Support for an anaerobic sulfur cycle in two Canadian peatland soils

Sulfur cycling in peatlands may affect global CH4 emissions by suppression of methanogenesis through bacterial sulfate reduction (BSR). We sought evidence for anaerobic sulfur cycling in four peat mesocosms irrigated with sulfate at a loading of 0.8 and 3.3 g S m(-2) yr(-1). To this end we obtained concentration profiles of dissolved O-2, C, S, and Fe, and determined S-34/S-32 ratios of sulfate, reduced inorganic sulfur ( TRIS), and total sulfur. To estimate the importance of BSR for anaerobic respiration, peat was incubated with molybdate as inhibitor of BSR. In the mesocosms, pore water concentrations of dissolved sulfate and H2S adjusted to 5-20 mu mol L-1 and 0-9 mu mol L-1, respectively, whereas concentrations of CO2, CH4, and DOC reached millimolar levels. CO2 production was not explained by methanogenesis and net reduction of inorganic electron acceptors. In the shallow peat, H2S was produced and 34 S in sulfate enriched by 3.6 to 6%, indicating occurrence of BSR. Sulfate reducers also accounted for much of the metabolic activity. Addition of molybdate suppressed CO2 production by 20 to 50%. Deeper into the peat, the sulfate pool was apparently replenished from the peat matrix as sulfate became enriched in 32 S, likely stemming from TRIS or organic sulfur in the peat. Sulfur was thus anaerobically cycled between oxidized and reduced pools. An electron acceptor capable of driving this cycle could not be conclusively identified. Regardless of this uncertainty, the results suggest that anaerobic S cycling can maintain BSR and potentially contribute to low methane production in soils of ombrotrophic bogs.