scholarly journals Variation in dissolved organic matter (DOM) stoichiometry in U.K. freshwaters: Assessing the influence of land cover and soil C:N ratio on DOM composition

2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (6) ◽  
pp. 2328-2340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher A. Yates ◽  
Penny J. Johnes ◽  
Alun T. Owen ◽  
Francesca L. Brailsford ◽  
Helen C. Glanville ◽  
...  
2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edurne Estévez ◽  
Jose M. Álvarez-Martínez ◽  
Thorsten Dittmar ◽  
José Barquín ◽  
Gabriel Singer

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) represents the largest pool of organic carbon in fluvial ecosystems. The majority of DOM in rivers is of terrigenous origin—making DOM composition highly dependent on vegetation cover and soil properties. While deforestation is still a worldwide anthropogenic phenomenon, current land cover change in temperate regions is often characterized by secondary succession processes following the abandonment of agricultural activities including grazing on pasturelands. This results in (secondary) forest expansion with a consequent, time-lagged transformation of soil properties. Predicting the time scale and spatial scale (i.e., location in the catchment: riparian vs. upslope areas) at which such land cover changes affect the terrestrial-aquatic carbon linkage and concomitantly alter properties of fluvial DOM as drivers of carbon cycling in freshwater ecosystems represents a new scientific challenge. In an attempt to identify potential legacy effects of land cover, i.e., reaction delays of fluvial DOM to changes in land cover, we here investigate the influence of specific current and historic (2 decade-old) land cover types on molecularly resolved fluvial DOM composition in headwater mountain streams. Our analysis is based on a scale-sensitive approach weighing in the distance of land cover (changes) to the stream and ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometric analyses. Results identified the dominance of terrigenous DOM, with phenolic and polyphenolic sum formulae commonly associated to lignins and tannins, in all the studied streams. DOM properties mostly reflected present-day gradients of forest cover in the riparian area. In more forested catchments, DOM had on average higher molecular weight and a greater abundance of O-rich phenols and polyphenols but less aliphatics. Besides the modulation of the DOM source, our results also point to an important influence of photodegradation associated to variation in light exposition with riparian land cover in defining fluvial DOM properties. Despite expectations, we were unable to detect an effect of historic land cover on present-day DOM composition, at least at the investigated baseflow conditions, probably because of an overriding effect of current riparian vegetation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brice K. Grunert ◽  
Maria Tzortziou ◽  
Patrick Neale ◽  
Alana Menendez ◽  
Peter Hernes

AbstractThe Arctic is experiencing rapid warming, resulting in fundamental shifts in hydrologic connectivity and carbon cycling. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is a significant component of the Arctic and global carbon cycle, and significant perturbations to DOM cycling are expected with Arctic warming. The impact of photochemical and microbial degradation, and their interactive effects, on DOM composition and remineralization have been documented in Arctic soils and rivers. However, the role of microbes, sunlight and their interactions on Arctic DOM alteration and remineralization in the coastal ocean has not been considered, particularly during the spring freshet when DOM loads are high, photoexposure can be quite limited and residence time within river networks is low. Here, we collected DOM samples along a salinity gradient in the Yukon River delta, plume and coastal ocean during peak river discharge immediately after spring freshet and explored the role of UV exposure, microbial transformations and interactive effects on DOM quantity and composition. Our results show: (1) photochemical alteration of DOM significantly shifts processing pathways of terrestrial DOM, including increasing relative humification of DOM by microbes by > 10%; (2) microbes produce humic-like material that is not optically distinguishable from terrestrial humics; and (3) size-fractionation of the microbial community indicates a size-dependent role for DOM remineralization and humification of DOM observed through modeled PARAFAC components of fluorescent DOM, either through direct or community effects. Field observations indicate apparent conservative mixing along the salinity gradient; however, changing photochemical and microbial alteration of DOM with increasing salinity indicate changing DOM composition likely due to microbial activity. Finally, our findings show potential for rapid transformation of DOM in the coastal ocean from photochemical and microbial alteration, with microbes responsible for the majority of dissolved organic matter remineralization.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel P. Martineac ◽  
Alexey V. Vorobev ◽  
Mary Ann Moran ◽  
Patricia M. Medeiros

Uncovering which biogeochemical processes have a critical role controlling dissolved organic matter (DOM) compositional changes in complex estuarine environments remains a challenge. In this context, the aim of this study is to characterize the dominant patterns of variability modifying the DOM composition in an estuary off the Southeastern U.S. We collected water samples during three seasons (July and October 2014 and April 2015) at both high and low tides and conducted short- (1 day) and long-term (60 days) dark incubations. Samples were analyzed for bulk DOC concentration, and optical (CDOM) and molecular (FT-ICR MS) compositions and bacterial cells were collected for metatranscriptomics. Results show that the dominant pattern of variability in DOM composition occurs at seasonal scales, likely associated with the seasonality of river discharge. After seasonal variations, long-term biodegradation was found to be comparatively more important in the fall, while tidal variability was the second most important factor correlated to DOM composition in spring, when the freshwater content in the estuary was high. Over shorter time scales, however, the influence of microbial processing was small. Microbial data revealed a similar pattern, with variability in gene expression occurring primarily at the seasonal scale and tidal influence being of secondary importance. Our analyses suggest that future changes in the seasonal delivery of freshwater to this system have the potential to significantly impact DOM composition. Changes in residence time may also be important, helping control the relative contribution of tides and long-term biodegradation to DOM compositional changes in the estuary.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Benk ◽  
Robert Lehmann ◽  
Kai Uwe Totsche ◽  
Gerd Gleixner

<p>With surface systems changing rapidly on a global scale, it is important to understand how this will affect groundwater resources and ecosystems in the subsurface. The molecular composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) integrates essential information on metabolic functioning and could therefore reveal changes of groundwater ecosystems in high detail. Here, we evaluate a 6-year time series of ultrahigh-resolution DOM composition analysis of groundwater from a hillslope well transect within the Hainich Critical Zone Exploratory, Germany. We predict ecosystem functionality by assigning molecular sum formulas to metabolic pathways via the KEGG database. Our data support hydrogeological characterizations of a compartmentalized fractured multi-storey aquifer system and reveal distinct metabolic functions that largely depend on the compartment’s relative surface-connectivity or isolation. We show that seasonal fluctuation of groundwater levels, coinciding with cross-stratal exchange can substantially impact the local inventory of functional metabolites in DOM. Furthermore, we find that extreme conditions of groundwater recharge following pronounced groundwater lowstand cause strong alterations of the functional metabolome in DOM even in aquifer compartments, which usually show minimal variation in DOM composition. Our findings suggest that bedrock groundwater ecosystems might be functionally vulnerable to hydrogeological extremes.</p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 717 ◽  
pp. 137165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliva Pisani ◽  
David D. Bosch ◽  
Alisa W. Coffin ◽  
Dinku M. Endale ◽  
Dan Liebert ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew G. Marshall ◽  
Anne M. Kellerman ◽  
Jemma L. Wadham ◽  
Jon R. Hawkings ◽  
Giovanni Daneri ◽  
...  

Biogeochemical processes in fjords are likely affected by changes in surrounding glacier cover but very little is known about how meltwater directly influences dissolved organic matter (DOM) in fjords. Moreover, the data available are restricted to a handful of northern hemisphere sites. Here we analyze seasonal and spatial variation in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration and DOM composition (spectrofluorescence, ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry) in Baker-Martinez Fjord, Chilean Patagonia (48°S), to infer the impacts of rapid regional deglaciation on fjord DOM. We show that surface layer DOC concentrations do not vary significantly between seasons, but DOM composition is sensitive to differences in riverine inputs. In summer, higher protein-like fluorescence reflects increased glacial meltwater inputs, whilst molecular level data show weaker influence from marine DOM due to more intense stratification. We postulate that the shifting seasonal balance of riverine and marine waters affects the supply of biolabile peptides and organic nitrogen cycling in the surface layer. Trends in DOM composition with increasing salinity are consistent with patterns in estuaries (i.e. preferential removal of aromatic compounds and increasing relative contribution of unsaturated and heteroatom-rich DOM from marine sources). Preliminary estimates also suggest that at least 10% of the annual organic carbon stock in this fjord is supplied by the four largest, glacially fed rivers and that these inputs are dominated by dissolved (84%) over particulate organic carbon. Riverine DOC may therefore be an important carbon subsidy to bacterial communities in the inner fjord. The overall findings highlight the biogeochemical sensitivity of a Patagonian fjord to changes in glacier melt input, which likely has relevance for other glaciated fjords in a warming climate.


2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 5555-5569 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Halbedel ◽  
O. Büttner ◽  
M. Weitere

Abstract. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is an important resource for microbes, thus affecting whole-stream metabolism. However, the factors influencing its chemical composition and thereby also its bio-availability are complex and not thoroughly understood. It was hypothesized that whole-stream metabolism is linked to DOM composition and that the coupling of both is influenced by seasonality and different land-use types. We tested this hypothesis in a comparative study on two pristine forestry streams and two non-forestry streams. The investigated streams were located in the Harz Mountains (central Europe, Germany). The metabolic rate was measured with a classical two-station oxygen change technique and the variability of DOM with fluorescence spectroscopy. All streams were clearly net heterotrophic, whereby non-forestry streams showed a higher primary production, which was correlated to irradiance and phosphorus concentration. We detected three CDOM components (C1, C2, C3) using parallel factor (PARAFAC) analysis. We compared the excitation and emission maxima of these components with the literature and correlated the PARAFAC components with each other and with fluorescence indices. The correlations suggest that two PARAFAC components are derived from allochthonous sources (C1, C3) and one is derived autochthonously (C2). The chromophoric DOM matrix was dominated by signals of humic-like substances with a highly complex structure, followed by humic-like, fulfic acids, low-molecular-weight substances, and with minor amounts of amino acids and proteins. The ratios of these PARAFAC components (C1 : C2, C1 : C3, C3 : C2) differed with respect to stream types (forestry versus non-forestry). We demonstrated a significant correlation between gross primary production (GPP) and signals of autochthonously derived, low-molecular-weight humic-like substances. A positive correlation between P / R (i.e. GPP/daily community respiration) and the fluorescence index FI suggests that the amount of autochthonously produced DOM increased overall with increasing GPP. In accordance with the coupling between DOM and the metabolism, our data also indicate that the composition of DOM is subject to seasonal fluctuations. We concluded that temporal and spatial differences in DOM composition are driven by whole-stream metabolism, in addition to pronounced effects coming from allochthonous sources.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (16) ◽  
pp. 14124-14141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shatrughan Singh ◽  
Padmanava Dash ◽  
Saurav Silwal ◽  
Gary Feng ◽  
Ardeshir Adeli ◽  
...  

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