Minerotrophic

Minerotrophic refers to environments that receive nutrients primarily through groundwater that flows through mineral-rich soils or rock,[1] or surface water flowing over land.[2] Minerotrophic, “minerogenous”, and “geogenous” are now often used interchangeably, although the latter two terms refer primarily to hydrological systems, while the former refers to nutrient dynamics.[3] The hydrologic process behind minerotrophic wetlands results in water that has acquired dissolved chemicals which raise the nutrient levels and reduce the acidity.[3] This in turn affects vegetation assemblages and diversity in the wetland in question.[4] If dissolved chemicals include chemical bases such as calcium or magnesium ions, the water is referred to as base-rich and is neutral or alkaline.[3] In contrast to minerotrophic environments, ombrotrophic environments get their water mainly from precipitation, and so are very low in nutrients and more acidic.[5] Of the various wetland types, fens and rich fens are often minerotrophic while poor fens and bogs are often ombrotrophic.[1] Marshes and swamps may also be fed through groundwater sources to a degree.[6]

  1. ^ a b Environment Canada (2014). Ontario wetland evaluation system: Northern Manual, 1st edition, version 3.2. Queen’s printer for Ontario.
  2. ^ Wang, Meng; Tian, Jianqing; Bu, Zhaojun; Lamit, Louis J.; Chen, Huai; Zhu, Qiuan; Peng, Changhui (2019-04-01). "Structural and functional differentiation of the microbial community in the surface and subsurface peat of two minerotrophic fens in China". Plant and Soil. 437 (1): 21–40. doi:10.1007/s11104-019-03962-w. ISSN 1573-5036. S2CID 254938001.
  3. ^ a b c Rydin, Håkan (2006). The biology of peatlands. J. K. Jeglum, Aljosja Hooijer. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-1-4294-6992-0. OCLC 137237177.
  4. ^ Brinson, M. M. (1993). A Hydrogeomorphic Classification for Wetlands. Environmental Laboratory (U.S.) & Engineer Research and Development Center (U.S.). Retrieved from https://erdc-library.erdc.dren.mil/jspui/bitstream/11681/6483/1/TR-WRP-DE-4.pdf
  5. ^ Pakarinen, P. (1995), "Classification of boreal mires in Finland and Scandinavia: A review", Classification and Inventory of the World’s Wetlands, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, pp. 29–38, doi:10.1007/978-94-011-0427-2_4, ISBN 978-94-010-4190-4, retrieved 2021-03-15
  6. ^ Zoltai, S. C.; Vitt, D. H. (1995), "Canadian wetlands: Environmental gradients and classification", Classification and Inventory of the World’s Wetlands, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, pp. 131–137, doi:10.1007/978-94-011-0427-2_11, ISBN 978-94-010-4190-4, retrieved 2021-03-15