Contents

Foreword v
Preface vii
List of Contributors xiii
List of Reviewers xvii

1 Peatlands: a concise guide to the volume 1

I.P. Martini, A. Martı´nez Cortizas and W. Chesworth

A. Peatland basin analysis: evolution and structure 15

2 Northern Peatlands: their characteristics, development and sensitivity

to climate change 17
C. Tarnocai and V. Stolbovoy
3 The cold-climate peatlands of the Hudson Bay Lowland, Canada:
brief overview of recent work 53
I.P. Martini
4 Mountain mires from Galicia (NW Spain) 85
X. Pontevedra-Pombal, J.C. Nóvoa Muñoz, E. Garcı´a-Rodeja
and A. Martı´nez Cortizas
5 Geomorphologic emplacement and vegetation characteristics of
Fuegian peatlands, southernmost Argentina, South America 111
A. Coronato, C. Roig, L. Collado and F. Roig
6 The peatlands of Argentine Tierra del Fuego as a source for
paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental information 129
J. Rabassa, A. Coronato, C.J. Heusser, F. Roig Juñent,
A. Borromei, C. Roig and M. Quattrocchio
7 Lowland tropical peatlands of Southeast Asia 145
S.E. Page, J.O. Rieley and R. Wüst

B. Selected characteristics of peat and peatland environments 173

8 The redox–pH approach to the geochemistry of the Earth’s land

surface, with application to peatlands 175
W. Chesworth, A. Martı´nez Cortizas and E. Garcı´a-Rodeja
x Contents

9 Weathering of inorganic matter in bogs 197

G. Le Roux and W. Shotyk
10 Molecular chemistry by pyrolysis–GC/MS of selected samples
of the Penido Vello peat deposit, Galicia, NW Spain 217
P. Buurman, K.G.J. Nierop, X. Pontevedra-Pombal and
A. Martı´nez Cortizas
11 Mineral matter, major elements, and trace elements in raised bog peat:
a case study from southern Sweden, Ireland and
Tierra del Fuego, south Argentina 241
L.G. Franzén
12 Consequences of increasing levels of atmospheric nitrogen
deposition on ombrotrophic peatlands: a plant-based perspective 271
L. Bragazza
13 Microbial diversity in Sphagnum peatlands 287
D. Gilbert and E.A.D. Mitchell
14 Peatland hydrology 319
J. Holden
15 Hydrogeology of major peat basins in North America 347
P.H. Glaser, D.I. Siegel, A.S. Reeve and J.P. Chanton
16 Slope instability and mass movements in peat deposits 377
A.P. Dykes and K.J. Kirk

C. Peatlands as multi-signal archives of environmental changes 407

17 Using bog archives to reconstruct paleopollution and

vegetation change during the late Holocene 409
T.M. Mighall, S. Timberlake, D.A. Jenkins and J.P. Grattan
18 Beyond the peat: synthesizing peat, lake sediments and
soils in studies of the Swedish environment 431
R. Bindler and J. Klaminder
19 Occurrence and fate of halogens in mires 449
H. Biester, A. Martı´nez Cortizas and F. Keppler
20 Mercury in mires 465
H. Biester, R. Bindler and A. Martı´nez Cortizas
21 Archiving natural and anthropogenic lead deposition in peatlands 479
M.E. Kylander, D.J. Weiss, E. Peiteado Varela,
T. Taboada Rodriguez and A. Martı´nez Cortizas

D. Direct human impact on peatlands 499

22 Impacts of artificial drainage of peatlands on runoff production

and water quality 501
J. Holden, P.J. Chapman, S.N. Lane and C. Brookes
Contents xi

23 Peatland subsidence in the Venice watershed 529

M. Camporese, G. Gambolati, M. Putti and P. Teatini

Glossary 551
Subject Index 573