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Sources of dissolved organic carbon in forest soils: evidences from the differences of organic carbon concentration and isotope composition studies

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Abstract

There is considerable discussion and uncertainty in the literature regarding the importance of fresh litter versus older soil organic matter as sources of soil dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in forest floor. In this study, the differences of organic carbon concentration and stable isotope composition were analyzed under different background conditions to identify the origins of DOC in forest soil. The data show that there is no significant difference in SOC content between these collected soil samples (P > 0.05), but the litter-rich surface soils have relatively higher DOC concentration than the litter-lacking (P < 0.01) ones, and the δ 13C values of DOC (δ 13CDOC) are closer to δ 13C of litter than δ 13C values of SOC (δ 13CSOC). In the litter-lacking surface soil samples, the range of δ 13CDOC is between δ 13CSOC and δ 13C of dominant plant leaves. These results suggest that DOC mainly derive from litter in the litter-rich surface soil with, and the main path of DOC sources may change with surrounding conditions. In addition, δ 13CSOC and δ 13CDOC become more positive, and the absolute values of Δ (δ 13CDOC − δ 13CSOC) decrease with depth in the soil profiles, which indicate that the percentage of DOC below 5 cm, derived from degradation of humus, may increase with soil depth.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (Grant no. 2006CB403200), the Foundation of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant no. KZCX2-XB2-08), the front field foundation of Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Bureau of Science and Technology of GuiZhou province (Grant no. 2008-2243).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 46# Guanshui Road, Guiyang, 550002, Guizhou, China

    Cheng-Long Tu, Cong-Qiang Liu & Yun-Chao Lang

  2. School of Geographic and Biologic Sciences, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, 550001, China

    Xiao-Hui Lu

  3. Guiyang Environmental Monitoring Centre, Guiyang, 550002, China

    Ju Yuan

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  1. Cheng-Long Tu
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  2. Cong-Qiang Liu
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Correspondence to Cong-Qiang Liu.

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Tu, CL., Liu, CQ., Lu, XH. et al. Sources of dissolved organic carbon in forest soils: evidences from the differences of organic carbon concentration and isotope composition studies. Environ Earth Sci 63, 723–730 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-010-0741-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-010-0741-x

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