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Identifying drivers of the molecular composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) is essential to understand the global carbon cycle, but an unambiguous interpretation of observed patterns is challenging due to the presence of confounding factors that affect the DOM composition. Here, we show, by combining ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, that the DOM molecular composition varies considerably among 43 lakes in East Antarctica that are isolated from terrestrial inputs and human influence. The DOM composition in these lakes is primarily driven by differences in the degree of photodegradation, sulfurization, and pH. Remarkable molecular beta-diversity of DOM was found that rivals the dissimilarity between DOM of rivers and the deep ocean, which was driven by environmental dissimilarity rather than the spatial distance. Our results emphasize that the extensive molecular diversity of DOM can arise even in one of the most pristine and organic matter source-limited environments on Earth, but at the same time the DOM composition is predictable by environmental variables and the lakes’ ecological history.

The maximum ammonia oxidation potential (AOP) of a topsoil in Langhovde, East Antarctica was 22.1±2.4‍ ‍ng N g-1 dry soil h-1 (2‍ ‍mM ammonium, 10°C, n=3). This topsoil exhibited twin AOP peaks (1 and 2‍ ‍mM ammonium) at 10°C, but not at 20°C. Six and ten operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were identified for ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA) amoA, respectively. AOB were classified into Nitrosospira; the two dominant OTUs corresponded to the Mount Everest cluster. AOA were classified into three clusters; Nitrososphaera and Nitrosocosmicus were the two dominant clusters.

Accelerated glacier melt and runoff may lead to inputs of labile dissolved organic matter (DOM) to downstream ecosystems and stimulate the associated biogeochemical processes. However, still little is known about glacial DOM composition and its downstream processing before entering the ocean, although the function of DOM in food webs and ecosystems largely depends on its composition. Here, we employ a set of molecular and optical techniques (UV-vis absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy, 1H NMR, and ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry) to elucidate the composition of DOM in Antarctic glacial streams and its downstream change. Glacial DOM consisted largely of a mixture of small microbial-derived biomolecules. 1H NMR analysis of bulk water revealed that these small molecules were processed downstream into more complex, structurally unrecognizable molecules. The extent of processing varied between streams. By applying multivariate statistical (compositional data) analysis of the DOM molecular data, we identified molecular compounds that were tightly associated and moved in parallel in the glacial streams. Lakes in the middle of the flow paths enhanced water residence time and allowed for both more DOM processing and production. In conclusion, downstream processing of glacial DOM is substantial in Antarctica and affects the amounts of biologically labile substrates that enter the ocean.

To clarify the effects of crab burrows on variation in sediment CO2 flux in mangrove forest, we measured the traits of crab burrows (density and entrance area size) and the CO2 flux rate from sediment surfaces, in areas with and without burrows, in a subtropical mangrove forest on Ishigaki Island, southwestern Japan. Burrow density and entrance area showed significant differences among seasons (warm, middle, and cool) and mangrove zones (upper-, middle-, and downstream), which may have depended on crab phenology, life cycle, and species composition. The sediment CO2 flux rate was significantly higher at plots with crab burrows (B+) than at those without burrows (B−) in each zone and season. However, standardized sediment CO2 flux rate by burrow surface area at B+ plots did not differ significantly from that at B− plots. In addition, there were no significant differences in sediment temperature and sediment water content between the two types of plots. Moreover, the level of microbial respiration differed significantly between sediments collected from the deep part and those collected from either the ground surface part or burrow walls. These results suggest that crab burrows increase sediment CO2 flux from the mangrove forest floor by increasing the sediment–atmosphere interface area, thereby inducing a change to aerobic conditions in the sediments around burrows. Therefore, the seasonal and spatial effect of crab burrows on the forest floor should be considered when evaluating sediment CO2 flux and examining the role of the mangrove ecosystem as a carbon sink.

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) plays an important role in sustaining ecosystem services of mangrove forests through well-described biogeochemical and ecological functions. This study was conducted in the Fukido River (Ishigaki Island, Japan) to better understand the seasonal and episodic changes in DOM concentration and composition in a subtropical mangrove system. Water samples were collected seasonally along a headwater–mangrove–sea transect on 10 occasions from September 2014 through June 2016. DOM was fractionated based on hydrophobicity into two fractions (hydrophobic and hydrophilic) and also analyzed by excitation-emission matrix spectroscopy combined with parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC). Although seasonal changes in DOM concentration and composition were not observed, both hydrophobic and hydrophilic DOM concentrations and levels of the identified three PARAFAC components clearly increased during a typhoon event. It is suggested that episodic increases in freshwater input due to a typhoon caused enhanced leaching of DOM from mangrove litter and dissolution of mangrove soil organic matter (SOM), which was otherwise retained in the mangrove soil by salinity-induced aggregation. The aggregation–dissolution properties of SOM are crucial in determining the magnitude of DOM outwelling and possibly SOM accumulation rate by enhancing advective DOM exchanges. Future studies are needed to evaluate the size of the carbon pool and outwelling of DOM after classifying mangrove forests based on the hydrological regime that influences biogeochemical conditions in the forests. Regional Index Terms Japan, Okinawa, Ishigaki, Fukido.

The organic-Fe association in Scottish freshwater rivers has received little attention compared with in the estuarine mixing zone. We collected 201 water samples from rivers and lakes in Scotland across different sampling years and seasons. Relationships among the hydrophobic (HPO) fraction of dissolved organic matter (DOM), specific UV absorbance (SUVA254), and dissolved metals (Al and Fe) were examined to better understand their co-transportation in Scottish waters. The average DOM, HPO fraction, Fe, and Al concentrations for all the samples co-varied and were lower during winter than during summer. There was a strong positive correlation between DOM and HPO fraction concentrations (R2 = 0.99, p

Despite the recognized organic carbon (OC) sequestration potential of mangrove forests, the ongoing climate change and anthropogenic disturbances pose a great threat to these ecosystems. However, we currently lack the ability to mechanically understand and predict the consequences of such impacts, primarily because mechanisms underlying OC stabilization in these ecosystems remain elusive. Research into OC stabilization has focused on terrestrial soils and marine sediments for decades, overlooking the vegetated coastal ecosystems including mangroves. In terrestrial soils and marine sediments, it is widely accepted that OC stabilization is the integrated consequence of OM’s inherent recalcitrance, physical protection, and interactions with minerals and metals. However, related discussion is rarely done in mangrove soils, and recalcitrance of roots and high net ecosystem production (high primary production and low heterotrophic respiration) have been considered as a primary OC sequestration mechanism in mangrove peat and mineral soils, respectively. This review presents the available information on the mechanisms underlying OC stabilization in mangrove soils and highlights research questions that warrant further investigation. Primary OC stabilization mechanisms differ between mangrove peat and mineral soils. In mangrove mineral soils, physico-chemical stabilization processes are important, yet grossly understudied OC stabilization mechanisms. In mangrove peat, recalcitrance of mangrove roots and the inhibition of phenoloxidase under the anoxic condition may be the primary OC stabilization mechanisms. Salinity-induced OC immobilization likely plays a role in both type of soils. Finally, this review argues that belowground production and allochthonous inputs in mangrove forests are likely underestimated. More studies are needed to constrain C budgets to explain the enigma that mangrove OC keeps accumulating despite much higher decomposition (especially by large lateral exports) than previously considered.

The significance of aquatic lateral carbon (C) export in mangrove ecosystems highlights the extensive contribution of aquatic pathways to the net ecosystem carbon budget. However, few studies have investigated lateral fluxes of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and inorganic carbon (DIC), partly due to methodological difficulty. Therefore, we evaluated area-based lateral C fluxes in a small mangrove estuary that only had one exit for water exchange to the coast. We sampled water from the mouth of the creek and integrated discharge and consecutive concentration of mangrove-derived C (&Delta, C). Then, we estimated the area-normalized C fluxes based on the inundated mangrove area. DIC and DOC concentrations at the river mouth increased during ebb tide during both summer and winter. We quantified the &Delta, C in the estuary using a two-component conservative mixing model of freshwater and seawater. DIC and DOC proportions of &Delta, C concentrations at the river mouth during ebb tide was between 34% and 56% in the winter and 26% and 42% in the summer, respectively. DIC and DOC fluxes from the estuary were estimated to be 1.36 g C m&minus, 2 d&minus, 1 and 0.20 g C m&minus, 1 in the winter and 3.35 g C m&minus, 1 and 0.86 g C m&minus, 1 in the summer, respectively. Based on our method, daily fluxes are mangrove area-based DIC and DOC lateral exports that can be directly incorporated into the mangrove carbon budget.

An anion exchange resin, diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) Sepharose®, was utilized for the isolation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) from fresh waters as an alternative to the discontinued DEAE cellulose. We used the following two chemically distinct model DOM samples to determine the optimized adsorption conditions onto DEAE Sepharose: the International Humic Substances Society’s standard samples, Suwannee River Fulvic Acid (FA) and Pony Lake FA. The optimized conditions consisted of the following: a contact time of 1 h (with shaking), a resin dosage of 1 ml mgC−1, and a dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration range of 1–100 mgC l−1. In addition, we examined the distribution of the DOM fractions extracted with DEAE Sepharose and DAX-8 from Lake Biwa (Japan) and Scottish river DOM samples. The majority of DOM (70% and 65%) was extracted by both of the resins. As indicated by 1H NMR, the evapo-concentrate (bulk DOM), the DEAE Sepharose fraction and the DAX-8 fraction from the Scottish DOM sample had substantial similarity in their proton distributions, while those of a clear-colored, low DOC sample (Lake Biwa) showed different NMR spectra. These findings highlight a need to pay more attention to the extraction selectivity of resins for experimentally ‘challenging’ samples.

The variation in CO2 flux from the forest floor is important in understanding the role of mangrove forests as a carbon sink. To clarify the effects of soil temperature and tidal conditions on variation in CO2 flux, sediment–atmosphere CO2 fluxes were measured between June 2012 and May 2013. We used the closed chamber method for two plots, with a 0.5 m difference in elevation (B, high elevation; R-B, low elevation), in a mangrove forest in south-western Japan. CO2 fluxes were highest in the warm season and showed a weak positive correlation with soil temperature in both forests. Estimated monthly CO2 flux showed moderate seasonal variation in accordance with the exposure duration of the soil surface under tidal fluctuation. Additionally, measured CO2 flux and soil temperature were slightly higher in the R-B plot than the B plot, although estimated annual CO2 flux was higher in the B plot than the R-B plot due to different exposure durations. These results suggest that variation in the exposure duration of the forest floor, which changes seasonally and microgeographically, is important in evaluating the annual CO2 flux at a local scale and understanding the role of mangrove ecosystems as regulators of atmospheric CO2.

Mangroves are increasingly recognized as an important component of regional and global carbon cycles especially for their high carbon storage capacity. Global estimation of mangrove soil organic carbon (SOC) storage requires detailed regional studies, but estimates of SOC data in deep soils are currently missing in many countries. Furthermore, little is explored on the molecular composition of mangrove SOC. Here, we assessed the SOC stock in a Trat mangrove forest (Thailand) by collecting deep soils (3.5 m) and analyzed the SOC composition for better understanding its potential sources and influencing factors. The Trat mangrove forest had four times higher SOC stock than has been considered for Thai mangrove forests, with the per-area SOC stock of nearly 1000 Mg C ha-1 which rivals that of Indo-Pacific mangrove forests. The SOC composition analyzed by C/N ratios and spectroscopic techniques differed by tree species and depth. Compositional data principal component analysis revealed that a biological factor (root abundance) had stronger influences than the soil texture (sand versus clay) on the abundance and composition of mangrove SOC. Although surface soil (~1 m) C density was largely controlled by the recent vegetation, deep soil C density reflected other historical processes. This study contributed to a refined estimate of Thailand mangrove SOC stock and revealed that factors influencing SOC abundance and composition differ by tree species and depth.

We investigated a series of long-term soil samples (1976–2015) collected from a paddy field that underwent a conversion of cropping systems from double cropping to single cropping in 1991, with consistently different fertilization treatments. The fertilization treatments include (i) chemical fertilizer, (ii) chemical fertilizer + rice straw, (iii) chemical fertilizer + cattle manure compost, and (iv) chemical fertilizer + rice straw + fused phosphate + calcium silicate. We extracted dissolved organic matter (DOM) from the soil samples and analyzed it for the concentration of humic substances as well as for optical properties using ultraviolet-visible and excitation-emission matrix (EEM) spectroscopy. Different fertilization treatments did not significantly (P > 0.05) affect DOM and humic substance concentrations, while the soil total carbon (TC) content and DOM concentration consistently increased in the double cropping system and decreased in the single cropping system. The DOM/TC ratio, which is an indicator of the proportion of the labile fraction in TC pool, also showed a similar pattern. These results indicate that cropping systems had a larger effect on DOM concentration than the fertilization treatments. Five fluorescent components identified by parallel factor analysis of EEMs (three humic-like and two protein-like components) showed significant differences in the relative abundances under the different fertilization treatments. The manure compost application resulted in a higher tyrosine-like component relative abundance than the other chemical fertilizer applications. Overall, fertilization affected the DOM composition, while the cropping systems impacted both the concentration and spectroscopic property of paddy soil DOM.

The Ninth Symposium on Polar Science/Ordinary sessions: [OB] Polar biology, Wed. 5 Dec. / Entrance Hall (1st floor), National Institute of Polar Research

The Ninth Symposium on Polar Science/Ordinary sessions: [OB] Polar biology, Wed. 5 Dec. / 2F Auditorium, National Institute of Polar Research

A nonionic macroporous resin, Amberlite(®) XAD-8, or its substitute, Supelite™ DAX-8, is used when isolating or quantifying aquatic humic substances (AHS). However, the effect of salinity on the adsorption behavior of AHS onto the resin is yet to be confirmed, rendering the possibility of salinity-induced changes in the values of quantified amounts or characteristics of AHS obtained from a salty system. To verify the results of quantification and isolation of AHS using the resin in different salinity systems, the effect of salinity on such quantitative analyses of AHS has been examined. It has been concluded that the salinity effect is in general trivial and will not hinder comparison of results regardless of sample solution salinity.

The molecular composition of soil organic matter (SOM) is important in understanding the elemental cycling of mangrove forests. The aim of the study was to investigate the SOM compositional changes with time in a mangrove mineral soil, which is rarely reported in the literature. A 1-m soil core was collected in the subtropical Fukido River mangrove forest (Okinawa, Japan) and separated into 25-cm sections. Humic acids (HA) and fulvic acids (FA) were extracted from the soil, and their relative abundance and chemical characteristics were analyzed by elemental analysis, stable carbon analysis, spectrophotometric measurement, liquid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and radiocarbon dating. HA exhibited a clear depth trend in the chemical characteristics, with lower H/C and N/C ratios, higher aromaticity, and higher phenolic 13C NMR peaks in the deeper sections. FA did not show such a clear depth trend, and was enriched in O-containing functional groups. A combination of radiocarbon dating and structural analysis of HA indicated that the rapid structural changes in HA (H/C and N/C) occurred during the first years–decades, followed by a gradual change over a time scale of several hundred (~500) years, and these structural changes were best explained by an increase in the relative phenolic C contents. These results show that mangrove SOM is a complex mixture of organic fractions with different biogeochemical reactivities.

Aquatic humic substances (AHS) have been intensively studied because they have a number of significant biogeochemical functions in water chemistry. In order to evaluate such functions, which are regulated by their quantity and quality, a quantitative understanding of AHS is necessary. This study shows the seasonal and vertical changes in the AHS concentration in Lake Biwa, the largest monomictic lake in Japan, over 4 years. The concentration of dissolved organic matter carbon (DOM-C) and AHS carbon (AHS-C) ranged from 0.85–1.6 mg C/l and 0.32–0.71 mg C/l, respectively. The percentages of AHS-C in the DOM-C ranged from 32% to 65%. At all depths, the DOM-C decreased and the AHS-C slightly increased or remained at nearly the same level, suggesting that the quality of the water may have changed mainly due to changes in the composition of the organic matter. Although the AHS-C to DOM-C ratio fluctuated and had no seasonal tendency, the average AHS-C ratio increased during the 4 year monitoring period. Because AHS can influence the entire food web starting with phytoplankton, unraveling the mechanism by which they accumulate remains an important goal.

Aquatic humic substances (AHSs) are major constituents of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in freshwater bodies. We performed quantitative analyses of AHSs in Japanese lake and wetland waters, focusing mainly on clear waters with low carbon contents, by using a resin isolation technique based on the carbon concentration in the AHSs of each sample. The proportion of AHS to DOM in the clear waters ranged from 38.4 to 64.1 %; these proportions are lower than those widely assumed for freshwater of 20–80 %. Moreover, the proportions of AHSs in DOM were not constant, so regression analysis cannot be used to predict the AHS concentration from the DOM concentration. Thus, AHS and DOM concentrations must be determined separately for each water sample.

The Selenga River Basin (Mongolia and Russia) has suffered from heavy metal contamination by placer gold mining and urban activities in recent decades. The objectives of this study were to provide the first distribution data of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and humic substances (HS) in this data-scarce region, and to investigate their association with dissolved and colloidal metals. Two sampling campaigns were conducted in August of 2013 and 2014. A constant proportion of HS (%HS; coefficient of variation of 2%) was observed from the headwater of Tuul River to the end of the delta before Lake Baikal, spanning > 1000 km in distance. The relationships were determined as [HS] = 0.643 × [DOM] (R2 = 0.996, P

This study characterized dissolved organic matter (DOM) obtained from 47 lakes and 2 streams on ice-free areas at Lutzow-Holm Bay and Amundsen Bay in East Antarctica (n = 74), where few biogeochemical studies have been historically conducted. Samples were analyzed for basic water chemistry and by resin fractionation, UV–vis spectroscopy, and excitation emission matrix spectroscopy combined with parallel factor analysis (EEM-PARAFAC). Salinity of the samples ranged very broadly from fresh to hypersaline as a result of evaporative concentration. There was a clear positive correlation between log-salinity and the spectral slopes of DOM (S275–295), an indicator of photodegradation. Thus, we interpreted the correlation as a progression of photodegradation by prolonged water retention time. Of the identified seven PARAFAC components, three ubiquitous humic-like components decreased as photodegradation progressed, while a photorefractory UVC humic-like component increased its relative abundance. A non-humic component, traditionally defined as Peak N, did not show a trend depending on photodegradation, and its level was high in nutrient-rich lakes, presumably due to high in-situ production. We found robust correlations between the relative abundance of the ubiquitous humic-like components and that of the Peak N component in the bulk DOM irrespective of water types or ice-free areas. We proposed there were common processes that generated the ubiquitous humic-like components from the Peak N component in the Lutzow-Holm Bay and Amundsen Bay lakes and streams, such as bacterial processing of primary production-derived DOM and photochemical transformation of microbial DOM.

There are insufficient data regarding forest productivity of mature mangroves near the northern limit of mangrove distribution in subtropical East Asia. We conducted the present study to determine the stand dynamics and net primary production (NPP) of a mature mangrove forest on Ishigaki Island in south-western Japan over three successive years, using a large permanent plot. The two mangrove species present were Bruguiera gymnorrhiza and Rhizophora stylosa. The aboveground biomass in the plot was high, despite the high latitude (24 ∘ 2 9 ′ N) of the site, gradually increasing from 158.4 Mg ha − 1 to 164.6 Mg ha − 1 over the three-year study period. This increase was attributable to an increase in the biomass of B. gymnorrhiza. The biomass of R. stylosa, however, decreased during the same period because of a threefold-higher mortality rate and a lower relative growth rate of this species compared with B. gymnorrhiza. The mangrove forest was in the late successional stage, following a pioneer R. stylosa forest that was widely distributed throughout the study plot as standing dead trees and logs. The aboveground NPP of the mangrove forest was 10.66 ± 1.46 Mg ha − 1 y − 1 , partitioned into 3.10 ± 0.51 Mg ha − 1 y − 1 as woody NPP (net increase in aboveground woody parts, SI), and 7.56 ± 0.99 Mg ha − 1 y − 1 as foliage NPP (litter production, including foliage and reproductive organs, L n ). The mature mangrove forest had a relatively low SI/L n ratio (0.41 ± 0.03), although litter fall production was within the range previously recorded for mangroves. The lower woody NPP in the mature mangroves was due to the exclusion of R. stylosa once the stand was in a late successional stage dominated by B. gymnorrhiza.

Although mangrove forests are one of the most well-known soil organic carbon (SOC) sinks, the mechanism underlying SOC accumulation is relatively unknown. High net primary production (NPP) along with the typical bottom-heavy biomass allocation and low soil respiration (SR) have been considered to be responsible for SOC accumulation. However, an emerging paradigm postulates that SR is severely underestimated because of the leakage of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in groundwater. Here we propose a simple yet unique mechanism for SOC accumulation in mangrove soils. We conducted sequential extraction of water extractable organic matter (WEOM) from mangrove soils using ultrapure water and artificial seawater, respectively. A sharp increase in humic substances (HS) concentration was observed only in the case of ultrapure water, along with a decline in salinity. Extracted WEOM was colloidal, and ≤70% of it re-precipitated by the addition of artificial seawater. These results strongly suggest that HS is selectively flocculated and maintained in the mangrove soils because of high salinity. Because sea salts are a characteristic of any mangrove forest, high salinity may be one of mechanisms underlying SOC accumulation in mangrove soils.