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Transformation of Iron and Sulphur Compounds in Soil, and Its Relation to Danish Inland Fisheries
Author(s) -
Dahl Jorgen
Publication year - 1963
Publication title -
transactions of the american fisheries society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1548-8659
pISSN - 0002-8487
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8659(1963)92[260:toiasc]2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - peat , land reclamation , fish kill , environmental science , lime , drainage , population , acid mine drainage , estuary , fishery , ecology , environmental chemistry , geology , chemistry , nutrient , biology , paleontology , demography , phytoplankton , sociology , algal bloom
Oxidation of pyrite exposed in lignite strip mining or in draining of peat bogs results in sulphuric acid and ferric sulphate, which cause fish kills when washed into streams, lakes, or ponds. Increased lignite mining and land reclamation in Denmark since 1940 have resulted in much fish kill and loss of fish habitat. For example, the bottom of the river Tim å is covered with precipitated ochre, and the deposits even extend into the estuary. The fish population of Søby Lake was killed by water from an abandoned mine. Slaked lime added to discharge water from mines may prevent damage, but drainage from peat bogs and abandoned mines is more difficult to control. Of 126 areas in the Varde å river system used for liberation of trout fry in 1939, 31 percent were abandoned by 1961 because of acid water and ochre from land reclamation projects.