The agricultural use of peatlands, the stabilization of the substrate for building or road construction or for increasing the capacity of soil to support heavy machinery for industrial activities (peat and petroleum extraction), harvesting to provide peat for energy, and the growing media and initiation of chemical processes must be preceded by drainage. As a consequence of drainage, peat underwent an irreversible conversion into moorsh (secondary transformation of the peat). The object of the study was to investigate comparatively the organic matter composition and molecular structure of humic acids (HAs) in the raised bog, fen, and peat-moorsh soils developed in various compositions of botanical cover, peat-forming species, and oxic and anoxic conditions as a result of the oscillation of ground water during drainage as well as to evaluate the vulnerability of soil organic matter (SOM) to decomposition. Drainage was shown to be the principal factor causing the various chemical compositions and physicochemical properties of HAs. Large and significant differences in chemical composition of peat and the properties of HAs were found to be related to the degree of decomposition. The HAs from drained peatlands were less chemically mature. In contrast, the HAs from fen and raised bog were found to be more mature than that of the corresponding drained peatlands. The above findings showed the distinguishable structure of HAs within the soil profile created by the plant residue biodegradation and formed in both oxic and anoxic conditions. The analytical methods of thermal analysis together with the optical densities and paramagnetic behaviour are suitable and effective tools for studying structure–property relationships characterizing the origin and formation process of HAs in various environmental conditions.

Было проведено сравнительное исследование физических, химических и биохимических свойств акротелма (торфогенный горизонт) и катотелма (горизонт накопления торфа) участков с доминированием сфагновых и осоковых торфов в Западной Сибири. Концентрация общего азота прямо пропорциональна содержанию нитрат-ионов и ионов аммония, активности уреазы, объемной плотности, и обратно пропорционально отношению C/N, пористости и влажности в обоих рассматриваемых типах почв. Полученные результаты указывают на низкий уровень азотной трансформации и замедление процессов разложения органического вещества в сфагновых и осоковых типах почв. Исследование показало, что сфагновые торфа претерпевают значительные химические и биохимические трансформации (окисление, гидролиз, полимеризация) с аккумуляцией наиболее устойчивых соединений по сравнению с органическим веществом осоковых торфов.

In the Powidzki Landscape Park, there are 150 peatlands of a total area of 1,250.2 ha. On its edge, brown coal strip mines are in operation, causing deep land drainage that resulted in a drastic (up to 5 m) lowering of the water table in lakes and accelerated peatland disappearance. To determine the extent of the process, a comparison was made of the types of surface soil layers and their ash content in 20 peatlands determined in 1957–1965 and in 2017. They are located in the farmland lying the closest to the strip mine, Jóźwin IIB, and in woodland lying further away. The results were compared with those for a peatland in Skulsk, which was not affected by the negative impact of the strip mine. Fen peat, occurring there about 55 years ago has largely turned into grainy moorsh. In the 20–50 cm layer, an ash content has grown almost twofold, while in part of the peatlands organic soils have changed into mineral and organic-mineral ones. The greatest changes have occurred in the farmland. In all Park peatlands, grasslands have contracted threefold, while the area of forests and woodlands has grown fivefold. Today, about 10% of the peatland area is taken up by arable land of which there was none before.

The aim of this study is to comprehensively assess the change in oxidoreductive enzyme activities, due to the potential in catalyzing oxidation and reduction reactions, as the basic processes on undrained and drained peat soils. On undrained peatlands, a significant decrease of enzyme activities was observed such as xanthine oxidase, urate oxidase, phenol oxidase, and peroxidase with an increase in depth. It was connected with significantly higher porosity values, hot water extractable organic carbon, and total organic nitrogen contents, ammonium and nitrate ions concentrations, and significantly lower ash and bulk density values in the upper layers. On drained peatlands, a significant increase of enzyme activities in depth was measured. Enzyme activities such as xanthine, urate, phenol oxidase, and peroxidase were documented to be effective as new indicators and tools for changes of the moorsh-forming process in association with the oscillation of the water table caused by the drainage of the peatlands.

In the context of declining water quality, the threat of nonpoint source pollution (NSP) to aquatic habitats and species is a well-recognized phenomenon. The recognition of NSP continues to grow as legal regulatory practices as well as public and scientific awareness of this source of pollution increase. Agricultural runoff from farms and fields often contains various contaminants such as pesticides, fertilizers, pathogens, sediments, salts, trace metals, and substances that contribute to changes in biological oxygen demand. Farmers and growers releasing agricultural runoff are increasingly required to implement water-quality regulations and management practices to reduce NSP. Constructed or restored shelterbelts and natural peatlands can be two of the many best management practices farmers can use to address this problem. We compared the barrier efficiency of the agricultural landscape elements, i.e., a shelterbelt of various plant compositions and a peatland, to control the spread of NSP in groundwater between ecosystems. In agricultural areas with high water tables, biogeochemical barriers in the form of shelterbelts and peatlands can remove or retain many groundwater pollutants from agricultural runoff with careful planning and management.