%0 Research Notes
%T Groundwater quality and its relationship to peat chemical properties on drained pine mires
%A Nieminen, Mika
%A Pätilä, Antti
%D 1991
%J Suo - Mires and peat
%V 42
%N 5
%U http://suo.fi/article/9686
%X The variation in groundwater nutrient concentrations from 29 oligotrophy pine mires were described. The relationships between groundwater chemistry and the chemical status of the surface peat layer were also investigated. The mean groundwater quality in different site type fertility groups was: pH 4.0-4.8; NH4+-N 0.45-0.80 mg l-1; P 0.06-0.15 mg l-1; K 0.27-0.54 mg l-1 ; Ca 1.40-3.78 mg l-1; Mg 0.49-1.67 mg l-1; Mn 0.01-0.12 mg I-1; Fe 0.69-3.20 mg l-1; Al 0.34-0.57 mg i-1; Zn 0.006-0.015 mg I-1; Na 0.63-1.91 mg l-1; B 0.008-0.010 mg l-1 and S 1.15-1.47 mg l-1. When ordered from the most infertile to the most fertile site types, groundwater pH and total concentrations of Ca, Mg, Mn, Fe and Na significantly (P < 0.001) increased. There was a large seasonal variation in the concentrations of S, K, Na, B and Zn, and a large within-plot variation in K, NH4+-N, P and B concentrations. The results indicated that factors other than the chemistry of peat were involved in determining the concentrations of these nutrients in the groundwater. Groundwater concentrations of Al, Fe, Ca and Mg, on the other hand, were found to be strongly correlated with the corresponding total nutrient concentrations in the surface peat layer.

Keywords: peatlands, peat nutrients, water chemistry