Browsing by Subject "turve"

The underlying bedrock is known to have effects on metal contents in soil and water, and thereby onto the major and trace nutrient balances in plants. Heavy metal contents in different rock types are highly variable and changes in the composition of the bedrock can happen over small distances. In Finland, the locally relatively abundant black shales in the eastern part of the country contain elevated amounts of several heavy metals, while the generally more common felsic rock types are in comparison depleted in them. The influence of elemental contents in bedrock on metal distribution in nature can be assessed through comparing metal amounts in various kinds of environmental samples, which at the same time enables identification of areas of potential environmental concern. The aim of this study is to assess the influence of bedrock on heavy metal contents in peat, ditch water, and needle samples between areas underlain by felsic or black shale bedrock in nine peatland catchments in Kainuu in eastern Finland. In addition to comparing differences in elemental contents, effort is put into evaluating strengths of correlations between metal concentrations and ash contents in peat samples and to assess which metals have a tendency of occurring together in peat. For ditch water samples, correlations will be evaluated between concentrations of metals and of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and of amounts of precipitation. In addition to influences of bedrock, other possible reasons behind differences in heavy metal amounts between areas will be looked at. Comparisons with data from other publications will in places also be made. The study is based on material collected by the Natural Resources Institute Finland in the years 2008–2015, which here includes 70 peat, 634 ditch water, and 80 needle samples. All samples were collected in nine separate forestry drained peatland catchments. Five of the catchments were located on areas underlain by felsic bedrock and four by black shales. The peat samples examined in this study range from the surface of the peat layers to 40 cm depth. The ditch water samples were collected from outlet ditches from all nine peatland catchments and needle samples were taken in eight catchments from either Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) or Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst). Half of the samples were of current year’s and half of previous year’s needles. Laboratory analyses of peat samples included measurements of As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, U, and Zn concentrations by either ICP-MS or ICP-AES -methods and of ash contents through loss-on-ignition (LOI). Ditch water samples were analysed for Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn concentrations with the ICP-AES method, for DOC concentrations by TOC-V CPH/CPN analysis and for sulphate (SO4-S) by ion chromatography. Tree needles were measured for contents of Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni and Zn with ICP-AES. Statistical differences in metal amounts in samples by bedrock were tested with the Mann–Whitney U test and correlations using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient or the Pearson correlation coefficient. Metal concentrations in peat samples were for some tests recalculated to take into account ash contents using a linear general model. Metal stocks in peat layers (mg/m2) were also calculated for the sampling sites. As the main results, the ash corrected metal concentrations in peat were statistically significantly higher in samples collected on black shale as opposed to felsic bedrock in terms of As, Cd, Co, Mn, Ni, and Zn, while metal stocks in peat were significantly different in terms of Ni. In ditch water, samples from black shale areas had significantly higher concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn, and in tree needle samples similar significances were observed for Ni. The only cases were samples from felsic areas had significantly higher concentrations than those form black shale areas were the ash corrected concentrations of U and Cu concentrations in needle samples. Regardless of the underlying bedrock, large variations in metal amounts in all sample types were observed between catchment areas. Correlations between metal concentrations and ash contents in peat were generally relatively strong. Correlations between metals in peat were variable, and often stronger in samples collected in felsic areas. In water samples, correlations between metal and DOC concentrations were variable both between metals and catchments. The correlations between precipitation and metal concentrations in ditch water were generally weak. Overall, the composition of the bedrock was noticed to have some effects on metal concentrations in all sample types. But it was evident by the results that there are also other factors controlling metal amounts between catchments.

Primary peat formation, infilling (terrestrialization) and paludification are the three main kinds of peatland formation processes. A peatland can develop over previously drier mineral soil if water table level rises or previously formed mire grows or expands. In Finland, the expansion of mires has been occasionally fast and in major part of ombrotrophic raised bogs it has occured while the mire has been in the minerotrophic fen stage. However, based on previous studies there have been different speculations whether the paludification still continues. Paludification study site at the edge of peatland and forested mineral soil was established in Häädetkeidas Strict Nature Reserve in year 1931. The study site, with a set of 4 transects, was studied in 1931, 1945, 1957 and 1997. Vegetation analysis on these permanent transects was repeated in 2016 as a part of this thesis. The aim of this study was to describe the variation of vegetation at the edge of the mire and forested mineral soil and study how the vegetation and plant species assemblies have changed between the years 1931–2016. A long-term vegetation study can reveal whether the species have changed from forest-dominated species to peatland-dominated species and does the paludification process still continue. The paludification process was studied by estimating the canopy-cover of ground layer and field layer vegetation and litter cover, measuring peat thickness, the thickness of aerated peat layer and anoxic peat layer and forest cover in four transects, consisting of 180 subplots. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) was used to describe the data. Ground and field layer vegetation were examined by comparing the species’ average cover and frequencies. Environmental variables were studied by correlation analysis. Differences in peat thickness and in the coverage of Sphagnum-mosses between the examination years were studied with oneway variance analysis and t-test. In all four transects the coverage of Sphagnum-mosses had increased between the years 1931 and 2016. The coverage of forest mosses had decreased in two out of four transects. Succession related changes in species were observed in both vegetation layers. There was variation in the vegetation development between the transects and they seemed to be in different stages of the succession and paludification processes. In 93 percent of the study plots the thickness of peat layer had increased during the last 19 years. The changes in vegetation between the years 1931 and 2016 as well as the growth of the peat layer suggests that the paludification process still continues.

The use of peat as a growing-medium has raised concerns globally, because it is not ecologically sustainable. Coir is an ecologically friendly alternative, but it is transported very long way to Finland. Therefore, a substitute for peat and coir as a growing-medium in soilless culture is needed. The aim of this research was to find out, whether Finnish plant fibre medium can replace peat or coir in greenhouse production of strawberry. In the experiments four substrates were compared: coir, peat, plant fibre and peat/plant fibre mix. Water holding capacity, pH-buffer capacity and mineralisation of nitrogen were determined, and vegetative and generative growth of strawberries on different substrates were measured. In strawberry cultivation experiment the pH of plant fibre (6,5-7,7) was very close to that of peat (6,4-7,6). Coir and plant fibre had considerably lower pH-buffer capacity than the media that contained peat. The water holding capacity (613 % per dw) of plant fibre was considerably lower than in other media. Plant fibre medium´s water content (32-42 % v/v) was however closest to strawberry´s optimum (25-34 % v/v) during almost the whole experiment. Plant fibre (23:1) and peat/plant fibre mix (29:1) had optimal C/N- ratios in this experiment. The amount of soluble nitrogen was highest in plant fibre medium in the beginning of the experiment. The EC of plant fibre medium was very low in the beginning (0,5 mS/cm), but it increased quickly being 1,2-2,1 mS/cm, so it was second closest to the optimum during the rest of the experiment. The vegetative growth of strawberry plants was more vigorous in peat compared to other substrates. The growth of the root system was weakest in peat. Medium had no significant influence on the amount of yield, and had only minor influence on the quality of the yield. In conclusion, the plant fibre medium could replace peat or coir in the soilless cultivation of strawberry.

Substrate producers are interested in new climate-friendly alternatives due to the problematic nature of the peat life cycle and the uncertain status. The Sphagnum moss has good properties for substrate production and, due to its productivity, is a potential alternative to peat harvesting. Indeed, the Sphagnum moss has been harvested for this purpose for several years. Exploitation of the new natural resource involves many issues to take care of in order to consider sustainable use. One of these is the impact on climate. Of the greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide and me-thane play a role in the climate emissions of ombrotrophic mires. Nitrous oxide is not considered here. In the case of carbon dioxide, it is important to study the carbon stocks of the decaying material and, in the case of methane, vege-tation restoration and plant species relationships are considered carefully. The aim of this Master's thesis was to study observations on the climatic effects of Sphagnum harvesting for possi-ble further research. Climate effects were compared with untreated reference areas and, in addition, the differences in emissions between peatland types were provisionally investigated. The climatic effects of Sphagnum harvesting were also compared with the corresponding figures of horticultural peat. Carbon dioxide was studied by the carbon content of drilled peat samples. The climate impact of the peat that wasn’t formed as a result of the harvesting was also taken into account in the calculations. Methane emissions were examined on the basis of restoration of cover from vegetation analysis and plant species relationship data. The Sphagnum harvesting areas were also examined about general information of the harvesting area for example harvesting marks in the ground, tree stand and ditch conditions. Field work was carried out in summer 2019 in Kihniö area on 12 bogs. In general, the vegetation of the harvesting areas was characterized by a strong pioneer effect on Eriophorum vagi-natum. The most recent harvesting areas were still nearly plant-free, but at the time of the study, the harvesting areas that had recovered three growing seasons had already begun to clearly recover in terms of vegetation. Within 10 years, the vegetation had completely recovered. In relative terms, the proportion of Eriophorum vaginatum in the oldest areas was clearly higher than in the reference areas and the regenerated vegetation in the harvesting areas was poorer than in the reference areas. However, the presence of Eriophorum vaginatum also seems to contribute to the spread of Sphagnum sp. In addition, the harvesting marks of the harvesting seems to be important above all for the recovery of Sphagnum sp. The flat surface facilitates recovery, but also the unharvested spots within the harvesting areas. Based on the greenhouse gas calculations, the emission of the Sphagnum harvesting area was 10.26 kg/m2 CO2 in 13 years. Comparing the differences between the different bog types, it was found that the harvesting is more climate friendly in Sphagnum-bogs than in cottongrass-bogs. The Sphagnum harvesting is clearly a better alternative to harvesting peat from a climate point of view, when emissions are distributed on the dry masses of the growing media produced. When reducing climate emissions, the major part of total emissions is generated by the specific decontaminated substrate. The importance of the vegetation is less significant in the overall result. In this study, the climate effects of the Sphagnum harvesting were tentatively mapped, as the topic has not been studied previously in Finnish conditions. More research is needed with wider sampling and long-term follow-up.

Pristine mires are an important carbon storage, but after drainage, the carbon is released from the peat through aerobic decomposition. In Finland, half of the original mire area has been drained, mainly for forestry purposes. Majority (83 %) of the drained area is suitable for forestry. Out of the forestry-suited drained peatlands, the nutrient-rich forestry drained peatlands emit high amounts of CO2 due to high aerobic decomposition as nutrient-rich conditions are favourable for decomposing bacteria. Rewetting of these nutrient-rich peatlands could offer a solution for halting the CO2 emission, but the CH4 emission increases after rewetting. The studies show differing results of CH4 emission from nutrient-rich rewetted peatlands. There are studies reporting both high and low emission of CH4 from nutrient-rich peatlands, and differing studies on how the emission evolves in time. This thesis focused on three variables that could affect the CH4 emission: time from rewetting, water level and site type. There were 27 different study sites at 8 locations. These sites were rewetted 3 to 28 years prior to measurements and represented nutrient-rich tree-covered peatlands (Rhtkg, Mtkg, Ptkg). Ptkg was the least nutrient-rich site type in the study. The CH4 flux was measured with a chamber method from July to November of 2021. Water level was monitored with loggers and manual measurements. The data was analysed with linear regression and analysis of variance, depending on the independent variable. Mean CH4 fluxes were used to compare sites with each other. The results show that water level affects the CH4 emission at statistically significant level. When water level is deeper than 10cm below ground level, the CH4 emission is low. One site differed from this trend and despite the high water level, the CH4 emission was close to zero. Time from rewetting did not affect CH4 emission at statistically significant level, but there was a visible trend of older rewetted peatlands emitting less than more recently rewetted ones. This finding was contradicting to the literature as it was supposed that the more recently rewetted peatlands emit less CH4. Out of site types, the Mtkg2 and Rhtkg site types emitted most, but there was no statistical significance. When analysed with using both the water level and site type, there were statistical differences between site types. When comparing mean CH4 emissions from nutrient-rich (Rhtkg+Mtkg) and least nutrient-rich (Ptkg) peatlands at the same water level, the Ptkg sites emitted less, but not at a statistically significant level. The findings indicate that, when rewetting a nutrient-rich tree-covered peatland, it should be done so that the water-level does not rise above 10cm, but this is very difficult or impossible to regulate. Restoration process and how it develops is difficult to foresee and the end-result might differ. Research on CH4 emissions from rewetted nutrient-rich peatlands and what affects it is increasingly important as CH4 affects the climate change in the near future.

In this master thesis an economic model is constructed to describe an optimal use of mires from a land-use perspective. Climate effect of a peat is explored from a life-cycle perspective and economic factors like discount rate and costs are taken into account. Peat supply chains differ from each other depending on initial land-use and after-use alternative. First a model is constructed to describe the private optimum. Then a model is constructed to describe the social optimum in which externalities are internalized. Finally environmental management instruments are examined. Special attention is drawn to an effective emission factor. Examination is divided to analytical and numerical part. Derived efficient emission factor consists of two parts: the emission factor of peat combustion and amendment factor, which takes into account the emissions/sinks of initial peatland, peat extraction field and after-use alternative as well as time horizon, discount rate and peat extraction rate. The efficient emission factor is a declining function of emissions per hectare of mire and an increasing function of emissions of after-use, peat extraction field and combustion. The discount factor used in the efficient emission factor is a declining function of discount rate and production period. The efficient emission factor increased as a function of discount rate when emissions per hectare of mire were higher than emissions of after-use alternative. Increase of extraction period increased the efficient emission factor in the case of every peat extraction chain apart from those chains in which the initial peatland was especially great source of emissions. According to the results the efficient emission factor was larger than the emission factor of coal when peatland was initially natural mire or forestry-drained mire, which was insignificant source of emissions. Instead the efficient emission factor was lower than the emission factor of coal when peatland was initially forestry-drained mire, which was significant source of emissions or cultivated peat soil.!According to the results, when peatland was initially natural mire the efficient emission factor was on an average approximately 6 % higher than peat emission factor and 20 % lower than coal emission factor. Respectively the efficient emission factor was on an average approximately 4 % lower than peat emission factor and 8 % higher than coal emission factor when peatland was initially forestry-drained mire and 23 % lower than peat emission factor and 13 % lower than coal emission factor when peatland was initially cultivated peat soil. Application of the efficient emission factor involves many challenges. Biggest challenges may link to inadequate and uncertain emission data. A lot of additional resource is needed related to climate effects of different land-use and mire types in order to use the efficient emission factor in practice. It could also be quite problematic that the after use alternative should be fixed when the extraction in the area begins so that the efficient emission factor could be defined. It is also difficult to choose which discount rate to use. Additionally, it was explored how different kind of shocks affects socially optimal use of fuel. The results of an analytical examination were hard to interpret in most cases. Instead with the help of numerical examination it was possible to draw clearer conclusions of how the shocks affected the optimal use of fuel. Based on the results of the examination the use of peat increased and the use of coal decreased as the function of social cost of carbon when the efficient emission factor was lower than the emission factor of coal. According to the analytical examination, increase of discount rate decreased the use of peat and increased the use of coal when the net benefit of after-use was larger than the net benefit of alternative use of peatland. This is the case because the greater the discount rate is the less significant is the importance of after-use. According to the numerical analysis the increase of discount rate decreased the use of peat and increased the use of coal in all production chains. Also according to the numerical analysis, the use of peat decreased and the use of coal increased as a function of production period in all production chains. Instead opposite happened when the peat extraction rate increased. Thus it can be said that faster the peat can be extracted, more peat is used. At the same time the use of coal is decreased.

Kaakkois-Aasiassa sijaitsee yli puolet maailman trooppisista soista, joiden kokonaispinta-ala on 0,44 milj. km-2. Viime vuosikymmeninä luonnontilaisten trooppisten suosademetsien muuttaminen muuhun käyttöön on kasvanut huomattavasti: Kaakkois-Aasian trooppisten soiden alkuperäisestä pinta-alasta noin 60 % on kuivatettu ja vain noin 10 % on enää luonnontilassa. Maankäyttömuutos Kaakkois-Aasian trooppisilla soilla on merkittävä kasvihuonekaasupäästöjen lähde ja on arvioitu että vuosittain kuivatetuilta soilta vapautuu 600 – 700 Mt hiilidioksidia turpeen hajoamisesta. Huolimatta maankäyttömuutosten laajuudesta trooppisia soita ja niillä tapahtuvia prosesseja on tutkittu varsin vähän verrattuna muiden ilmastovyöhykkeiden soihin. Kasvihuonekaasupäästöjen tutkimus on tähän asti pääasiallisesti ollut selvittää pistemäisillä mittauksilla maankäyttömuodon ja päästöjen välistä yhteyttä. Lukuun ottamatta vedenpinnan syvyyden ja kasvihuonekaasujen yhteyden tarkastelua, tutkimuksissa ei ole juuri paneuduttu muiden ympäristötekijöiden tai turpeen ominaisuuksien vaikutuksiin turpeen hajotusnopeuteen. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on selvittää maankäyttömuutoksen aiheuttaman turpeen lämpötilan nousun vaikutusta turpeen hajotuksesta johtuviin hiilidioksidi-, metaani- ja typpioksiduulivoihin kuivatetuilla turvemailla. Maankäyttömuutosta simuloitiin kahdella eri maankäyttöhistorian omaavalla turvemaalla, maatalousmaalla sekä useasti palaneella avoturvemaalla, keinotekoisella varjostuksella, jonka avulla turpeeseen muodostui lämpötilaeroja. Lisäksi tutkittiin onko lannoituksella vaikutusta turpeen hajotuksen ja hajotuksen lämpötilavasteeseen, sillä ravinnelöyhät turvemaat vaativat lannoitusta satojen tuottamiseksi. Hiilidioksidivuo määritettiin kahdella menetelmällä: infrapunaspektrometrisellä sekä kaasukromatografisella menetelmällä. Metaani ja typpioksiduulivuot määritettiin kaasukromatografisesti. Turpeen lämpötilaa mitattiin useilta syvyyksiltä automaattisilla lämpötila-antureilla tunnin välein ja käsikäyttöisillä lämpömittareilla kaasumittausten yhteydestä. Lisäksi kaasumittausten yhteydessä mitattiin vedenpinnan taso sekä otettiin turvenäytteet josta määritettiin turpeen vesipitoisuus, pH ja tiheys. Lämpötilalla havaittiin olevan merkittävä vaikutus hiilidioksidivoihin maatalousmaalla, jossa turpeen pintalämpötilan 10 °C nousun havaittiin pitkän aikavälin hiilidioksidivoiden keskiarvoilla kaksinkertaistavan hajotuksen. Lannoitus lisäsi keskimääräisiä hiilidioksidipäästöjä maatalousmaalla noin 40 %:lla, mutta vähensi niitä palaneella avoturvemaalla. Lannoituksen havaittiin lisäävän lämpötilan vaikutusta hajotukseen huomattavasti maatalousmaalla; hiilidioksidivuot hajotuksesta kymmenkertaistuivat koealan lannoitetussa lohkossa turpeen lämpötilan kasvaessa 10 °C:lla. Palaneella turvemaalla hiilidioksidivuon lämpötilavastetta ei havaittu. Metaanilla ja typpioksiduulilla lämpötilavastetta ei havaittu, vaan vedenpinnan taso vaikutti olevan lämpötilaa huomattavasti merkittävämpi kaasuvoiden suuruutta säätelevä tekijä. Lannoitus lisäsi typpioksiduulipäästöjä merkittävästi maatalousmaalla, mutta ei palaneella avoturvemaalla. Lannoituksella ei ollut vaikutusta metaanipäästöjen suuruuteen. Erojen hajotuksesta johtuvien hiilidioksidipäästöjen lämpötilavasteessa koealojen välillä oletetaan johtuvan erilaisesta maankäyttöhistoriasta. Maatalousmaalla turvetta on lannoitettu pitkä aika kun palanutta avoturvemaata ei ole lannoitettu koskaan. Lannoitus on saattanut muuttaa maatalousmaan maaperän mikrobistoa niin, että se pystyy hajottamaan pitkälle hajonnutta, hyvin ligniinipitoista, turvetta tehokkaammin sekä hyödyntämään lisätyt mineraaliravinteet hajotustoiminnassa. Turpeesta mitatut ympäristötekijät (pH, tiheys, vesi- ja ravinnepitoisuus) eikä turpeen aiemmin mitattu kemiallinen koostumus selittänyt eroa lämpötilavasteessa koealojen välillä. Jos hiilidioksidin lämpötilavaste pitkällä aikavälillä on havaittua suuruusluokkaa, lämpötila saattaa olla merkittävä turpeen hajotukseen vaikuttava tekijä ainakin pitkään lannoitetuilla turvemailla. Lisätutkimusta hajottajaeliöstön mahdollisista eroista ja pidempi aikaisia mittauksia lämpötilan vaikutuksesta hajotukseen kuitenkin tarvitaan erilaisilta maankäyttömuodoilta ja kuivatussyvyyksiltä lämpötilavasteen selvittämiseksi tarkemmin.