Spatial Heterogeneity of Surface Topography in Peatlands: Assessing Overwintering Habitat Availability for the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake
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Overwintering
Elevation (ballistics)
Sphagnum
Sphagnetum Rankin 1911b p.p.; Sphagnum hummock complex, Sphagnum papillosum & S. rubellum phases Rose 1953; General bog communities Newbould 1960 p.p.; Valley bog Ward et al. 1972ap.p.; Sphagnum lawn bog hummocks NCC New Forest Bogs Report 1984.
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Lawn
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Essential for successful bog restoration is the reestablishment of Sphagnum mosses. High carbon dioxide availability has been shown to be of great importance for the growth of Sphagnum mosses. In well-developed Sphagnum bogs large amounts of carbon dioxide are produced by (an)aerobic decomposition of the peat layer. In cut-over Sphagnum bogs this carbon source is often greatly reduced. In this study the importance of groundwater-derived carbon dioxide is demonstrated in aquatic environments, where Sphagnum species have started to form floating mats after former cutover activities by farmers. We discuss the results of measures taken to restore one of the largest wet heathland reserves in western Europe. After rewetting, some bogs developed markedly well, whereas others did not. The developmental success of 10 small bogs was quantified by analysing aerial photographs and sampling of surface and groundwater. The analysis of the ground- and surface water samples revealed that in the well-developed bogs there were significantly higher TIC/CO2 concentrations than in poorly developed bogs. It is concluded that in the early stages of bog formation the growth of Sphagnum is better in bog systems that are fed by an inflow of carbonrich groundwater from outside the bog. The present findings suggest that high carbon dioxide availability is a prerequisite for the successful reestablishment of Sphagnum mosses in peat-bog restoration projects and that carbon-rich groundwater can substitute for the carbon dioxide from decomposing peat.
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Abstract Bog peat soils have been accumulating at Wellington Plain peatland, Victoria, Australia for the last 3300 years. Now, dried peat soils are common adjacent to bog peats. The 14 C basal age of dried peat is not different from the 14 C basal age of bog peat, which supports the theory that dried peat formed from bog peat. A novel application of 210 Pb dating links the timing of this change with the introduction of livestock to Wellington Plain in the mid‐1800s. Physical loss of material appears to have been the dominant process removing material as bog peats drained to form dried peats, as indicated by the mass balances of carbon and lead. This research has implications for the post‐fire and post‐grazing restoration of bogs in Victoria's Alpine National Park, and the contribution of peat soils to Australia's carbon emissions.
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The vertical distributions of nine Sphagnum species and four associated mosses in two bogs (Adirondack Mountains, New York) were analyzed for interspecific and interbog differences. Based on 4300 sample points, Sphagnum mean heights ranged from 12 to 43 cm above the water table and the sequence of species was similar in both bogs (S. cuspidatum and S. majus) < (S. fallax and S. angustifolium) < (S. magellanicum, S. rubellum, and S. russowii) < (S. fuscum and S. nemoreum). However, at Bloomingdale Bog, a relatively dry mire with many well-developed hummocks and narrow hollows, mosses had significantly greater means (by 4-12 cm) than at Raybrook Bog, a relatively wet mire with wide Sphagnum carpets and fewer hummocks. South- and east-facing hummock slopes tended to be gentler than the north and west slopes, but the mosses’ mean heights did not vary with aspect. The abundance of hummocks at Bloomingdale seems responsible for not only the greater mean heights, but also for broader ranges and greater vertical overlap with other species. However, the ability of each species to dominate a certain array of height classes did not differ between bogs. Within each bog, hummock species tended to have larger vertical ranges than hollow species, implying a lesser ability of hollow mosses to tolerate the full range of conditions along the hummock-hollow gradient.
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The importance of bogs in the catchment hydrology of the Australian Alps has been long recognised but little studied. Damaged bogs are thought to be the source of dried peats now common throughout the Alps. We described the characteristics of a bog peat and a dried peat, to better understand the relationship between the two. Standard chemical properties of peat were measured: pH, loss on ignition, gravimetric contents of carbon and nitrogen, and electrical conductivity. We also measured the concentrations of total and plant-available elements, and the chemical composition of the organic carbon, leading to a measure of the extent of decomposition. The results suggest that this is a typical Sphagnum bog peat—low pH, high carbon content—and the distribution of carbon groups and other elements reflect the stable water source of this groundwater-fed Sphagnum bog. The properties of the dried peat were most similar to the catotelm (lower layer) of the bog peat. This resemblance, combined with decades of field observations, indicates that dried peat may form from the catotelm of bog peat, after the acrotelm (upper layer) dries and erodes. These results have implications for the management of Alps catchments, and further studies are needed to ascertain the hydrologic and carbon cycling roles of organic soils in the Australian Alps.
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Ombrotrophic
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(1) The concentration of inorganic constituLents of mire vegetation and the underlying peat at fifty sites in southern Germany is related to the fen-bog vegetation gradient. (2) The concentration of soluble NH'-N was lowest in peat from fens and greatest in peat from bogs. The trend for soluble NO--N in peat was the reverse. (3) The lowest concentration of P04-P in vegetation was in bogs, but in peat from these same sites the concentration of easily soluble P04-P was greatest. This is a widespread feature in natural peatlands. (4) Concentration of total Ca, Mg, and K was greatest in peat and vegetation from fens, and lowest in bogs. The concentration of exchangeable Ca and Mg in peat reflected that of total concentration, except that exchangeable K had a reverse trend with the highest concentration in bog peat. (5) The concentration in vegetation of all heavy metals except Zn and Cu was highest in plants from bogs. (6) The Ca/Mg quotient in ombrotrophic peat ranged from 1-8-5 2. The highest value was in the mire complex receiving the greatest precipitation. (7) The gradient from poor fen to bog is most closely mirrored by the decline in concentration of K in the standing crop.
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On the basis of the on-the-spot investigation, this paper describes the vegetation composition, community characteristics and development tendency of Sphagnum palustre bog situated at a basin of Dajiuhu in Shennongjia, Hubei. The investigation results show:(1) the Sphagnum palustre bog has herb layer in which Juncus canciuns is the dominant species and moss layer in which Sphagnum palustre is the key species. Comparing to the investigation result in 1980s, the bog has more plant species and more nutrition-rich plant and the area of the bog decreases and Polytrichum commune hills appeared in the bog. The bog is degenerating from nutrition-poor bog to nutrition-medium bog or nutrition-rich bog.
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ABSTRACT In the first of this pair of papers we introduced the conceptual and hydrological basis of the peatland development model—DigiBog. Here we describe the submodels which simulate (i) the production of plant litter, (ii) peat decomposition, and (iii) changes in peat hydraulic conductivity due to decomposition. To illustrate how the model works, DigiBog was applied to three example situations: Bogs 1, 2, and 3. For each, the net rainfall was held constant at 30 cm year −1 and the oxic decomposition parameter kept at 0·015 year −1 . The anoxic decomposition parameter varied from 5 × 10 −6 (Bog 1) to 5 × 10 −4 year −1 (Bog 3). Peatland development was simulated for 5000 years. For Bogs 1 and 2, plausible large peatland domes develop. Despite having a higher anoxic decomposition rate, Bog 2 grew thicker than Bog 1. This apparently counter‐intuitive result is caused by the feedback between hydraulic conductivity and degree of peat decomposition. For both Bogs 1 and 2, DigiBog also simulates transitions from wet to dry states, demarked by sudden switches from poorly decomposed to well‐decomposed peat moving upwards in the peat profile. These regime shifts result from internal peatland dynamics and not from allogenic influences, and challenge the view that peat properties are always a reflection of climate. In Bog 3, a ‘mini‐bog’ developed and persisted near the margin of the peatland; this bog can also be explained in terms of the internal feedbacks within the model. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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