Horticultural additives influence peat biogeochemistry and increase short-term CO₂ production from peat.

ABSTRACT:

Aims

Peat is used as a major ingredient of growing media in horticulture. Peat extracted from bogs can be acidic and low in nutrient availability and is therefore mixed with liming agents, nutrients, surfactants, perlite and so on. This study aims to estimate the rates at which raw peat and the modified peat ('growing media') decompose to release carbon dioxide (CO₂), to estimate the release of carbon (C) from liming agents and to estimate how peat biogeochemistry is changed.

Methods

We obtained 28 and 24 samples of raw peat and 24 growing media from four peat extraction companies in Canada. Growing media were treated with horticultural additives. We incubated the samples under laboratory conditions, measuring CO₂ production, tracer using δ13C - CO2 , p

SUBMITTER: Sharma B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11680665 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature