Selected chemical and physicochemical properties of sediments in Moszne Lake and mire (Polesie National Park)

Properties of peat reflect the peat-forming environment, peat development processes and the types of peat-forming plant. They also enable peat classification and quality evalution. Investigation of the physicochemical properties of organic matter is the key to understanding the history, evolution and geology of bogs. The purpose of this study was to determine some physicochemical properties, such as pH, Eh, electrolytic conductivity, carbon forms in water extracts and dry peat samples (TOC, IC, TC), degree of decomposition, macrofossil plant analysis and ash content, in a whole stratigraphic profile of bog sediment located near Lake Moszne. The research comprised a 17.5 ha lake, which was described in the 1990s as a dystrophic one, and the adjacent mires. The open water surface of the lake is surrounded by a 30–150 m wide belt of floating mat, composed of peatmosses and sedges with the dominant Sphagno-Caricetum rostratae association, all representing vegetation typical for transitional mires. These communities are most often found in the Polesie Lubelskie Region, in old lakes, and usually on their floating mat. The research material was collected from such a site. The analysis demonstrated acidic pH (4.17 in profile I and 4.08 in profile II, respectively) in the layer of 0-0.65 m, whilst from the 1.50 m depth to the mineral bottom the pH increased to nearly neutral (pH = 6.62 ± 0.18 in profile I and pH = 6.45 ± 0.12 in profile II). Redox potential in the surface layer corresponds to good oxygenation of mineral soils: 577 mV and 490 mV for profile I and II, respectively. A nearly linear decrease of Eh was observed to about 118 mV at the depth of 2.50 m. Lower than that, down to the depth of 3.50 m, the Eh value was stabilized. The graphical presentation of the Eh-pH relationship shows that in both cases (profiles I and II) aerobiosis prevails to the depth of 0.45-0.65 m, confirming that oxygen continues to be the final electron acceptor.