The effect of precipitation chemistry upon anion and cation fluxes from the surface layer of ombrotrophic mires in the UK

Citation

Sanger LJ, Billett M & Cresser MS (1996) The effect of precipitation chemistry upon anion and cation fluxes from the surface layer of ombrotrophic mires in the UK. Journal of Applied Ecology, 33 (4), pp. 754-772. https://doi.org/10.2307/2404946

Abstract
1. Replicatec ores and monoliths( bearingi ntactv egetation) weres ampledf romt he acrotelma nd surfacel itterl ayer of ombrotrophicm iresa cross a gradienti n pre-cipitationc hemistry.Le aves fromC alluna vulgaris shrubsg rowingo n the surfaceo f thesem iresw ere also sampled.T he chemicalc haracteristicsof the cores as initially sampleda nd incidentC alluna vulgaris leaves wered etermined. Duringa 1-years tudy the monolithsw eres ubjectedt o 1200m m of simulatedr ainfallo f the same chemical compositiona s theyr eceivedi n the field.D rainage waterw as analysedp eriodically forc omponenta nions and cations. 2. The resultss how thatc hangesi n the chemicalq ualityo f precipitationin the UK has induced changes in the N cyclinga nd base status withint he acrotelm,a nd surfacel itterl ayero f ombrotrophic mires.T he processesa ffecting NO3- and NH4? concentrationsin this layer were not the same. Ammoniumc oncentrationsw ere largelyd ependentu pon ion exchanger eactionsw hereasN O3- concentrations were mored ependentu pon biologicallym ediatedp rocesses. 3. The resultso ft hes tudyo ft otale lementc hemistryin Calluna vulgariss tandss howed thatl eaves containedh igherN and lowerP and Mg concentrationsin areas receiving high concentrations of chemicalc omponents,d eliveredi n precipitationa ssociated withi ndustrial and domestica tmospherice missions. 4. Fluxeso fa ll oft hei onsf romm onoliths wereh ighlys easonal,a nd generallyr eflected fluctuationsin nutrient uptakeb y thev egetationa nd thea ctivityo f soil microbesa nd fauna. Unlike NH4', NO3- and P were rapidlyi mmobilizedi n the acrotelma nd surfacel itterl ayero f miresi n areas receivingh ighH , N and S atmosphericin puts. Total P concentrationsin thisl ayerw ereh ighestin areas receivingh ighc oncentrations of H, N and S in precipitation.Th is probablyr eflectedth er ateo fl itterd ecomposition and hencet he mineralizationof organic-P;a nd may be linkedt o the chemicalc om-positiono f Callunav ulgarisle aves.

Keywords
Calluna; deposition; drainage; nutrient cycling; peatlands

Journal
Journal of Applied Ecology: Volume 33, Issue 4