ALBERT

Description: Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations – mainly of terrestrial origin – are increasing worldwide in inland waters. The biodegradability of the DOC varies depending on quantity and chemical quality. Heterotrophic bacteria are the main consumers of DOC and thus determine DOC temporal dynamics and availability for higher trophic levels. It is therefore crucial to understand the processes controlling the bacterial turnover of additional allochthonous and autochthonous DOC in aquatic systems. Our aim was to study bacterial carbon (C) turnover with respect to DOC quantity and chemical quality using both allochthonous and autochthonous DOC sources. We incubated a natural bacterial community with allochthonous C (13C-labeled beech leachate) and increased concentrations and pulses (intermittent occurrence of organic matter input) of autochthonous C (algae lysate). We then determined bacterial carbon consumption, activities, and community composition together with the carbon flow through bacteria using stable C isotopes. The chemical analysis of single sources revealed differences in aromaticity and fractions of low and high molecular weight substances (LMWS and HMWS, respectively) between allochthonous and autochthonous C sources. In parallel to these differences in chemical composition, we observed a higher availability of allochthonous C as evidenced by increased DOC consumption and bacterial growth efficiencies (BGE) when solely allochthonous C was provided. In treatments with mixed sources, rising concentrations of added autochthonous DOC resulted in a further, significant increase in bacterial DOC consumption from 52 to 68% when nutrients were not limiting. This rise was accompanied by a decrease in the humic substances (HS) fraction and an increase in bacterial biomass. Stable C isotope analyses of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) and respired dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) supported a preferential assimilation of autochthonous C and respiration of the allochthonous C. Changes in DOC concentration and consumption in mixed treatments did not affect bacterial community composition (BCC), but BCC differed in single vs. mixed incubations. Our study highlights that DOC quantity affects bacterial C consumption but not BCC in nutrient-rich aquatic systems. BCC shifted when a mixture of allochthonous and autochthonous C was provided simultaneously to the bacterial community. Our results indicate that chemical quality rather than source of DOC per se (allochthonous vs. autochthonous) determines bacterial DOC turnover.

Description: Identifying the chemical mechanisms behind soil carbon bound in organo-mineral complexes is necessary to determine the degree to which soil organic carbon is stabilized belowground. We used the δ13C and δ15N isotopic signatures from two organic matter (OM) fractions from soil to identify the likely binding mechanisms involved. We used OM fractions hypothesized to contain carbon stabilized through organo-mineral complexes: (1) OM separated chemically with sodium pyrophosphate (OM(PY)) and (2) OM stabilized in microstructures found in the chemical extraction residue (OM(ER)). Furthermore, because the OM fractions were separated from five different soils with paired forest and arable land use histories, we could address the impact of land use change on carbon binding and processing mechanisms within these soils. We used partial least squares regression to analyze patterns in the isotopic signature of OM with established proxies of different binding mechanisms. Parsing soil OM into different fractions is a systematic method of dissection, however, we are primarily interested in how OM is bound in soil as a whole, requiring a means of re-assembly. Thus, we implemented the recent zonal framework described by Kleber et al. (2007) to relate our findings to undisturbed soil. The δ15N signature of OM fractions served as a reliable indicator for microbial processed carbon in both arable and forest land use types. The δ13C signature of OM fractions in arable sites did not correlate well with proxies of soil mineral properties while a consistent pattern of enrichment was seen in the δ13C of OM fractions in the forest sites. We found a significant difference in δ13C of pooled OM fractions between the forest and arable land use type although it was relatively small (

Description: Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations – mainly of terrestrial origin – are increasing worldwide in inland waters. Heterotrophic bacteria are the main consumers of DOC and thus determine DOC temporal dynamics and availability for higher trophic levels. Our aim was to study bacterial carbon (C) turnover with respect to DOC quantity and chemical quality using both allochthonous and autochthonous DOC sources. We incubated a natural bacterial community with allochthonous C (13C-labeled beech leachate) and increased concentrations and pulses (intermittent occurrence of organic matter input) of autochthonous C (phytoplankton lysate). We then determined bacterial C consumption, activities, and community composition together with the C flow through bacteria using stable C isotopes. The chemical analysis of single sources revealed differences in aromaticity and low- and high-molecular-weight substance fractions (LMWS and HMWS, respectively) between allochthonous and autochthonous C sources. Both DOC sources (allochthonous and autochthonous DOC) were metabolized at a high bacterial growth efficiency (BGE) around 50%. In treatments with mixed sources, rising concentrations of added autochthonous DOC resulted in a further, significant increase in bacterial DOC consumption of up to 68% when nutrients were not limiting. This rise was accompanied by a decrease in the humic substance (HS) fraction and an increase in bacterial biomass. Changes in DOC concentration and consumption in mixed treatments did not affect bacterial community composition (BCC), but BCC differed in single vs. mixed incubations. Our study highlights that DOC quantity affects bacterial C consumption but not BCC in nutrient-rich aquatic systems. BCC shifted when a mixture of allochthonous and autochthonous C was provided simultaneously to the bacterial community. Our results indicate that chemical quality rather than source of DOC per se (allochthonous vs. autochthonous) determines bacterial DOC turnover.

Description: Stable isotope analysis is a powerful tool for assessing plant carbon and water relations and their impact on biogeochemical processes at different scales. Our process-based understanding of stable isotope signals, as well as technological developments, has progressed significantly, opening new frontiers in ecological and interdisciplinary research. This has promoted the broad utilisation of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen isotope applications to gain insight into plant carbon and water cycling and their interaction with the atmosphere and pedosphere. Here, we highlight specific areas of recent progress and new research challenges in plant carbon and water relations, using selected examples covering scales from the leaf to the regional scale. Further, we discuss strengths and limitations of recent technological developments and approaches and highlight new opportunities arising from unprecedented temporal and spatial resolution of stable isotope measurements.

Description: Identifying the chemical mechanisms behind soil carbon bound in organo-mineral complexes is necessary to determine the degree to which soil organic carbon is stabilized belowground. Analysis of δ13C and δ15N isotopic signatures of stabilized OM fractions along with soil mineral characteristics may yield important information about OM-mineral associations and their processing history. We anlayzed the δ13C and δ15N isotopic signatures from two organic matter (OM) fractions along with soil mineral proxies to identify the likely binding mechanisms involved. We analyzed OM fractions hypothesized to contain carbon stabilized through organo-mineral complexes: (1) OM separated chemically with sodium pyrophosphate (OM(PY)) and (2) OM occluded in micro-structures found in the chemical extraction residue (OM(ER)). Because the OM fractions were separated from five different soils with paired forest and arable land use histories, we could address the impact of land use change on carbon binding and processing mechanisms. We used partial least squares regression to analyze patterns in the isotopic signature of OM with established mineral and chemical proxies indicative for certain binding mechanisms. We found different mechanisms predominate in each land use type. For arable soils, the formation of OM(PY)-Ca-mineral associations was identified as an important OM binding mechanism. Therefore, we hypothesize an increased stabilization of microbial processed OM(PY) through Ca2+ interactions. In general, we found the forest soils to contain on average 10% more stabilized carbon relative to total carbon stocks, than the agricultural counter part. In forest soils, we found a positive relationship between isotopic signatures of OM(PY) and the ratio of soil organic carbon content to soil surface area (SOC/SSA). This indicates that the OM(PY) fractions of forest soils represent layers of slower exchange not directly attached to mineral surfaces. From the isotopic composition of the OM(ER) fraction, we conclude that the OM in this fraction from both land use types have undergone a different pathway to stabilization that does not involve microbial processing, which may include OM which is highly protected within soil micro-structures.