A two year hydrological characterisation programme of relatively intact blanket peat-covered catchments, underlain by geochemically distinct substrates, investigated the influence of sub-peat materials on the runoff regimes of the first order and second order streams draining them. Semi-continuous monitoring of flow and water quality revealed a strong inverse relationship between stream flow rates and specific electrical conductance (SEC), with runoff chemistries during storm flow proving comparable in all three catchments. By contrast, differences in water quality between catchments became more pronounced at lower flow, where increased ion concentrations in stream water reflected reactions with peat substrate materials. Water table monitoring in peat at all three sites revealed groundwater levels to vary by less than 0.6 m over the investigation period. Findings suggest runoff consists of near constant inputs of higher specific electrical conductance peat substrate discharge, mixing with variable proportions of less mineralised and more compositionally variable bog water. Although making up less than 5% to total runoff, the contribution of more mineralised waters plays an important role in maintaining stream flow, particularly during prolonged dry periods, and may help explain the aquatic biodiversity encountered in blanket peat covered areas.

一项为期两年的相对完整的覆盖泥炭覆盖的集水区的水文表征计划，在地球化学上不同的基质下，研究了亚泥炭材料对排放它们的一级和二级河流径流状况的影响。流量和水质的半连续监测揭示了溪流流速和比电导率 (SEC) 之间的强烈反比关系，证明在所有三个集水区中，暴雨流期间的径流化学物质具有可比性。相比之下，流域之间的水质差异在较低流量下变得更加明显，其中溪流水中离子浓度的增加反映了与泥炭基质材料的反应。所有三个地点的泥炭地下水位监测显示地下水位变化小于 0。调查期间为 6 m。研究结果表明，径流由高比电导率泥炭基质排放的近乎恒定输入组成，与不同比例的矿化程度较低和成分变化较大的沼泽水混合。尽管占总径流的比例不到 5%，但更多矿化水的贡献在维持溪流流动方面发挥着重要作用，尤其是在长期干旱期间，并且可能有助于解释在覆盖泥炭覆盖的地区遇到的水生生物多样性。