Date of Graduation

1982

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

An in-depth investigation of Big Run Bog, a 15 ha Sphagnum-dominated wetland situated in a 291 ha forested watershed in the unglaciated Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia, has indicated that (1) because of its low-lying physiographic position within its watershed, Big Run Bog receives runoff from the surrounding upland areas, and thus is not an ombrotrophic bog but rather is a minerotrophic fen, (2) physical and chemical properties of the peat and the chemistry of surface and subsurface water were comparable to values reported for Sphagnum-dominated wetlands in the glaciated regions of eastern North America, (3) spatial variation in hydrologic properties appeared to be causally related to the distribution of distinct plant communities across the surface of the wetland, and (4) intermittent habitation of Big Run Bog by beaver may influence plant community distribution and may preclude the successful establishment trees, arresting periodical reforestation of the wetland. A second 23 ha wetland, Tub Run Bog, is situated in a 297 ha watershed and is bordered along its eastern edge by a 21 ha abandoned, unreclaimed coal surface mine. Acid mine drainage (AMD), characterized by high concentrations of hydrogen ions, sulfate, and dissolved iron, is formed within the surface mine and flows into Tub Run Bog. Evidence is presented to support the hypothesis that naturally-occurring populations of sulfate-reducing bacteria chemically ameliorate the inputs of AMD to Tub Run Bog by reducing sulfate to sulfide and forming either hydrogen sulfide or insoluble iron sulfide precipitates. Comparisons of ion losses in streamflow from the Big Run, Tub Run, and the entirely forested East Fork watersheds over an entire water year indicated that (1) the presence of a wetland, Big Run Bog, within a forested watershed had measureable, although often small, effects on stream water chemistry and on annual ion yields, and (2) the adverse environmental effects normally associated with AMD were not evident in the loss of ions in streamflow from the Tub Run watershed, further suggesting that biogeochemical processes within Tub Run Bog chemically modify the AMD before it reaches the main stream channel.

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