Accumulation of heavy metals in Oostriku peat bog,Estonia: -site description,conceptual modelling and geochemical modelling of the source of the metals

Oxidation of sulphides leads to the dissolution of metals, which are transported with water and accumulate at geochemical barriers. Such barriers can form in peat bogs. This paper gives an introduction into the long-term processes in Oostriku peat bog where high accumulations of heavy metals are observed. Peat and water samples are analysed for Fe, As and heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) using different methods. A concept is based on the observations. Metals are leached by sulphide oxidation in the carbonate rocks upstream of the peat. The water feeds the peat from below. The metals are sorbed and precipitated in the peat. The sulphide oxidation is simulated to examine the origin and metal speciation in the water. The simulated solution is compared with the groundwater entering the peat. The results showed a fair agreement for the major constituents. There were considerable differences for species with low concentrations.     

A reinterpretation of the Lateglacial environmental history of the Isle of Skye,Inner Hebrides,Scotland

This paper presents a major revision of the Late Devensian Lateglacial environmental history of the Isle of Skye, Scotland, based upon a combination of geomorphological, biostratigraphical and radiocarbon evidence. The distribution of glacial and periglacial landforms, and of raised shorelines, suggests that there was only one extensive readvance of local glaciers in southern Skye following the wastage of the Late Devensian ice sheet. Pollen-stratigraphic evidence from 10 sites inside and 4 sites outside the mapped ice limits indicates that this readvance occurred during the Loch Lomond Stadial. At that time over 180km² of the uplands of south-central Skye were covered by glacier ice, a much more extensive glaciation than previously envisaged. Palynological evidence from four Lateglacial profiles implies that degree of exposure to strong westerly winds was the principal factor determing vegetational contrasts on the island, and that regional differences in vegetational type were less pronounced than has hitherto been suggested. The glacial and palaeobotanical reconstructions reported here are more compatible with Lateglacial data from the Scottish mainland and Hebridean islands than were the previously-published accounts for the Isle of Skye.     

HYDROLOGY AND MICROCLIMATE OF A PARTLY RESTORED CUTOVER BOG,QUÉBEC

Peatlands do not readily return to functional wetland ecosystems after harvesting (cutting), because the harsh hydrological and microclimatic conditions are unsuitable for Sphagnum regeneration. In this study, drainage ditches blocked after harvesting restored the water balance to a condition similar to a nearby natural bog. Evaporation averaged 2.9 and 2.7 mm day⁻¹ on the cutover and natural bog, respectively. Evaporation consumed most of the rainfall input (86 and 80%, respectively), whereas runoff was minor at both sites (6 and 4%, respectively). However, the water table position was markedly different at these sites. Median water table depth was 0.05 m below the surface in the natural bog, compared with 0.44 m in the cutover bog (ditches blocked). Changes to the peak soil matrix owing to drainage and cutting reduced the specific yield (Sy) of the peat to 0.04–0.06 from 0.35–0.55, causing exaggerated water table changes in the cutover site. Nevertheless, volumetric soil moisture in the cutover site (0.67 ± .08) had low variability, and was maintained above moisture contents found in Sphagnum hummocks in the natural bog (0.48 ± .10), although less than on Sphagnum lawn (0.84 ± .11). Poor Sphagnum regeneration on cutover surfaces can therefore be attributed to its inability to extract water from the underlying peat, which retains water at matric suction greater than the non-vascular Sphagnum can generate. The corrupted iron pan under main ditches has permitted partial recharge of the underlying aquifer, reducing local hydraulic gradients, thereby decreasing vertical seepage loss.     

水稻旱育稀植纹枯病防治初探

１９９３－１９９４年，从栽培、植保、气象学的基本原理出发，试对水稻旱育稀植栽培和常规栽培法进行了稻田田间小气候、水稻纹枯病发生及其防治策略的系统试验比较。结果表明，水稻旱育稀植田间温度升高、温度降低，行间透光率提高，致使纹枯病发生期推迟，发病程度减轻，能减少一次用药，降低农本，增加产量。     

低洼地地区典型水土地利用为特征的全球重要农业文化遗产——以兴化垛田传统农业系统为例(英文)

兴化垛田传统农业系统具有典型的水土利用方式,于2014年4月被联合国粮农组织评选为全球重要农业文化遗产。基于文献资料和实地调研,本文分析了兴化垛田传统农业系统的历史与发展、结构与特征、以及功能与价值。兴化垛田传统农业系统具有悠久的历史、丰富的生物多样性、重要的生态服务功能、传统农业技术和文化、以及独特水土利用方式形成的优美景观,并对当地农民的生计安全做出了重要的贡献。然而,这一宝贵的全球重要农业文化遗产系统面临着一系列威胁和挑战。本文的研究一方面可以更深入地认识兴化垛田传统农业系统,为其保护与发展提供科学支持,另外一方面也为我国及世界上的类似地区提供经验借鉴。     

Changes in the discharge pattern of a cutover raised bog during rewetting

Although rewetting practices have been implemented in several cutover raised bogs, their effects on discharge patterns have not received much attention. In 1983, after peat extraction had stopped in the Leegmoor, a cutover raised bog in Germany, an experimental area was set up in order to monitor rewetting and subsequent restoration. Discharge was measured since 1984. The results suggest that rewetted raised bogs may not be effective as regulators of stream flow. An increase of low flows during a decade of rewetting could partly be attributed to weather variation. A comparison of the Leegmoor with a nearby control catchment produced similar results. A shift in the relationship between discharge and groundwater level over time was recorded. This is probably a result of the development of vegetation and a corresponding reduction of the area of open water, leading to an increase of resistance to water flow. The Leegmoor data demonstrate that the daily discharge pattern is most flashy immediately after the start of rewetting and will gradually smooth. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

First record of an odontaspidid shark in New Zealand waters

Photographs and a preserved head are identified as Odontaspis herbsti Whitley, 1950, an Australian sand shark growing to about 3 m long and similar to the Mediterranean O. ferox Risso, but differing in having a uniform grey body without black markings on the back or sides. No living odontaspidids have previously been reported from New Zealand. Six specimens were trawled in 119–165 m off Table Cape, Hawke Bay, in October‐November 1972. Californian and. East Atlantic (Madeira) specimens are treated as conspecific with O. herbsti. It is suggested that O. herbsti is normally an inhabitant of the continental slope, and that the present records are of a few individuals that have strayed on to the shelf.     

Dynamics of attached bacteria at the water-sediment interface in a mesotrophic swampy bog of Japan

The population dynamics of attached bacteria at the water-sediment interface were studied in a mesotrophic swampy bog, Matsumi-ike, near Tsukuba, Japan. The density of attached bacteria was higher at the sediment boundary layer than in the water column, and low inside the sediment (deeper, than 10 mm below the sediment surface) throughout the year. The density of bacteria attached on the glass slide was highest during spring when the source of organic matter in the water column was mainly withered cattail, and gradually decreased toward summer, while the phytoplankton became the dominant source of organic matter in the water column. The epibacterial populations in the water column and at the boundary showed almost the same seasonal fluctuation in attachment and detachment rates. However, bacterial growth rates did not show the same seasonal fluctuation, and annual average growth rates on the glass slides were all lower than that of bacterioplankton (free-living bacteria in water) in the water column.     

From peat bog to lignite seam: a new method to calculate the consolidation coefficient of lignite seams,Wielkopolska region in central Poland

Only one quantitative method is described in the literature to estimate the consolidation coefficient of lignite seams. More studies concentrate on the compaction of plant tissues, which explains why the obtained results are overestimated. Moreover, most studies do commonly not determine the consolidation of the whole peat bog but usually those of some of its elements only. We propose a new approach, which conceptually is fairly close to the Hager et al. (Fortschr Geol Rheinld Westf 29:319–352, 1981) method. Our method has been tested on an example of the first Middle-Polish Lignite Seam and the second Lusatian Lignite Seam from some Wielkopolska lignite deposits in central Poland. The consolidation coefficients, C _c, range between 2.34 and 2.56 for the second Lusatian Lignite Seam and between 1.80 and 2.14 for the first Middle-Polish Lignite Seam.