Time-scales of hydrological forcing on the geochemistry and bacterial community structure of temperate peat soils.

ABSTRACT: Peatlands are an important global carbon reservoir. The continued accumulation of carbon in peatlands depends on the persistence of anoxic conditions, in part induced by water saturation, which prevents oxidation of organic matter, and slows down decomposition. Here we investigate how and over what time scales the hydrological regime impacts the geochemistry and the bacterial community structure of temperate peat soils. Peat cores from two sites having contrasting groundwater budgets were subjected to four controlled drought-rewetting cycles. Pore water geochemistry and metagenomic profiling of bacterial communities showed that frequent water table drawdown induced lower concentrations of dissolved carbon, higher concentrations of sulfate and iron and reduced bacterial richness and diversi

SUBMITTER: Nunes FL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4594127 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature