title: Simulated climate change impact on summer dissolved organic carbon release from peat and surface vegetation: implications for drinking water treatment.
abstract: Uncertainty regarding changes in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) quantity and quality has created interest in managing peatlands for their ecosystem services such as drinking water provision. The evidence base for such interventions is, however, sometimes contradictory. We performed a laboratory climate manipulation using a factorial design on two dominant peatland vegetation types (Calluna vulgaris and Sphagnum Spp.) and a peat soil collected from a drinking water catchment in Exmoor National Park, UK. Temperature and rainfall were set to represent baseline and future conditions under the UKCP09 2080s high emissions scenario for July and August. DOC leachate then underwent standard water treatment of coagulation/flocculation before chlorination. C. vulgaris leached more DOC than Sphagnum Spp. (7.17 versus 3.00 mg g(-1)) with higher specific ultraviolet (SUVA) values and a greater sensitivity to climate, leaching more DOC under simulated future conditions. The peat soil leached less DOC (0.37 mg g(-1)) than the vegetation and was less sensitive to climate. Differences in coagulation removal efficiency between the DOC sources appears to be driven by relative solubilisation of protein-like DOC, observed through the fluorescence peak C/T. Post-coagulation only differences between vegetation types were detected for the regulated disinfection by-products (DBPs), suggesting climate change influence at this scale can be removed via coagulation. Our results suggest current biodiversity restoration programmes to encourage Sphagnum Spp. will result in lower DOC concentrations and SUVA values, particularly with warmer and drier summers.
authors.affiliation: Grantham Institute for Climate Change, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London SW7 2AZ, UK; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London SW7 2AZ, UK. Electronic address: j.ritson12@imperial.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Jonathan P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Ritson
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography and Environmental Science, School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science, The University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 227, Reading RG6 6AB, UK.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
authors.forename: Nigel J D
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Graham
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
authors.forename: Michael R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Templeton
authors.affiliation: Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, EX4 4RJ, UK.
authors.forename: Richard E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Brazier
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography and Environmental Science, School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science, The University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 227, Reading RG6 6AB, UK.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Verhoef
authors.affiliation: Wolfson Carbon Capture Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, UK.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Freeman
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography and Environmental Science, School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science, The University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 227, Reading RG6 6AB, UK.
authors.forename: Joanna M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Clark
mesh_terms: D000097:Acetonitriles / Q000378:metabolism; D029795:Calluna / Q000737:chemistry*; D002244:Carbon / Q000378:metabolism*; D002725:Chloroform / Q000378:metabolism; D057231:Climate Change; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D005453:Fluorescence; D012621:Seasons; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D044003:Sphagnopsida / Q000737:chemistry*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000097:Acetonitriles; D060766:Drinking Water; D012987:Soil; D002244:Carbon; D002725:Chloroform; C051716:dichloroacetonitrile
keywords: Climate change; DOC; Disinfection by-products; Dissolved organic carbon; Drinking water treatment; Ecosystem services