| Abstract: | With respect to ten metals (Al, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga) which are continguous in the Periodic Table the natural metal content and the ability to take up metal ions has been determined for three peats of defined botanical origin, each peat being sampled at three different levels. A correlation is found between the natural metal content and botanical origin. Apart from aluminium, the concentration of individual metals increased in the series Sphagnum < fen sedge < reed, the increase being statistically significant (P = 0.001) for V, Mn, Co, Ni, and Ga and for the sum of the metal ions measured.No clear correlation emerged between botanical origin and metal uptake. The metal uptake by the humic acid derived from each peat sample was also determined, and correlated with the metal uptake of the source peat itself.In all the humic acid and peat metal-uptake experiments the selectivities were very similar. V, Cr, Cu, Ga were readily taken up while Mn, Co and Zn were consistently less preferred. |
