e.g., climate, atmospheric deposition) and
opened up a whole new box of questions. These new
lines of research also brought into the field techniques
and methods that focussed on understanding peatland
functioning. Thus the view that peatlands function
as separate ecosystems is gradually being replaced
by the more holistic idea that peatlands function as
components of larger ecosystems.
Peatland research has a long tradition as a science
where direct field observations are the mainstay of
studies because practice evolved from methods based in
ecology. Continuation of the field tradition is necessary
to improve our understanding of the place that peatlands
have in the overall landscape, learning more about
how peatlands interact with the atmosphere and other
landscape components upstream, downstream, and at
their margins. In depth understanding of ecosystem
functioning and appreciation for the ecosystem
services provided by peatlands is necessary to inform
policy when development threatens to encroach. Field
based observations provide the framework from which
to build models that can assist management decisions
and inform future scientific endeavours.
Long-term studies have the greatest utility in model
building because they are more likely to encompass
the range of conditions experienced by the peatland.
In this review several papers reported on data that had
been monitored for a period of years, some examples
are: Lundin and Bergquist (1990), Proctor (2003),
Strack et al. (2008), and Waddington et al. (2008).
Manipulation studies are another important avenue of
research that can inform modelling efforts. These are
often tied to field studies and have a lot of potential to
predict impacts on real systems but are often difficult to
design and implement. Sometimes the design involves
compromises that can yield unexpected or ambiguous
results. Examples of manipulation studies reported in
407
papers reviewed here are: Clay et al. (2009), Freeman et
al. (2004), Hughes et al. (1997), Lundin and Bergquist
(1990), Strack et al. (2008), and Waddington et al.
(2008).
Although models are beneficiaries of long and
short-term field studies and manipulations, those
studies often cannot provide all the data required for
model building. Field data are integrative in nature so
they do not represent small scale properties or processes
well. When models require information on smaller
scale processes and on the environmental factors that
control them, mesocosm and microcosm studies are
useful. In this review several papers reported on such
studies (Blodau et al., 2004; Moore and Dalva, 2001;
Moore et al., 2008).
Many of the modern spectroscopic techniques
(e.g., SUVA, HIX) are useful to characterize and
quantify the aromatic content of peatland DOM.
What we are lacking are techniques to reliably
determine the character and quantity of hydrophilic
components that are not aromatic in character. An
indirect indication of the quantity of “non-aromatic”
components can be inferred by a low SUVA value, but
this is of limited utility. Fractionation methods address
the hydrophilic content and attempt to distinguish
acids, bases and neutral components (e.g., Aiken et al.,
1992; Bourbonniere, 1989; Leenheer, 1981; Moore et
al., 2003), but these techniques require much sample
handling and preparation possibly losing volatile
hydrophilic components in the process. All techniques
require filtration, so loss of volatiles is common (see
Shotyk, 1988). Several authors suggested that “easily
degradable” organic matter is important in peatland
biogeochemistry (Sachse et al., 2001) including
promoting the production of CO2 (Blodau et al., 2004;
Glatzel et al., 2003). It is highly likely that these are
hydrophilic components of DOM.
Finally when the opportunity arises comprehensive
studies should be undertaken regarding peatland water
chemistry that links to larger ecosystem scale studies (e.g.,
Glaser et al., 2004). We should mobilize to take advantage
of existing infrastructure and conduct water chemistry
research at a common site where other environmental
variables are under study (e.g., FLUXNET Canada sites
studied by Moore et al., 2008).
© 2009 Canadian Water Resources Association
408 Canadian Water Resources Journal/Revue canadienne des ressources hydriques
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Kasey Livingston for her assistance
tracking down hard to find papers. Three anonymous
reviewers helped to improve the quality of this paper
and their efforts and insight are appreciated.
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