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Buoyancy-driven flow in a peat moss layer as a mechanism for solute transport.

ABSTRACT: Transport of nutrients, CO2, methane, and oxygen plays an important ecological role at the surface of wetland ecosystems. A possibly important transport mechanism in a water-saturated peat moss layer (usually Sphagnum cuspidatum) is nocturnal buoyancy flow, the downward flow of relatively cold surface water, and the upward flow of warm water induced by nocturnal cooling. Mathematical stability analysis showed that buoyancy flow occurs in a cooling porous layer if the system's Rayleigh number (Ra) exceeds 25. For a temperature difference of 10 K between day and night, a typical Ra value for a peat moss layer is 80, which leads to quickly developing buoyancy cells. Numerical simulation demonstrated that fluid flow leads to a considerable mixing of water. Temperature measurements in a cylindrical peat sample of 50-cm height and 35-cm diameter were in agreement with the theoretical results. The nocturnal flow and the associated mixing of the water represent a mechanism for solute transport in water-saturated parts of peat land and in other types of terrestrializing vegetation. This mechanism may be particularly important in continental wetlands, where Ra values in summer are often much larger than the threshold for fluid flow.

SUBMITTER: Rappoldt C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC299856 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Buoyancy-driven flow in a peat moss layer as a mechanism for solute transport.

Rappoldt Cornelis C Pieters Gert-Jan J M GJ Adema Erwin B EB Baaijens Gerrit J GJ Grootjans Ab P AP van Duijn Cornelis J CJ

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20031201 25

Transport of nutrients, CO2, methane, and oxygen plays an important ecological role at the surface of wetland ecosystems. A possibly important transport mechanism in a water-saturated peat moss layer (usually Sphagnum cuspidatum) is nocturnal buoyancy flow, the downward flow of relatively cold surface water, and the upward flow of warm water induced by nocturnal cooling. Mathematical stability analysis showed that buoyancy flow occurs in a cooling porous layer if the system's Rayleigh number (Ra ...[more]

PMID: 14657381

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Project description:Background and aimsNew plant species can evolve through the reinforcement of reproductive isolation via local adaptation along habitat gradients. Peat mosses (Sphagnaceae) are an emerging model system for the study of evolutionary genomics and have well-documented niche differentiation among species. Recent molecular studies have demonstrated that the globally distributed species Sphagnum magellanicum is a complex of morphologically cryptic lineages that are phylogenetically and ecologically distinct. Here, we describe the architecture of genomic differentiation between two sister species in this complex known from eastern North America: the northern S. diabolicum and the largely southern S. magniae.MethodsWe sampled plant populations from across a latitudinal gradient in eastern North America and performed whole genome and restriction-site associated DNA sequencing. These sequencing data were then analyzed computationally.Key resultsUsing sliding-window population genetic analyses we find that differentiation is concentrated within 'islands' of the genome spanning up to 400 kb that are characterized by elevated genetic divergence, suppressed recombination, reduced nucleotide diversity and increased rates of non-synonymous substitution. Sequence variants that are significantly associated with genetic structure and bioclimatic variables occur within genes that have functional enrichment for biological processes including abiotic stress response, photoperiodism and hormone-mediated signalling. Demographic modelling demonstrates that these two species diverged no more than 225 000 generations ago with secondary contact occurring where their ranges overlap.ConclusionsWe suggest that this heterogeneity of genomic differentiation is a result of linked selection and reflects the role of local adaptation to contrasting climatic zones in driving speciation. This research provides insight into the process of speciation in a group of ecologically important plants and strengthens our predictive understanding of how plant populations will respond as Earth's climate rapidly changes.

Dataset Information

Buoyancy-driven flow in a peat moss layer as a mechanism for solute transport.

Publications

Buoyancy-driven flow in a peat moss layer as a mechanism for solute transport.

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