Humic-rich peat extracts inhibit sulfate reduction, methanogenesis, and anaerobic respiration but not acetogenesis in peat soils of a temperate bog

To understand why anaerobic ombrotrophic peats can be very low in methane after drainage related afforestation, we analyzed the competition of sulfate reducing, humus reducing, and methanogenic microorganisms by incubating ombrotrophic peats of the Mer Bleue bog, Ontario. Sulfate, sulfide, and sulfate containing peat dissolved organic matter (DOM) from an afforested site were added in reduced and oxidized redox state. Sulfate and acetate concentrations were analyzed, bacterial sulfate reduction (BSR) and CO₂ and CH₄ production quantified, and results analyzed by ANOVA. DOM was characterized by Fourier transformed infrared and fluorescence spectroscopy and analyzed for trace elements. CH₄ production (116 nmol cm⁻³ d⁻¹) and BSR rate (102 nmol cm⁻³ d⁻¹) were similar in ‘controls’. BSR in treatments ‘sulfate’ (73 nmol cm⁻³ d⁻¹) and ‘sulfide’ (118 nmol cm⁻³ d⁻¹) did not significantly differ from ‘controls’ but addition of DOM significantly diminished BSR down to 0.4 nmol cm⁻³ d⁻¹ (Kruskal Wallis test, p < 0.05). CH₄ production decreased with sulfate (16%, not significant) and sulfide addition (40%, p < 0.05) and CO₂ production increased (treatment ‘sulfate’, p < 0.05). Addition of all DOM extracts (67 mg L⁻¹) almost completely suppressed methanogenesis and CO₂ production (p < 0.05), but acetate accumulated compared to the control (p < 0.05). The DOM applied contained carboxylic, aromatic and phenolic moieties and metal contents typical for peat humic substances. We conclude that a toxic effect of the intensely humified DOM occurred on both methanogenic and sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) but not on fermenting microorganisms. As yet it is not clear what might cause such a toxic effect of DOM on SRB and archaea.     

Phenolic esters in peat

The p-hydroxypropiophenone ester of stearic acid has been isolated sedge peat. This appears to be the first report of the ester as a natural product.     

The influence of the bog water level on the transformation of sphagnum mosses in peat soils of oligotrophic bogs

Quantitative estimates of the rate of transformation of moss residues of two species (Sphagnum angustifolium and Sphagnum fuscum) in the peat soils (Histosols) were obtained for two oligotrophic bogs with different hydrological conditions in the southern taiga of Western Siberia. The coefficients of decomposition rate (k) significantly differed for the studied species; the decomposition of Sphagnum fuscum proceeded much slower. The most intense decomposition was observed in the first year of transformation (k = 0.06 and 0.16–0.66 for Sph. fuscum and Sph. angustifolium, respectively); then, the rate of moss decomposition decreased. Despite the great amount of fungal mass in the moss residues (exceeding the bacterial biomass by 3–10 times), the rate of the initial decomposition was very low. The hydrological conditions affected the intensity of this process—in the peat of the Kirsanovskoe bog with the low level of bog water, losses of the mass of sphagnum moss were 1.1–1.6 times greater as compared to those in the Bakcharskoe bog. For Sph. angustifolium, the level of bog water was more important than for Sphagnum fuscum, whereas for Sphagnum fuscum, the composition of organic matter played a decisive role in the rate of decomposition of moss residues. The activity of the microflora also depended on the level of bog water, which was manifested in a greater abundance of bacteria in the peat of the Kirsanovskoe bog.     

Alfalfa roots and nitrogen transformations in peat

Accumulation of NH⁺₄ and NO^?₃ in peat was significantly reduced by living or decaying alfalfa roots. Alfalfa root extracts, alfalfa saponins, the carbohydrate fraction of alfalfa saponins and mono- and disaccharides inhibited NH⁺₄ production and NO^?₃ accumulation, in a casein-amended peat or enrichment cultures, and they enhanced denitrification in a flooded peat. NO^?₃ accumulation in peat was affected to a lesser extent by polysaccharides, the genine (aglycone) fraction of alfalfa saponins, and by the root extracts of Rhodes grass, clover and wheat. It is suggested that inhibition of accumulation in alfalfa-grown peat is mainly due to the relatively high concentrations of free sugars and saponins of alfalfa roots, which lead to NH⁺₄ immobilization, with a concomitant decrease in NO^?₃ accumulation.     

Sulphur distribution and metabolism in waterlogged peat

About 90% of total S in a peat profile from a valley mire was associated with organic matter, and in the anaerobic zone, most of the remaining S could be distilled as H₂S (steam-volatile H₂S). [³⁵S]SO^2?₄ was rapidly incorporated into both organic and steam-volatile H₂S pools, with preferential labelling of organic matter at the surface of the peat (? 10 cm depth) and of steam-volatile H₂S at greater depth (? 10 cm depth). Less than 2% of the steam-volatile H₂S could be accounted for as H₂S in solution in the pore water, and evidence suggesting FeS as the source of this fraction is presented. Less than 2% of the total S in the profile was present as FeS₂ or S°, and S₂O^2?₃ and S₄O^2?₆ could not be detected. Measurements of total S content of the peat and estimates of the age of the deposit indicate a rate of S accumulation of 4.76–6.06 g S m^?2yr^?1. The results are discussed in the context of the mechanisms of S transformations and uptake by other mire systems.     

Sulfur mineralization in sphagnum peat

Abstract

Open and closed incubation systems were studied as means of quantifying sulfate fractions in sphagnum peat moss. Sulfate was extracted in the closed system with a 0.15% CaCl₂‐H₂O or a 500 mg P/L extractant. Sulfate was extracted in the open system with 10 mM KC1, 0.15% , CaCl₂‐H₂O, or 500 mg P/L extractant. Extractants were quantified by ion chromatography. Phosphate extractant released more sulfate than CaCl₂, in the closed system. There was a significant increase over time of sulfate released by the CaCl₂ extractant. In the open system, there was no significant difference in release and total amounts leached of sulfate‐S between extractants. The closed system released more sulfate‐S than the open system. Phosphate extractants in both systems mineralized 43% of initial sulfur content     

Simultaneous inhibition of CH4 efflux and stimulation of sulphate reduction in peat subject to simulated acid rain

Acid rain sulphate (SO₄²⁻) deposition is a known suppressant of methane (CH₄) emission from wetlands. However, the hypothesised mechanism responsible for this important biogeochemical interaction, competitive exclusion of methanogens by dissimilatory SO₄²⁻ reducing bacteria (SRB), lacks supporting evidence. Here, we present data from an acid rain simulation experiment in the Moidach More peat bog of NE Scotland that strengthens this hypothesis. We report a tenfold increase in estimated SO₄²⁻ reduction during periods when measured CH₄ emission rates were suppressed relative to controls receiving only one-tenth the SO₄²⁻ of treated plots, but no treatment effect on potential methane oxidation. This tenfold increase in estimated SO₄²⁻ reduction indicates the presence of a more active population of SRB in plots where CH₄ emissions were reduced by over 30%.     

Source and transformations of lignin in Carex-dominated peat

We identified the effects of vegetation changes, and aerobic and anaerobic decay on the lignin composition in the Penido Vello peat record (Galicia, Spain). The ombrotrophic part of this peat record was dominated by graminoids and has significant contributions of ericoids at some depths. The organic matter (OM) of different peat fractions (bulk, NaOH-extractable fraction, and non-extractable residues) of 15 samples from the upper meter was analysed with pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (pyrolysis-GC/MS). In addition, the dominant plant species were analysed, including Carex durieui, Agrostis curtisii, Molinia caerulea, Deschampsia flexuosa, Festuca rubra, Eriophorum angustifolium, Erica mackaiana and Calluna vulgaris, and their lignin composition compared to that of the peat OM. The high abundance of guaiacol and 4-formylguaiacol in fresh plant tissue compared to peat OM suggests that in addition to p-coumaric and ferulic acid (which are abundant in graminoids), other non-lignin phenolic monomers are contributed by graminoid species. For the non-lignin phenolics, graminoids differed from ericoids in the high abundance of ferulic acid (4-vinylguaiacol), while p-coumaric acid (4-vinylphenol) showed high and similar abundances in ericoids and graminoids. This result suggests that ratios between p-hydroxyphenyl (or p-coumaric acid) and other lignin moieties in (pyrolysates of) peat cannot be used as source indicator. Comparison of plant and peat fractions using factor analysis allowed a distinction between the effects of source (plant identity) and decay on the lignin composition of the Penido Vello peat, and different stages of decomposition were identified. Preferential decay of guaiacyl over syringyl moieties was found for the first stage of decay. This preferential decay is probably related to the large abundance of guaiacyl moieties in easily degradable non-lignin phenolics. Preferential decay of syringyl moieties occurred during subsequent aerobic decay.     

Effect of peat type and ph on breakdown of peat using fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

Abstract

Information on breakdown of peats as evidenced by shrinkage during cropping is generally lacking. The objective of this investigation was to study the breakdown of peat of various degrees of decomposition, effect of pH on breakdown and to relate the compositional changes during breakdown using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Incubation studies were used in this investigation. Peat with a higher level of decomposition was less susceptible to breakdown. The pH had a major effect on breakdown with high pH leading to increased rate of breakdown. Lignin content of the peats was somewhat related to breakdown of the peats. The breakdown was also strongly correlated to the changes in the ratio of FTIR spectra of the start and to the end of the incubation particularly the 1600/1060 ratio. The 1600 spectra in mostly lignin 1060 spectra are mostly carbohydrate. There was relative enrichment of 1600 spectra in relation 1060 spectra. Other FTIR spectra ratio changes were also significantly correlated with breakdown. The FTIR technique has the potential to predict breakdown of peats.     

Nitrogen mineralization and water-table height in oligotrophic deep peat

Summary Peat cores, 0–60 cm depth, were taken on 14 occasions from three experimental plots where the water levels in the surrounding ditches had been artificially controlled for 14 years at 0, 20 and 50 cm below the surface. Numbers of aerobic and anaerobic ammonifying bacteria in the profile were significantly increased (P< 0.05) by lowering the water level from 0 to 50 cm. These increases occurred mainly in the surface 20 cm horizon, where 80%–90% of the ammonifying bacteria in the profile occurred. Mineral N in fresh samples, which was present almost entirely as ammonium, decreased sharply with depth below 20 cm, and on two occasions concentrations were significantly greater (P<0.05) in plots with water levels at 20 and 50 cm than in the flooded peat. Readily mineralized N, produced during waterlogged incubation at 30°C for 9 weeks, was significantly greater (P<0.05) on eight occasions in samples from plots with water levels at 20 or 50 cm than in those where the water level was at the surface. Calculations showed that the increases in N availability as a result of lowering the water-table could be attributed mainly to deeper rooting.     

Alfalfa saponins and microbial transformations of nitrogen in peat

Alfalfa saponins, their sugar fraction or glucose, but not their sapogenin fraction, favored nitrogen immobilization and denitrification and inhibited proteolysis and ammonification in both peatinoculated and Pseudomonas sp.-inoculated media. Alfalfa root saponins and sapogenins significantly reduced the fungal peat population, but did not affect the bacterial population. The inhibition of N mineralization in peat by saponins and by their sapogenin fraction during dry and wet cycles was mostly due to their fungistatic activity. The inhibitory effect of the sugar fraction of alfalfa roots on mineral-N accumulation in peat is mainly under moist conditions.     

Laboratory experiments on drought and runoff in blanket peat

Global warming might change the hydrology of upland blanket peats in Britain. We have therefore studied in laboratory experiments the impact of drought on peat from the North Pennines of the UK. Runoff was dominated by surface and near‐surface flow; flow decreased rapidly with depth and differed from one type of cover to another. Infiltration depended on the intensity of rain, and runoff responded rapidly to rain, with around 50% of rainwater emerging as overland flow. Drought changed the structure of the peat and the subsequent behaviour of the peat in response to rain. Surface runoff was reduced, infiltration increased and flow increased within the deeper peat layers. Old and new water produced from the peat during simulated storms was identified by bromide tracing; the amount of old mobile water flushed out of the top few centimetres was small and there was less from deeper peat layers. No significant difference in the old and new water mixing processes could be identified between the control plots and the drought treatment plots. Lissamine staining showed preferential bypass flow through macropores in the peat, though only in the top 5 cm. Following drought, however, macroporosity increased within the upper peat layers, and preferential flow extended deeper than in controls. Peat structure recovered somewhat after drought, but the effects of the drought were long‐lasting. If these effects extend to the field during drier summers then we can expect changes to the hydrology and associated chemistry of blanket peat catchments in the British uplands.     

Biochemical activities in peat sterilized by gamma-irradiation

Peat is effectively sterilized by 4 Mrad of γ-irradiation and microbial sulphate-reducing activity is abolished by this dose. Enzymatic activities persist to a variable extent, but have higher inactivation coefficients than are usually encountered with soil enzymes. Inactivation coefficients (Mrad^?1) in surface peat, and in peat from 25–30 cm depth were as follows: β-d-glucosidase 0.144, 0.176: β-d-galactosidase 0.409, 0.458; $\text{β-N-}\text{acetyl-}\text{d}\text{-glucosaminidase}$ 0.201, 0.284; exo-l,4-β-d-xylosidase 0.268, 0.178: arylsulphatase 0.168, 0.174; 4-nitrophenylphosphatase 0.102, 0.118; “dehydrogenase” 0.094. 0.050; thiosulphate: cyanide sulphur transferase 0.079, 0.021. The greater radiosensitivity of the peat enzymes may be because of the absence of protection afforded by adsorption onto clay minerals, the nature of humic-colloid enzyme complex, or as a result of greater indirect damage caused by the products of radiolysis of water.     

Formation of organic sulphur in anaerobic peat

In anaerobic peat, SO₄²⁻ is reduced to H₂S, some of which is recovered in this form during refluxing under N₂ (steam-volatile H₂S), while the remainder is incorporated into the organic matrix. Inhibition of SO₄²⁻ metabolism by SeO₄²⁻ and MoO₄²⁻, and stimulation by H₂, suggest that the reduction is caused by dissimilatory sulphate-reducing bacteria. The abundance of Fe in the profile, together with the instability of FeS to heat, indicate that this compound may represent the dominant component of the steam-volatile H₂S pool, although some H₂S from heat-labile organic S may also be released. Humic substances which were soluble in 0.5 M NaOH accounted for > 40% of ³⁵S incorporated into organic matter from H₂³⁵S. H₂³⁵S reacted by non-biological processes with isolated humic acid suspended in acetate buffer solution (pH 4.5) and resulted in extensive labelling of humic material of mol. wt > 10⁴.     

Late Quaternary peat accumulation in southern Africa

It is suggested that the accumulation of peat deposits and other organic sediment may be a clue to the timing of moister periods in the late Quaternary climatic history of southern Africa. Data presented from 26 sites across the sub-continent point to two periods during which organic sedimentation commenced, suggesting a moister late Pleistocene and a period during the mid-late Holocene when conditions also became more conducive to peat formation. Owing to the confusing and conflicting nature of other palaeoenvironmental information, organic sediment accumulation chronologies seem to provide additional insight into the environmental history of southern Africa and the implications of this are discussed.     

The occurrence of aphid wax in peat

Small white aggregates frequently observed in peat have been studied using scanning electron microscopy and infrared absorption spectrometry. It has been shown that they are fibrous, consisting of paraffin wax and associated carbohydrate and secondary amide, and are secreted by the aphid Colopha compressa, which colonizes the roots of Eriophorum spp. growing on peat. This is the first report of the occurrence of this aphid species in Scotland.     

Aspects of peat conservation and water management

An extended water regime model was used for calculating the evapotranspiration, groundwater recharge, and peat mineralization (CO₂ and N release) for various fen locations with grassland utilization in dependence on the groundwater level. The results show that an increasing groundwater level leads to a strong decline of the actual evapotranspiration E_t. For example, increasing the groundwater level from 30 to 120 cm diminishes the E_t by up to 230 mm a^—1. A positive groundwater recharge only takes place at groundwater levels of 90 cm and more. At smaller distances the capillary rise into the rooting zone during the summer months is greater than the water seepage during the winter months, so that a negative groundwater recharge‐balance is reached in the course of a year. The CO₂‐ and the N‐release, as well as the annual decline in peat thickness, increase significantly with rising groundwater levels. The results show, that varying the groundwater level can influence the water regime and the peat mineralization significantly. The lower the groundwater level the less is the peat decomposition. The demand for a groundwater level as small as possible is, however, limited by an agricultural utilization of the fens. Choosing the optimum groundwater level should consider the aims (1) peat mineralization, (2) gas emission (CO₂, CH₄, N₂O), and (3) crop production. If a grassland utilization is supposed to be made possible and all three aims above are given equal importance, the groundwater level should be maintained at 30 cm. At this distance, about 90 % of the optimum plant output can be reached. The peat mineralization can be reduced to 30 to 40 % of the maximum peat mineralization. The gas emission amounts to 50—60 % of the maximum value.     

Phosphorus efficiency of ornamental plants in peat substrates

A pot experiment was conducted to investigate factors contributing to phosphorous (P) efficiency of ornamental plants. Marigold (Tagetes patula) and poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherima) were cultivated in a peat substrate (black peat 80% + mineral component 20% on a volume basis), treated with P rates of 0, 10, 35, 100, and 170 mg (L substrate)^–1. During the cultivation period, plants were fertigated with a complete nutrient solution (including 18 mg P L^–1) every 2 d. Both poinsettia and marigold attained their optimum yield at the rate of 35 mg P (L substrate)^–1 and the critical level of P in shoot dry matter of both crops was 5–6 mg g^–1. After planting, plant‐available P increased at lower P rates to a higher level for poinsettia than for marigold, but no significant change was observed at higher P rates. Balance sheet calculations indicated that at lower P rates more P was fertigated than was taken up by the plants. Root‐length density, root‐to‐shoot ratio, and root‐hair length of marigold were doubled compared to that of poinsettia. Root‐length density increased with crop growth, and 10 d after planting the mean half distance between roots exceeded the P‐depletion zone around roots by a factor of 3 and 1.5 for poinsettia and marigold, respectively. Thus, at this early stage poinsettia exploited only 10% of the substrate volume whereas marigold utilized 43%. Later in the cultivation period, the depletion zones around roots overlapped for both crops. Taking into account P uptake via root hairs, the simulation revealed that this was more important for marigold compared to poinsettia especially at low P‐supply levels. However, increase of P uptake due to root hairs was only 10%–20% at optimum P supply. For the two lower P levels, the P‐depletion profile around roots calculated for 10 d after planting showed that after 2 d of depletion the concentration at the root surface was below the assumed K_m value (5 μM) and the concentration gradient was insufficient to fit the demand. A higher content of plant‐available P in the substrate was observed for poinsettia compared to marigold in the treatment with P application adequate for optimum growth, because more fertigated P was accumulated during early stages of cultivation due to lower root‐length density of poinsettia. The observed difference of root morphological parameters did not contribute significantly to P‐uptake efficiency, since P mobility in the peat substrate was high.     

Bacterial diversity in peat bogs of karst depressions

Bacterial diversity in peat bogs of the karst origin was studied with the use of traditional inoculation methods and modern molecular techniques. Representatives of phylogenetic groups of Proteobacteria and Acidibacteria predominated among the domain of Bacteria. Aquaspirillum and Bacillus predominated in the saprotrophic bacterial complex. The amount of actinobacteria in the studied peat samples was higher than that in typical oligotrophic peat bogs.