Behavior of lead in pristine and urbanized acid wetlands in the New Jersey pinelands with special reference to the role of Sphagnum moss

Miscellaneous · Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1989

OSTI ID:6728470

Vedagiri, U K

The purpose of this study was to investigate the behavior of lead in naturally acidic Sphagnum moss-dominated wetlands of the New Jersey Pinelands and to compare it to the behavior of lead in similar wetlands which had been impacted by storm-water runoff. Data from the field showed that the runoff-impacted sites were characterized by elevated pH, elimination of Spaghnum ground cover, erosion of peat substrate and high lead accumulations, contributing to an effective but decreasing sink capacity. Laboratory experiments explored differences in fractionation, mobility and bioavailability of lead between the two systems. The low pH and high dissolved organic matter of the pristine waters led to higher solubilization and complexing of added lead compared to impacted waters. Lead added to runoff showed unexpectedly high solubility and lability, possibly due to low suspended solids. Lead added to runoff was also much more mobile vertically through peat columns than lead added to swampwater, possibly due to its high lability. The extremely high porosity of the peat substrate allows rapid vertical migration of solutes during events of sudden influx, such as storms. Sphagnum moss greatly decreased vertical transport by binding and flow retardation. The lead that is held in the moss layer was differentially available to different species. Red maple seedlings were better able to take up lead from the peat substrate in the absence of moss cover while cranberry plants showed the reverse pattern. This may be related to differences in rooting requirements and growth of the two species. Lead added in runoff was initially less available to the plants than in swampwater, but was ultimately taken up the red maple, which could tolerate conditions in the impacted substrates.

• Research Organization: Rutgers-the State Univ., New Brunswick, NJ (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6728470
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
LEAD
BIOLOGICAL AVAILABILITY
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
MOSSES
GROUND COVER
NEW JERSEY
WETLANDS
MAPLES
ORGANIC MATTER
PEAT
PH VALUE
RUNOFF
URBAN AREAS
WATER POLLUTION
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
BRYOPHYTA
ECOSYSTEMS
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
FEDERAL REGION II
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
MAGNOLIOPHYTA
MAGNOLIOPSIDA
MASS TRANSFER
METALS
NORTH AMERICA
PLANTS
POLLUTION
TREES
USA
540320* - Environment
Aquatic- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)
560300 - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
010900 - Coal
Lignite
& Peat- Environmental Aspects