title: Managing peatland vegetation for drinking water treatment.
abstract: Peatland ecosystem services include drinking water provision, flood mitigation, habitat provision and carbon sequestration. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) removal is a key treatment process for the supply of potable water downstream from peat-dominated catchments. A transition from peat-forming Sphagnum moss to vascular plants has been observed in peatlands degraded by (a) land management, (b) atmospheric deposition and (c) climate change. Here within we show that the presence of vascular plants with higher annual above-ground biomass production leads to a seasonal addition of labile plant material into the peatland ecosystem as litter recalcitrance is lower. The net effect will be a smaller litter carbon pool due to higher rates of decomposition, and a greater seasonal pattern of DOC flux. Conventional water treatment involving coagulation-flocculation-sedimentation may be impeded by vascular plant-derived DOC. It has been shown that vascular plant-derived DOC is more difficult to remove via these methods than DOC derived from Sphagnum, whilst also being less susceptible to microbial mineralisation before reaching the treatment works. These results provide evidence that practices aimed at re-establishing Sphagnum moss on degraded peatlands could reduce costs and improve efficacy at water treatment works, offering an alternative to 'end-of-pipe' solutions through management of ecosystem service provision.
authors.affiliation: Grantham Institute: Climate and Environment, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London SW7 2AZ, UK.|Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London, SW7 2AZ, UK.|Department of Geography and Environmental Science; School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science; University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 227, Reading, RG6 6AB, 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; University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 227, Reading, RG6 6AB, UK.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bell
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: Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, EX4 4RJ, UK.
authors.forename: Emilie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Grand-Clement
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: 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: South West Water, Peninsula House, Rydon Lane Exeter, Devon EX2 7HR, UK.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Smith
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: Department of Geography and Environmental Science; School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science; University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 227, Reading, RG6 6AB, UK.
authors.forename: Joanna M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Clark
mesh_terms: D060766:Drinking Water / Q000032:analysis; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012621:Seasons; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012996:Solutions; D044003:Sphagnopsida / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018508:Water Purification; D053833:Wetlands
chemical_list: D060766:Drinking Water; D009930:Organic Chemicals; D012987:Soil; D012996:Solutions; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical