Interpretation of changes in the ash content of ombrotrophic peat layers

Abstract

The spatial and temporal variation of ash content in ombrotrophic Sphagnum peat and its relation to the history of land use has been examined in the light of several pollen diagrams and different physical and chemical analyses from dated peat cores (in thirteen mires in Finland and one in northern Norway). The ash content of Sphagnum peat often correlates with the quantity of windblown mineral particles from fields and other bare soils. Reconstruction of the history of field erosion was complicated or even made impossible by the involved movements of elements.

Keywords

• Sphagnum peat
• field erosion
• wind-blown dust
• recycling of elements
• primary ash