Ecological impacts of the industrial revolution in a lowland raised peat bog near Manchester, NW England.

(1) Ombrotrophic peat bogs provide valuable records of environmental change on long timescales but are rarely preserved near the major centers of industrial activity. Holcroft Moss is a rare example of a stratigraphically intact lowland peat bog in NW England, which provides a valuable opportunity to trace industrial impacts on vegetation in a sensitive environmental archive close to the early industrializing cities of Manchester and Liverpool. (2) We reconstructed environmental changes at Holcroft Moss before and after the Industrial Revolution using a decadal-scale record of pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, microcharcoal, peat composition (organic content and ash-free bulk density) and heavy metal content, constrained by a radiocarbon and SCP (spheroidal carbonaceous particle) chronology. We examine the relationship between abiotic and biotic environmental tracers using principal component analysis and evaluate the role of local and regional climatic and anthropogenic drivers using canonical redundancy analysis and partitioning of variation. (3) Results show significant changes in bog vegetation composition during the last 700 years. Prior to 1750 CE, climate and agro-pastoral activity (grazing and fires) were the main drivers of vegetation change. Subsequently, regional coal-fired industry contributed to major increases in atmospheric pollutants (dust, heavy metals, and acid deposition) that severely impacted vegetation, driving the decline of Sphagnum. Grasses rose to dominance in the 20th century associated especially with bog conversion and cumulative nitrogen deposition. Although atmospheric pollution significantly decreased in the post-industrial era, vegetation has not returned to pre-industrial conditions, reflecting the ongoing impact of global change drivers which pose challenges for conservation and restoration. (4) Synthesis. Paleoecological studies are needed to reveal the long-term history of vegetation degradation and to offer guidelines for restoration and conservation practices. This study reconstructs the last 700 years of a peat bog located between Manchester and Liverpool, revealing the timing and nature of vegetation changes across the trajectory of early industrialization and eventual post-industrial decline. Our study reveals the progressive dominance of regional anthropogenic forcing and highlights that the present-day vegetation does not have past analogs within the last 700 years. Conservation measures favoring the reintroduction of Sphagnum are justified in redressing the major biological legacy of the Industrial Revolution, while steps to increase Calluna should also be considered in light of its resilience to dry and fire-prone conditions.

Habitat Characteristics and Mineral Nutrition Status of Rubus chamaemorus L. in Latvia.

In Latvia, cloudberries are considered a valuable delicacy and have aroused interest in the possibility of commercial cultivation, as currently, they are collected only in the wild. A complex study was carried out to provide insight into the growth conditions of wild cloudberry in Latvia. The knowledge gained would provide a basis for the development of cloudberry cultivation technologies in the hemiboreal zone. Habitat characteristics, composition of surrounding vegetation, and plant mineral nutrition status were investigated in 18 study sites. Overall, the species composition of cloudberry study sites corresponded to two plant community classes: Cl. Vaccinio-Piceetea and Cl. Oxycocco-Sphagnetea. The most common species were Sphagnum magellanicum, Vaccinium myrtillus, and Oxycoccus palustris. The results clearly indicated acidic peat soils with high organic matter content and low degree of decomposition as being most suitable for cloudberry cultivation. High nutrient uptake capacity was found for wild cloudberry growing in nutrient-poor environments, as most of the leaf nutrients corresponded to the optimal levels determined for different cultivated berries. However, balanced fertilization to ensure successful plant vegetative and root growth would be recommended. The first results on wild cloudberry in Latvia indicated that optimization of P, S, B, and Mo should be the main focus.

A reassessment of testate amoebae diversity in Tierra del Fuego peatlands: Implications for large scale inferences.

Testate amoebae are a diverse group of shelled protists frequently used as model organisms in microbial biogeography. Relatively few species have been reported for the Southern Hemisphere, however, it remains unclear whether this lower diversity is real or an artifact of under-sampling or misidentifications, which would reduce their potential to address macroecological questions. We evaluated testate amoebae diversity from the full range of habitats occurring within two Tierra del Fuego peatlands and compared it with the reported diversity for the area and from the Northern Hemisphere peatlands. We recorded 87 species, of which 69 are new for the region and 45 of them probably new to science and likely to have restricted geographical distributions. Combined with previous studies, the total diversity of testate amoebae only from Tierra del Fuego peatlands now reaches 119, as compared with 183 reported from all Northern Hemisphere peatlands. Our results demonstrate that the number of Gondwanian and Neotropical endemic testate amoeba may be substantially higher than currently known. Previous reports of Holarctic taxa in Tierra del Fuego may result from forcing the identification of morphotypes to the descriptions in the most common literature (force-fitting) South American species into species common in literature from other regions.

Assessment of physicochemical parameters and metal distribution in bog peat of the western segment of the North European part of Russia (Arkhangelsk region).

This article is devoted to the study of physicochemical parameters and the assessment of the accumulation and distribution of metals in peat deposits from the North European part of Russia (Arkhangelsk region). Peat profiles were selected both in the area with a high anthropogenic load and in a bog remote from industrial pollution. The determination of metals was carried out by using the methods X-ray fluorescence analysis and atomic absorption spectroscopy. It was determined that the studied bogs can be attributed to the low ash type, and the recorded pH and mineralisation values make it possible to attribute these deposits to the acid-oxidising facies of oligotrophic peatlands, characteristic of taiga landscapes. Assessment of metal accumulation showed a high content of titanium, chromium, lead, nickel, vanadium, cobalt, aluminium, silicon, and copper in peat, mainly caused by the burning of fossil fuels and industrial production, as well as the burning of urban and industrial waste. The peat profiles are characterised by significant fluctuations in the content of elements in different horizons. Studies have shown the need to monitor the content of metals in peatlands from the Arkhangelsk region to assess atmospheric pollution from industrial emissions, both at the moment and in the past.

Reply to the comments on "A novel approach to peatlands as archives of total cumulative spatial pollution loads from atmospheric deposition of airborne elements complementary to EMEP data: Priority pollutants (Pb, Cd, Hg)" by V. De Vleeschouwer et al.

In the comments by De Vleeschouwer et al. (2020) on a recent paper by Miszczak et al. (2020), two major issues were critically discussed: (1) the behavior of lead in ombrotrophic peatlands, with particular regard to the possible lead vertical mobility/immobility; (2) lead data use to accurately reconstruct historical contamination. The authors stated that "some of the conclusions reached by Miszczak et al. (2020) are based on misinterpretation or incorrect sampling and data analyses approaches". A reply to comments emphasises that these topics are not an issue of the paper. Its major idea was to use the unique natural systems (that are ombrotrophic peat bogs) as complete and reliable inventories for the assessment of cumulative loads of airborne element deposition independently upon its chronology. The results of a study conducted on ten ombrotrophic peat bogs in Norway and Poland showed a striking quantitative precision of such assessment. This has led to the idea of including ombrotrophic peat bogs into the EMEP network as tools for the completion of spatial distribution data on the fugitive element deposition. It would be helpful if a bigger number of experienced and widely recognized researchers take part in such project. Simultaneously, the analysis of source data, own results and case studies makes clear that the information regarding ombrotrophic peat properties is still insufficient to reconstruct precisely the chronology of metal contamination records, despite the development of high resolution sampling and analytical techniques and interpretational approaches. The clarification of some seemingly biased records would help to elucidate unexplained or unusual lead behavior in some outstanding cases. These cases demonstrate also that despite over 40 years of studies there are still the substantial gaps in our knowledge that need to be filled up.

Predictor species: Improving assessments of rare species occurrence by modeling environmental co-responses.

Designing an effective conservation strategy requires understanding where rare species are located. Because rare species can be difficult to find, ecologists often identify other species called conservation surrogates that can help inform the distribution of rare species. Species distribution models typically rely on environmental data when predicting the occurrence of species, neglecting the effect of species' co-occurrences and biotic interactions. Here, we present a new approach that uses Bayesian networks to improve predictions by modeling environmental co-responses among species. For species from a European peat bog community, our approach consistently performs better than single-species models and better than conventional multi-species approaches that include the presence of nontarget species as additional independent variables in regression models. Our approach performs particularly well with rare species and when calibration data are limited. Furthermore, we identify a group of "predictor species" that are relatively common, insensitive to the presence of other species, and can be used to improve occurrence predictions of rare species. Predictor species are distinct from other categories of conservation surrogates such as umbrella or indicator species, which motivates focused data collection of predictor species to enhance conservation practices.

Trace elements in Labrador Tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum): How predominant sources to the plants impact the chemical composition of hot water extracts.

Labrador Tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum) has been an important food and medicinal plant to First Nations communities in North America for millenia, but little is known of its geochemical properties. Using plants from 10 sites in 4 provinces, including pristine and industrial regions, and employing the metal-free, ultraclean SWAMP laboratory facilities and procedures, we provide an estimate of the natural abundance of trace elements in the leaves, and the extent of their release during hot water extraction. Elements decrease in abundance in the order Mn > Al > Fe > Zn > Cu > Ni > V > Pb > La > Mo > Y > La > Tl > Cd > Th > Ag. The greatest concentrations of conservative, lithophile elements such as Al, La, Th and Y, are found in samples collected on lands reclaimed from open pit bitumen mines in northern Alberta, reflecting elevated inputs of atmospheric dusts. In contrast, micronutrients such as Cu and Zn are remarkably uniform which suggests that these are supplied almost exclusively by plant uptake via roots. Deionized, reverse osmosis water is more effective in removing some elements (e.g. Al, La, Y, Fe, Zn, Cd) whereas others are more readily extracted using groundwater (e.g. Cu, Ni, Pb); V behaves independently of water composition. In both types of water, the elements most readily extracted are plant micronutrients (Mn, Ni, Cu, and Zn) whereas those supplied primarily by dust exhibit much lower yields; Al shows behaviour intermediate between these two extremes. While element concentrations in the infusions increase with increasing concentrations in the leaves, the abundance of potentially toxic chalcophile elements such as Cd, Pb, Sb and Tl in the infusions are extremely low (ng/l). Plants from British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec provide evidence of atmospheric Pb contamination, yielding greater ratios of Pb/La compared to the samples from Alberta where crustal values are found. Given that this plant is common and found across the northern half of the continent, it shows great promise as a tool for biomonitoring of air quality. For consumers, Labrador Tea may represent an important dietary source of Mn.

A novel approach to peatlands as archives of total cumulative spatial pollution loads from atmospheric deposition of airborne elements complementary to EMEP data: priority pollutants (Pb, Cd, Hg).

A novel approach to using peatlands for assessment of cumulative contributions from long-range transport of pollutants (LRTP) - airborne trace elements - to spatial pollution was exemplified in evaluating retrospective atmospheric deposition of priority pollutants (Pb, Cd, Hg) in peat bogs in Norway in areas minor affected by local sources of pollution and in NW Poland located on the way of possible LRTP from Poland to Norway. Peat from the corresponding 14C-dated layers of five ombrotrophic bogs in each country, was analysed for trace element contents. Pollutant concentrations/load distribution along the peat profiles related to bulk density has given a clear evidence of uneven density-dependent temporal vertical migration of all studied elements that distorts the chronology of their deposition. Much higher loads of Pb, Cd and Hg in southern Norwegian bogs than in bogs located in NW Poland proved transboundary transport from neighbouring highly industrialized European countries to be much more significant contributor to high deposition of the priority pollutants in this area and rather excludes LRTP from Poland as a major source of total land pollution in southernmost Norway. The study showed excellent applicability of peat bogs for the exact assessment of retrospective cumulative pollutant loads from LRTP, but not for the identification of deposition chronology. Combining the use of ombrotrophic peat bogs as tools for retrospective monitoring of cumulative land pollution with airborne elements with current LRTP data within the Cooperative Programme for Monitoring and Evaluation of the Long-Range Transmission of Air Pollutants in Europe (EMEP) may provide a complete reliable picture of the effect of anthropogenic emissions on soil quality and create a foundation of optimum environmental policy and activities in this field.

Diversity of Active Viral Infections within the Sphagnum Microbiome.

Sphagnum-dominated peatlands play an important role in global carbon storage and represent significant sources of economic and ecological value. While recent efforts to describe microbial diversity and metabolic potential of the Sphagnum microbiome have demonstrated the importance of its microbial community, little is known about the viral constituents. We used metatranscriptomics to describe the diversity and activity of viruses infecting microbes within the Sphagnum peat bog. The vegetative portions of six Sphagnum plants were obtained from a peatland in northern Minnesota, and the total RNA was extracted and sequenced. Metatranscriptomes were assembled and contigs were screened for the presence of conserved virus marker genes. Using bacteriophage capsid protein gp23 as a marker for phage diversity, we identified 33 contigs representing undocumented phages that were active in the community at the time of sampling. Similarly, RNA-dependent RNA polymerase and the nucleocytoplasmic large DNA virus (NCLDV) major capsid protein were used as markers for single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) viruses and NCLDV, respectively. In total, 114 contigs were identified as originating from undescribed ssRNA viruses, 22 of which represent nearly complete genomes. An additional 64 contigs were identified as being from NCLDVs. Finally, 7 contigs were identified as putative virophage or polinton-like viruses. We developed co-occurrence networks with these markers in relation to the expression of potential-host housekeeping gene rpb1 to predict virus-host relationships, identifying 13 groups. Together, our approach offers new tools for the identification of virus diversity and interactions in understudied clades and suggests that viruses may play a considerable role in the ecology of the Sphagnum microbiome.IMPORTANCESphagnum-dominated peatlands play an important role in maintaining atmospheric carbon dioxide levels by modifying conditions in the surrounding soil to favor the growth of Sphagnum over that of other plant species. This lowers the rate of decomposition and facilitates the accumulation of fixed carbon in the form of partially decomposed biomass. The unique environment produced by Sphagnum enriches for the growth of a diverse microbial consortia that benefit from and support the moss's growth, while also maintaining the hostile soil conditions. While a growing body of research has begun to characterize the microbial groups that colonize Sphagnum, little is currently known about the ecological factors that constrain community structure and define ecosystem function. Top-down population control by viruses is almost completely undescribed. This study provides insight into the significant viral influence on the Sphagnum microbiome and identifies new potential model systems to study virus-host interactions in the peatland ecosystem.

Intra-annual groundwater levels and water temperature patterns in raised bogs affected by human impact in mountain areas in Poland.

Over the last century, the vast majority of peatlands in Europe have experienced substantial transformation as a result of drainage works that led to an imbalance in the natural hydrologic regime as well as changes in vegetation composition. The ongoing study aims to reconstruct the natural hydrologic regime of peatlands and restore their typical vegetation communities. In this study, we examine the variability of groundwater levels and groundwater temperature in raised bogs located in the Bieszczady Mts. in southern Poland. Both groundwater table levels and groundwater temperature serve to characterise the hydrology of peatlands, which in turn is critical for plant growth and rates of relevant biochemical processes. Our objective is to determine the predominant scale of intra-annual variability in time series and identify their potential sources by assessing the adaptive response of peat bogs to key changes in weather conditions. For this purpose, data obtained from 9 monitoring wells located in peat bogs, with a varying degree of degradation, were used. Fluctuations in time series and potential linkages between selected variables were analysed in the frequency domain using the continuous wavelet transform. The results show that peat bogs exhibit a relatively high stability of groundwater table levels and groundwater temperature despite meaningful changes in weather conditions. The most visible response of peat bogs to weather conditions was observed in summer and autumn. Our study demonstrates that degraded peat bogs experience the largest decrease in groundwater table levels and more frequent fluctuations. In contrast, groundwater temperature remained stable throughout the year at all the studied bog sites.

Tabula rasa in the Patagonian Channels? The phylogeography of Oreobolus obtusangulus (Cyperaceae).

The extent of the Pleistocene glaciations in the Patagonian Channel region (southwesternmost South America) and their impact on the vegetation there are largely unknown. Whether the regional flora was wiped out completely (tabula rasa) or survived in ice-free pockets (in situ survival) is still an open question. The molecular imprint of either scenario should still be visible in extant populations. Therefore, DNA sequence data of Oreobolus obtusangulus Gaudich. (Cyperaceae) were analysed. This species is an abundant constituent of Patagonian cushion peat bogs, one of the Patagonian Channel region's major vegetation types. Three hundred and eighty-four individuals from 48 populations were sequenced for two chloroplast (ycf3-psaA and trnQUUG -psbK intergenic spacers) and 14 nuclear loci containing simple sequence repeats (SSRs; microsatellites). Phylogenetic reconstructions and the geographic distribution of genetic diversity revealed that the species was split into three main lineages whose general distributions comprise three separate major regions, that is, south-central Chile, Fuego-Patagonia and the East Patagonian Andes, which probably constitute glacial refugia. Postglacial migration fronts formed a suture zone with high levels of genetic diversity in the Northwest Patagonian Andes, where remnants of a supposedly ancestral lineage were also found to be locally restricted to a single population (Huinay). The heavily glaciated Patagonian Channels were likely recolonized from the northwest, and partly from the south. Although the westernmost Patagonian Channel population (Estero Bachem) harboured private SSR alleles (singletons) and showed slightly elevated genetic diversity, it remained unclear whether this population actually survived in situ. This study helps fill a major gap in reconstructing the Pleistocene vegetation history of West and Andean Patagonia.

Technogenic magnetic particles in soils as evidence of historical mining and smelting activity: A case of the Brynica River Valley, Poland.

In the area of Brynica River basin (Upper Silesia, southern Poland) the exploitation and smelting of iron, silver and lead ores was historically documented since early Middle Ages. First investigations showed that metallurgy industry had a large impact from 9th century (AD) until the Second World War. The aim of the study was to use magnetic prospection to detect traces of past mining and ore smelting in Brynica River Valley located in Upper Silesia (southern Poland). The field screening was performed by measurement magnetic susceptibility (κ) on surface and in vertical profiles and was supported locally by gradiometric measurements. Vertical distribution of magnetic susceptibility values was closely associated with the type of soil use. Historical technogenic magnetic particles resulting from exploitation, processing, and smelting of iron, silver, and lead ores were accumulated in the soil layer at the depth 10 to 25cm. They were represented by sharp-edged particles of slag, coke, as well as various mineralogical forms of iron minerals and aggregates composed of carbon particles, aluminosilicate glass, and single particles of metallic iron. The additional geochemical study in adjacent peat bog supported by radiocarbon dating was also performed. The application of integrated geochemical-magnetic methods to reconstruct the historical accumulation of pollutants in the studied peat bog was effective. The magnetic peak, which was pointed out by magnetic analyses, is consistent with the presence of charcoal and pollution from heavy metals, such as Ag, Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb, or Sn. The results of this work will be helpful for the further study of human's impact on the environment related to the historical and even pre-historical ore exploitation and smelting and also used for better targeting the archeological excavations on such areas.

The Auchenorrhyncha fauna of peat bogs in the Austrian part of the Bohemian Forest (Insecta, Hemiptera).

The first overview on the Auchenorrhyncha fauna of peat bogs of the Austrian Bohemian Forest is presented. Seven oligotrophic peat bog sites were studied in 2011 by suction sampler ("G-Vac") and 93 Auchenorrhyncha species (with 7465 adult specimens) were recorded. Eleven species (about 18 % of the individuals) are tyrphobiontic or tyrphophilous. The relative species abundance plot is not very steep; the six most abundant species represent 50 % of the individuals. The most common species is Conomelus anceps (17 % of the individuals). Compared to the whole Austrian Auchenorrhyncha fauna, the fauna of peat bogs comprises distinctly more univoltine species and more species hibernating in nymphal stage. Densities of adult Auchenorrhyncha in peat bogs are low in spring (about 10-60 individuals per m²) and high in July, with up to 180 (±50) individuals per m². Disturbed peat bogs have higher species numbers and higher Auchenorrhyncha densities in total, but lower numbers and densities in peat bog specialists.