Abstract
Peatlands are lands transitional between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems where the water table is present on the surface or near it, or still presents itself in flooded conditions. Despite the recognized importance of these environmental matrices in the storage of organic carbon and water, little information has been known in the literature about their influence on the surface water quality. This study aims to evaluate the water quality from peatlands in the spring of the Rio Campo Belo, in Itatiaia National Park, Itatiaia–Brazil. The spring water quality from peat profiles was based in geochemical parameters, such as temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), electrical conductivity, pH, turbidity, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total organic carbon (TOC), silica, ions, and trace elements (Al, Sb, As, Cd, Co, Cu, Cr, Sn, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, V, Ga, Rb, Sr, and Zn) on spring water and peat core samples. The highest DO values observed in the spring waters that leachate water and may be related to the lower water temperature, as well as the movement of water. The DOC values were relatively low suggesting no difference between the spring water and the water leached (1.6 and 1.7 mg L−1, respectively). Higher values of ions and trace elements in the leaching water from core peat demonstrate a greater contribution of the peatland to the concentration of these ions in spring water. Increase in TOC values did not cause an increase in pH values, in contrast to the observed with the organic matter removal, resulting in increase of pH values.
Highlights
Peatlands are soil formed by organic sediment derived from the fungal and bacterial degradation of plant biopolymers (Hatcher and Spiker 1988), being a transitional environment between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems that provide essential hydrological, ecological, and biogeochemical functions (Fraser et al 2001; Joosten and Clarke 2002; Chapman et al 2003; Mitra et al 2005; Krueger et al 2015)
The spring water quality from peat profiles was based on the determinations of the temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), electrical conductivity, pH, turbidity, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total organic carbon (TOC), silica, ions, and trace elements (Al, Sb, As, Cd, Co, Cu, Cr, Sn, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, V, Ga, Rb, Sr, and Zn) on spring water and peat core samples
The present study aims to evaluate the quality of peat water in the spring of the Rio Campo Belo, in the Itatiaia National Park, Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
Summary
Peatlands are soil formed by organic sediment derived from the fungal and bacterial degradation of plant biopolymers (Hatcher and Spiker 1988), being a transitional environment between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems that provide essential hydrological, ecological, and biogeochemical functions (Fraser et al 2001; Joosten and Clarke 2002; Chapman et al 2003; Mitra et al 2005; Krueger et al 2015). It is estimated that 4.2% of Earth's land surface is cover by peatland (about 4 million km2) (Yu 2012). About 75–80% of peatlands are located in boreal and sub-arctic regions and only 10–15% in tropical regions (Lappalainen 1996). There are approximately 612,000 ha or 0.07% of peatlands in Brazil (Bispo et al 2015). Peatlands have recognized importance in the storage of organic carbon. Lourençato et al (2017) observed that in the last century the tropical peatlands stocked above 200 tons ha− 1 of carbon, these values were higher than values obtained in temperate and boreal regions Peatlands have recognized importance in the storage of organic carbon. Lourençato et al (2017) observed that in the last century the tropical peatlands stocked above 200 tons ha− 1 of carbon, these values were higher than values obtained in temperate and boreal regions
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