ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Reconstruction of a Raised Bog Development:
Which Geochemical Parameters of Peat
are the Most Convenient
for Preliminary Analyses?
Monika Mętrak, Małgorzata Suska-Malawska
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Faculty of Biology, Biological and Chemical Research Centre, University of Warsaw
Żwirki i Wigury 101, 02-089 Warsaw, Poland
Submission date: 2014-02-24
Final revision date: 2014-11-17
Acceptance date: 2014-12-11
Publication date: 2015-05-20
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2015;24(3):1185-1193
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ABSTRACT
Thanks to their unique physical, chemical, and biological properties, raised bogs are considered archives
of past hydrological and vegetation changes, which in the case of ombrotrophic bogs may reflect alterations
of paleoclimate. Detailed studies on the past transformations of bogs provide researchers with necessary
knowledge to anticipate future changes of these ecosystems. The aim of this research was to find a good and
easily obtainable paleoenvironmental proxy that can be used in preliminary studies with no need for advanced
equipment and extra costs. For our studies three raised bogs were chosen, whose genesis and history have been
comprehensively described by other authors according to micro- and macrofossil data. We performed chemical
analyses on the samples from the cores taken from the described bogs. Obtained results were compared
with accessible data on the bogs’ development and underwent statistical analysis. In general, geochemical features
of peat presented in this article corresponded well with the accessible micro- and marcofossil data, and
content of non-hydrolysable lipids in peat turned out to be the best indicator of water level on the studied bogs.