title: Experimental evidence for mobility/immobility of metals in peat.
abstract: The biogeochemical cycles of most toxic metals have been significantly altered by anthropogenic activities. Anaerobic, rain-fed organic soils are believed to record historical changes in atmospheric pollution. Suspected postdepositional mobility of trace elements, however, hinders the usefulness of peat bogs as pollution archives. To lower this uncertainty, we quantified the mobility of six trace metals in peat during an 18-month field manipulation. A replicated, reciprocal peat transplant experiment was conducted between a heavily polluted and a relatively unpolluted peatland, located 200 km apart in the Czech Republic (Central Europe). Both peatlands were Sphagnum-derived, lawn-dominated, and had water table close to the surface. A strikingly different behavior was observed for two groups of elements. Elements of group I, Fe and Mn, adjusted their abundances and vertical patterns to the host site, showing an extremely high degree of mobility. In contrast, elements of group II, Pb, Cu, Zn, and Ti, preserved their original vertical patterns at the host site, showing a high degree of immobility. Our experimental results suggest that not just lead, but also copper and zinc concentration profiles in peat are a reliable archive of temporal pollution changes within a wide pH range (2.5-5.8).
authors.affiliation: Czech Geological Survey, Geologicka 6, 152 00 Prague 5, Czech Republic. martin.novak@geology.cz
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Novak
authors.forename: Leona
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zemanova
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Voldrichova
authors.forename: Marketa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stepanova
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Adamova
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pacherova
authors.forename: Arnost
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Komarek
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krachler
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Prechova
mesh_terms: D018153:Czech Republic; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D060587:Groundwater / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008670:Metals / Q000032:analysis*; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D044003:Sphagnopsida / Q000737:chemistry; D013997:Time Factors; D053833:Wetlands
chemical_list: D008670:Metals; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants