Abstract
The analysis of bog waters has a two-fold value. Firstly, it is of some intrinsic interest to elucidate the chemical composition of waters isolated from the mineral soil by organic deposits, and deriving their entire mineral supply from atmospheric precipitation. Secondly, the poverty of raised and blanket bogs in mineral nutrients is undoubtedly an important factor in determining their floras; and vegetation patterns can often be associated in a general way with water composition. This paper records the amounts of eleven constituents in various natural waters from the new Pennine Nature Reserve at Moor House - chiefly from pools on the blanket peats at Bog Hill, now under intensive investigation by the Nature Conservancy. DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA Moor House lies at an altitude of about 1800 ft. (550 m.) in the northern Pennine uplands, with a rainfall of about 64 in. (162 cm.), an average annual temperature of 44? F. (6.7? C.) and an average relative humidity of 86 per cent (all data for 1953 only). It is surrounded by moorland and blanket bog vegetation, on peat overlying drift or carboniferous rock with limestone bands. Burning and grazing have affected the plant communities, which in general resemble those described by Pearsall (1941) from the Stainmore district a little to the south. Among the least disturbed areas is Bog Hill, a slight elevation blanketed by deep peat and bearing a community dominated by Sphagnum acutifolium (agg., including rubellum and nemoreum), Calluna vulgaris and Eriophorum vaginatum, with Trichophorum caespitosum locally abundant. The Sphagnum cover is fairly continuous, with several small pools dotted about its surface. These most frequently contain Sphagnum cuspidatum and Eriophorum angustifolium, with the alga Chlorobotrys sometimes forming a scum at the bottom. In certain pools Drepanocladus fluitans is quite plentiful, in others the liverwort Gymnocolea inflata. Sphagnum papillosum is often abundant at the pool margins. METHODS Water samples were obtained on two occasions in 1954, following a dry spell (May 18th) and during wet weather (August 2nd). The bog pools sampled ranged in size from about 1 to 15 ft. (0.3 m. to 4.5 m.) across, and up to about 18 in. (46 cm.) deep. Collections were made and stored in polythene bottles, the waters being filtered through Whatman 541 papers (washed with three volumes of distilled water and one volume of sample) within a day or two of collection. pH was determined by glass electrode, and specific conductivity by a bright platinum cell and Mullard bridge. Calcium and magnesium were estimated by versenate titration with ammonium purpurate and eriochrome black T as indicators; samples coloured by humus were evaporated to dryness with a few drops of hydrogen peroxide and taken up in dilute hydrochloric acid. Sodium and potassium were measured by EEL flame photometer,
Published Version
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