Article (Scientific journals)
Assessing branched tetraether lipids as tracers of soil organic carbon transport through the Carminowe Creek catchment (southwest England)
Guo, J.; Glendell, M.; Meersmans, Jeroen et al.
2020In Biogeosciences, 17 (12), p. 3183-3201
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Keywords :
England; United Kingdom
Abstract :
[en] Soils represent the largest reservoir of organic carbon (OC) on land. Upon mobilization, this OC is either returned to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (CO2) or transported and ultimately locked into (marine) sediments, where it will act as a long-term sink of atmospheric CO2. These fluxes of soil OC are, however, difficult to evaluate, mostly due to the lack of a soil-specific tracer. In this study, a suite of branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs), which are membrane lipids of soil bacteria, is tested as specific tracers for soil OC from source (soils under arable land, ley, grassland, and woodland) to sink (Loe Pool sediments) in a small catchment located in southwest England (i.e. Carminowe Creek draining into Loe Pool). The analysis of brGDGTs in catchment soils reveals that their distribution is not significantly different across different land use types (p > 0:05) and thus does not allow land-use-specific soil contributions to Loe Pool sediments to be traced. Furthermore, the significantly higher contribution of 6-methyl brGDGT isomers in creek sediments (isomerization ratio (IR) D 0:48 ± 0:10, mean ± standard deviation (SD); p < 0:05) compared to that in catchment soils (IR D 0:28±0:11) indicates that the initial soil signal is substantially altered by brGDGT produced in situ. Similarly, the riverine brGDGT signal appears to be overwritten by lacustrine brGDGTs in the lake sedimentary record, indicated by remarkably lower methylation of branched tetraethers (MBT05ME D 0:46 ± 0:02 in creek bed sediments and 0:38 ± 0:01 in lake core sediments; p < 0:05) and a higher degree of cyclization (DC D 0:23±0:02 in creek bed sediments and 0:32±0:08 in lake core sediments). Thus, in this small catchment, brGDGTs do not allow us to trace soil OC transport. Nevertheless, the downcore changes in the degree of cyclization and the abundance of isoprenoid GDGTs produced by methanogens in the Loe Pool sediment do reflect local environmental conditions over the past 100 years and have recorded the eutrophication history of the lake. © 2020 Author(s).
Disciplines :
Biochemistry, biophysics & molecular biology
Author, co-author :
Guo, J.;  Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, CB Utrecht, 3584, Netherlands
Glendell, M.;  James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen, AB15 8QH, United Kingdom
Meersmans, Jeroen ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Analyse des risques environnementaux
Kirkels, F.;  Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, CB Utrecht, 3584, Netherlands
Middelburg, J. J.;  Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, CB Utrecht, 3584, Netherlands
Peterse, F.;  Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, CB Utrecht, 3584, Netherlands
Language :
English
Title :
Assessing branched tetraether lipids as tracers of soil organic carbon transport through the Carminowe Creek catchment (southwest England)
Publication date :
2020
Journal title :
Biogeosciences
ISSN :
1726-4170
eISSN :
1726-4189
Publisher :
Copernicus GmbH
Volume :
17
Issue :
12
Pages :
3183-3201
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Funders :
NWO - Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek [NL]
Available on ORBi :
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