Dataset Information

The molecular composition of dissolved organic matter in forest soils as a function of pH and temperature.

ABSTRACT: We examined the molecular composition of forest soil water during three different seasons at three different sites, using electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI-FT-ICR-MS). We examined oxic soils and tested the hypothesis that pH and season correlate with the molecular composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM). We used molecular formulae and their relative intensity from ESI-FT-ICR-MS for statistical analysis. Applying unconstrained and constrained ordination methods, we observed that pH, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration and season were the main factors correlating with DOM molecular composition. This result is consistent with a previous study where pH was a main driver of the molecular differences between DOM from oxic rivers and anoxic bog systems in the Yenisei River catchment. At a higher pH, the molecular formulae had a lower degree of unsaturation and oxygenation, lower molecular size and a higher abundance of nitrogen-containing compounds. These characteristics suggest a higher abundance of tannin connected to lower pH that possibly inhibited biological decomposition. Higher biological activity at a higher pH might also be related to the higher abundance of nitrogen-containing compounds. Comparing the seasons, we observed a decrease in unsaturation, molecular diversity and the number of nitrogen-containing compounds in the course of the year from March to November. Temperature possibly inhibited biological degradation during winter, which could cause the accumulation of a more diverse compound spectrum until the temperature increased again. Our findings suggest that the molecular composition of DOM in soil pore waters is dynamic and a function of ecosystem activity, pH and temperature.

SUBMITTER: Roth VN

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4368813 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

The molecular composition of dissolved organic matter in forest soils as a function of pH and temperature.

Roth Vanessa-Nina VN Dittmar Thorsten T Gaupp Reinhard R Gleixner Gerd G

PloS one 20150320 3

We examined the molecular composition of forest soil water during three different seasons at three different sites, using electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI-FT-ICR-MS). We examined oxic soils and tested the hypothesis that pH and season correlate with the molecular composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM). We used molecular formulae and their relative intensity from ESI-FT-ICR-MS for statistical analysis. Applying unconstrained and const ...[more]

PMID: 25793306

Similar Datasets

Project description:Increased river loads are projected as one of the major consequences of climate change in the northern hemisphere, leading to elevated inputs of riverine dissolved organic matter (DOM) and inorganic nutrients to coastal ecosystems. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of elevated DOM on a coastal pelagic food web from the coastal northern Baltic Sea, in a 32-day mesocosm experiment. In particular, the study addresses the response of bacterioplankton to differences in character and composition of supplied DOM. The supplied DOM differed in stoichiometry and quality and had pronounced effects on the recipient bacterioplankton, driving compositional changes in response to DOM type. The shifts in bacterioplankton community composition were especially driven by the proliferation of Bacteroidetes, Gemmatimonadetes, Planctomycetes, and Alpha- and Betaproteobacteria populations. The DOM additions stimulated protease activity and a release of inorganic nutrients, suggesting that DOM was actively processed. However, no difference between DOM types was detected in these functions despite different community compositions. Extensive release of re-mineralized carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus was associated with the bacterial processing, corresponding to 25-85% of the supplied DOM. The DOM additions had a negative effect on phytoplankton with decreased Chl a and biomass, particularly during the first half of the experiment. However, the accumulating nutrients likely stimulated phytoplankton biomass which was observed to increase towards the end of the experiment. This suggests that the nutrient access partially outweighed the negative effect of increased light attenuation by accumulating DOM. Taken together, our experimental data suggest that parts of the future elevated riverine DOM supply to the Baltic Sea will be efficiently mineralized by microbes. This will have consequences for bacterioplankton and phytoplankton community composition and function, and significantly affect nutrient biogeochemistry.

Dataset Information

The molecular composition of dissolved organic matter in forest soils as a function of pH and temperature.

Publications

The molecular composition of dissolved organic matter in forest soils as a function of pH and temperature.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets