Abstract
Peatlands are found on all continents, covering 3% of the global land area. However, the spatial extent and causes of metal enrichment in peatlands is understudied and no attempt has been made to evaluate global patterns of metal enrichment in bog and fen peatlands, despite that certain metals and rare earth elements (REE) arise from anthropogenic sources. We analyzed 368 peat cores sampled in 16 countries across five continents and measured metal and other element concentrations at three depths down to 70 cm as well as estimated cumulative atmospheric S deposition (1850–2009) for each site. Sites were assigned to one of three distinct broadly recognized peatland categories (bog, poor fen, and intermediate-to-moderately rich fen) that varied primarily along a pH gradient. Metal concentrations differed among peatland types, with intermediate-to-moderately rich fens demonstrating the highest concentrations of most metals. Median enrichment factors (EFs; a metric comparing natural and anthropogenic metal deposition) for individual metals were similar among bogs and fens (all groups), with metals likely to be influenced by anthropogenic sources (As, Cd, Co, Cu, Hg, Pb, and Sb) demonstrating median enrichment factors (EFs) > 1.5. Additionally, mean EFs were substantially higher than median values, and the positive correlation (< 0.40) with estimated cumulative atmospheric S deposition, confirmed some level of anthropogenic influence of all pollutant metals except for Hg that was unrelated to S deposition. Contrary to expectations, high EFs were not restricted to pollutant metals, with Mn, K and Rb all exhibiting elevated median EFs that were in the same range as pollutant metals likely due to peatland biogeochemical processes leading to enrichment of these nutrients in surface soil horizons. The global patterns of metal enrichment in bogs and fens identified in this study underscore the importance of these peatlands as environmental archives of metal deposition, but also illustrates that biogeochemical processes can enrich metals in surface peat and EFs alone do not necessarily indicate atmospheric contamination.
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Acknowledgements
The authors also acknowledge the assistance of many field and lab assistants including Moira Hough, Kevin Adkinson, Schylur Deraaf, and Bryce Robinson who made this work possible. Grateful for the Sustainable Guyana Program, a partnership between Trent University and the University of Guyana funded by CGX Energy Inc. and Frontera Energy Corporation.
Members of the Global Peatland Microbiome Project consortium that contributed peat to the analyses presented in this paper include Roxanne Andersen (NSERC and INTERACT-TA), Rebekka E. Artz (RESAS SRP and NERC), Brian W. Benscoter, Luca Bragazza, Suzanna L. Bräuer, Michael A. Carson, Xin Chen, Rodney A. Chimner, Bev R. Clarkson, Andrea S. Enriquez (CONICET), Samantha P. Grover, Lorna I. Harris, Christina Hazard, John Hribljan, Sari Juutinen, Evan S. Kane, Klaus-Holger Knorr (DAAD and DFG), Randy Kolka, Anna M. Laine, Tuula Larmola (Academy of Finland), Carmody K. McCalley, Jim McLaughlin, Tim R. Moore, Nadia Mykytczuk, Anna E. Normand, David Olefeldt, Virginia Rich, Nigel Roulet (NSERC), Danielle L. Rupp, Jasmine Rutherford, Christopher W. Schadt, Oliver Sonnentag (Canada Research Chair), Leho Tedersoo, Carl C. Trettin, Eeva-Stiina Tuittila, Merritt Turetsky (Univ Colorado, NSF), Zuzana Urbanová, Ruth K. Varner, Mark P. Waldrop, Meng Wang (National Natural Science Foundation of China), Zheng Wang, Magdalena M. Wiedermann, Shanay T. Williams, Joseph B. Yavitt, and Zhi-Guo Yu.
Funding
Funding came from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Grants to Shaun Watmough (#311794) and Nathan Basiliko (#341381). Funding was also provided by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station Climate Change Program, the US National Science Foundation [grant number DEB-1146149] to E.S. Kane and E.A. Lilleskov. Funding through the Sustainable Guyana Program to C. Osborne, a partnership between Trent University and the University of Guyana funded by CGX Energy Inc. and Frontera Energy Corporation. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
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Conceptualization SW, SG-P, COe; Data curation GSp, LJL, EAL, NB; Formal analysis SG-P, CO, NB, LJL, EAL; Writing–original draft SW, CO; Writing–review and editing SW, CO, NB, LJL, EALilleskov.
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Osborne, C., Gilbert-Parkes, S., Spiers, G. et al. Global Patterns of Metal and Other Element Enrichment in Bog and Fen Peatlands. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 86, 125–139 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-024-01051-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-024-01051-3