Thanks to their unique physical, chemical, and biological properties, raised bogs are considered archives of past hydrological and vegetation changes, which in the case of ombrotrophic bogs may reflect alterations of paleoclimate. Detailed studies on the past transformations of bogs provide researchers with necessary knowledge to anticipate future changes of these ecosystems. The aim of this research was to find a good and easily obtainable paleoenvironmental proxy that can be used in preliminary studies with no need for advanced equipment and extra costs. For our studies three raised bogs were chosen, whose genesis and history have been comprehensively described by other authors according to micro- and macrofossil data. We performed chemical analyses on the samples from the cores taken from the described bogs. Obtained results were compared with accessible data on the bogs’ development and underwent statistical analysis. In general, geochemical features of peat presented in this article corresponded well with the accessible micro- and marcofossil data, and content of non-hydrolysable lipids in peat turned out to be the best indicator of water level on the studied bogs.
Our study was carried out on three peat bogs that since the 1960s have been subjected to different degrees of anthropopression. The main objective of the research was assessment of heavy metal accumulation potential in peat bogs and in leaves of species growing on these peat bogs, namely Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), birch (Betula pendula Roth), and wild rosemary (Ledum palustre L.). The concentrations of lead and cadmium in peat of Bagno Bruch (the Upper Silesian Industrial Region) exceeded the permissible levels for soils of protected natural areas. Heavy metal concentrations in plants growing in all analyzed sites show no toxic levels. Among the examined species, birch showed the highest ability to accumulate cadmium and zinc.
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