Formation of the Organic Matter of High-Moor Peat under Conditions of the European North of Russia

Abstract

The key role of oxidation processes in the humification of peat-forming plant components was experimentally confirmed. A number of characteristic properties of the transformation of organic matter under conditions of the North, in particular, a decrease in the depth of humification and the pronounced predominance of the fulvate type of humification was revealed. It was established that special climatic effects are a factor affecting the formation of the group chemical composition of peat. It was demonstrated that, under the conditions of northern territories with consideration for the frost zone of a peat deposit, the conditions of oxidation and the kinetics of humification processes in the organic matter of peat in top and bottom layers can be essentially different; this fact explained the nonmonotonic changes in the characteristics of peat with the depth of occurrence. The effect of the bituminous component on the humification process of organic matter in the course of peat deposition was found; this was primarily due to the inhibition of the formation of polyconjugated structures, which are the main structure factor of humic substances.