Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Dissolved Organic Carbon in Upland Forested Watersheds Underlain by Continuous Permafrost in Central Siberia

  • Published:
Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Hydroclimatic variability and plant species ecology cause mosaics in forested watersheds in permafrost zones. Measurements of organic matter accumulation, stock of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), DOC concentrations in litter leachates, subsurface flow, stream and seasonal and annual export were made in two contrasting slopes and valleys in the northern taiga of Central Siberia. Increased organic carbon accumulation in litter was found in poor hydroclimatic conditions of the north-facing slope and bottom valleys. In contrast, DOC contents and its export to soil were almost two-fold higher in warmer well-drained sites of the south-facing slope. The overall DOC flux to mineral soil from the beginning of June to mid-September was 17 g C m−2 in the south-facing slope sites and only 9 g C m−2 in the north-facing slope sites. DOC export was positively correlated with precipitation stimulating leaching of mobilizable organic matter. Accordingly intra-seasonal and inter-annual variability of the DOC fluxes was tightly coupled with water input. Meanwhile DOC export in Sphagnum and feathermoss sites showed different behavior in dry and wet years. The presence of permafrost preventing deep seepage of organic solutes results in higher stream DOC fluxes compared to permafrost-free or island permafrost regions. However, thawing of seasonally frozen soil layer during the growing season led to the decreasing concentrations of DOC in the stream from June to September. For two seasons of continuous stream water sampling (June and August–September), the riverine DOC flux constituted about 14% of DOC entering mineral soil on both slopes. The ratio of hydrologic DOC loss to NPP of larch forests of the region was estimated to be 1.1%.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abaimov, A.P., Prokushkin, S.G., Zyryanova, O.A., Kanazawa, Y. and Takahashi, K.: 2001, ‘Ecological and forest-forming role of fires in the Siberian Cryolithic zone’, Lesovedenie 5, 50–59 (in Russian).

    Google Scholar 

  • Abaimov, A.P., Zyryanova, O.A., Prokushkin, A.S., Koike, T. and Matsuura, Y.: 2000, ‘Forest ecosystems on the cryolithic zone of Siberia: Regional features, mechanisms of stability and pyrogenic changes’, Eurasian Journal of Forest Research 1, 1–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aiken, G.R.: 1985, ‘Isolation and concentration techniques for aquatic humic substances’, in G.R. Aiken, D.M. McKnight, R.L. Wershaw and P. MacCarthy (eds.), Humic Substances in Soil, Sediment and Water, NY, John Willey & sons, pp. 363–385.

    Google Scholar 

  • Andersson, S., Nilsson, S.I. and Saetre, P.: 2000, ‘Leaching of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) in mor humus as affected by temperature and pH’, Soil Biology and Biochemistry 32, 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berg, B.: 2000, ‘Litter decomposition and organic matter turnover in northern forest soils’, Forest Ecology and Management 133, 13–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, J.L., Hornbeck, J.W., McDowell, W.H., Buso, D.C., Shanley, J.B. and Likens, G.E.: 2000, ‘Dissolved organic nitrogen budgets for upland, forested ecosystems in New England’, Biogeochemistry 49, 123–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christ, M.J. and David, M.B.: 1996, ‘Temperature and moisture effects on the production of dissolved organic carbon in a spodosol’, Soil Biology and Biochemistry 28(9), 1191–1199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • David, M., Vance, G.F. and Kahl, J.S.: 1992, ‘Chemistry of dissolved organic carbon and organic acids in two streams draining forested watersheds’, Water Resources Research 28(2), 389–396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • David, M.B. and Christ, M.J.: 1996, ‘Dynamics of extractable organic carbon in spodosol forest floor’, Soil Biology and Biochemistry 28(9), 1171–1179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diakonova, K.V.: 1977, ‘Methods of organic substances determination in lysimeter waters, soil solution and other natural objects’, in A.A. Rode (ed.), Methods of Stationary Study of Soils, Moscow, Nauka, pp. 199–226 (in Russian).

  • Forland, E. and Hanssen-Bauer, I.: 2000, ‘Increased precipitation in the Norwegian Arctic: True or false’, Climate Change 46, 485–509.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Furyaev, V.V., Vaganov, E.A., Tchebakova, N.M. and Valendik, E.N.: 2001, ‘Effects of fire and climate on successions and structural changes of the Siberian boreal forests’, Eurasian Journal of Forest Research 2, 1–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gerasimov, I.P.: 1964, Central Siberia. Moscow, Nauka (in Russian).

  • Hinton, M.J., Schiff, S.L. and English, M.C.: 1998, ‘Sources and flowpaths of dissolved organic carbon during storms in two forested watersheds of the Precambrian Shield’, Biogeochemistry 41, 175–197.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hongve, D.: 1999, ‘Production of dissolved organic carbon in forested catchments’, Journal of Hydrology 224, 91–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jardine, P.M., Weber, N.L. and McCarthy, J.F.: 1989, ‘Mechanisms of dissolved organic carbon adsorption on soil’, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 53, 1378–1385.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jarvis, P.G., Saugier, B. and Schulze, E.-D.: 2001, ‘Productivity of boreal forests’, in J. Roy, B. Sauger and H. Mooney (eds.), Terrestrial Global Productivity. NY, Academic Press, pp. 211–244.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kajimoto, T., Matsuura, Y., Sofronov, M.A., Volokitina, A.V., Mori, S., Osawa, A. and Abaimov, A.P.: 1999, ‘Above- and below-ground biomass and net primary productivity of a Larix gmelinii stand near Tura, Central Siberia’, Tree Physiology 19, 815–822.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kao, S.J. and Liu, K.K.: 1997, ‘Fluxes of dissolved and nonfossil particulate organic carbon from an Oceanian small river (Lanyang Hsi) in Taiwan’, Biogeochemistry 39, 255–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaurichev, I.S., Yashin, I.M. and Kashansky, A.D.: 1977, ‘Use of lysimeter columns in soil research’, in A.A. Rode (ed.), Methods of Stationary Study of Soils. Moscow, Nauka, pp. 167–198 (in Russian).

  • Khomutova, T.E., Shirshova, L.T., Tinz, S., Rolland, W. and Richter, J.: 2000, ‘Mobilization of DOC from sandy loamy soils under different land use (Lower Saxony, Germany)’, Plant and Soil 219, 13–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirschbaum, M.U.F.: 1994, ‘The temperature dependence of soil organic matter decomposition, and the effect of global warming on soil organic C storage’, Soil Biology and Biochemistry 27, 753–760.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lai, R., Kimble, J.M. and Stewart, B.A.: 2000, Global Climate Change and Cold Regions Ecosystems, London, Lewis Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Likens, G.E. and Bormann, F.H.: 1995, Biogeochemistry of a Forested Ecosystem, New York, Springer-Verlag.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • MacLean, R., Oswood, M.W., Irons, J.G. III and McDowell, W.H.: 1999, ‘The effect of permafrost on stream biogeochemistry: A case study of two streams in the Alaskan (USA) taiga’, Biogeochemistry 47, 239–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDowell, W.H. and Wood, T.: 1984, ‘Podzolisation, soil processes control dissolved organic carbon concentrations in stream water’, Soil Science 137, 23–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neff, J.C. and Asner, G.P.: 2001, ‘Dissolved organic carbon in terrestrial ecosystems: Synthesis and model’, Ecosystems 4, 29–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neff, J.C., Hobbie, S.E. and Vitousek, P.N.: 2000, ‘Controls over dissolved organic C, N and P fluxes and stoichiometry in tropical soils of varying nutrient availability’, Biogeochemistry 51, 283–302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oechel, W.C. and van Cleave, K.: 1986, ‘The role of bryophytes in nutrient cyacling in the taiga’, in K. van Cleave, F.S. Chapin III, P.W. Flanagan, L.A. Viereck and C.T. Dyrnes (eds.), Forest Ecosystems in the Alaskan Taiga, NY, Springer-Verlag.

  • Oswood, M.W., Irons, J.G. III and Schell, D.M.: 1996, ‘Dynamics of dissolved and particulate carbon in a tundra stream in arctic Alaska’, in J.F. Reynolds and J.D. Tenhunen (eds.), Landscape function and disturbance in Arctic tundra, Berlin, Springer, pp. 275–287.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Pozdnyakov, L.K.: 1963, Hydroclimatic Regime of Larch Stands in Central Yakutia, Moscow, USSR Academy of Science Publishing House (in Russian).

  • Prokushkin, A.S., Abaimov, A.P. and Prokushkin, S.G.: 2002, ‘Water-soluble organic carbon in larch forest ecosystems on the cryolitic soil’, in F.I. Pleshikov (ed.), Forest Ecosystems of Yenisey Meridian, Novosibirsk, Publishing House of Siberian Branch of RAS, pp. 264–274 (in Russian).

  • Prokushkin, A.S., Shibata, H., Prokushkin, S.G., Matsuura, Y. and Abaimov, A.P.: 2001, ‘Dissolved organic carbon in coniferous forests of Central Siberia’, Eurasian Journal of Forest Research 2, 45–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tao, S.: 1998, ‘Spatial and temporal variation in DOC in the Yuchun river, China’, Water Res. 32(7), 2205–2210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Cleave, K. and Yarie, J.: 1986, ‘Interaction of temperature, moisture and soil chemistry in controlling nutrient cycling and ecosystem development in the taiga of Alaska’, in K. van Cleave, F.S. Chapin III, P.W. Flanagan, L.A. Viereck and C.T. Dyrnes (eds.), Forest Ecosystems in the Alaskan taiga, NY, Springer-Verlag, pp. 234–245.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Vedrova, E.F., Stakanov, V.D. and Pleshikov, F.I.: 2002, ‘Regularities of carbon pool change in boreal forest’, in F.I. Pleshikov (ed.), Forest Ecosystems of Yenisey Meridian, Novosibirsk, Publishing House of Siberian Branch of RAS, pp. 206–221 (in Russian).

  • Woo, M.K. and Winter, T.C.: 1993, ‘The role of permafrost and seasonal frost in the hydrology of northern wetland in North America’, Journal of Hydrology 141, 5–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yanagihara, Y, Koike, T., Matsuura, Y., Shibata, H., Satoh, H., Prokushkin, A., Abaimov, A. and Zyryanova, O.: 2000, ‘Soil respiration on the contrasting north- and south-facing slopes of a larch forests in Central Siberia’, Eurasian Journal of Forest Research 1, 19–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yershov, Yu. I.: 1995, ‘Mesomorphic soil formation in the cryogenic taiga semi-humid sector of central Siberia’, Eurasian Soil Science 27(8), 7–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • You, S.-J., Yin, Y. and Allen, H.E.: 1999, ‘Partitioning of organic matter in soils: Effect of pH and water/soil ratio’, The Science of the Total Environment 227, 155–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zsolnay, A.: 1996, ‘Dissolved humus in soil waters’, in A. Piccolo (ed.), Humic Substances in Terrestrial Ecosystems, Amsterdam, Elsevier Science B.V., pp. 171–223.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Zyryanova, O.A., Bugaenko, T.N., Abaimov, A.P. and Bugaenko, N.N.: 2002, ‘Pyrogenic transformation of regeneration successions in forest-tundra and northern taiga’, in F.I. Pleshikov (ed.), Forest Ecosystems of Yenisey Meridian, Novosibirsk, Publishing House of Siberian Branch of RAS, pp. 135–146 (in Russian).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. V.N. Sukachev Institute of Forest SB RAS, Akademgorodok, Krasnoyarsk, 660036, Russia

    A. S. Prokushkin, I. V. Gavrilenko, A. P. Abaimov & S. G. Prokushkin

  2. Krasnoyarsk State University, Svobodny pr. 79, Krasnoyarsk, 660041, Russia

    A. V. Samusenko

Authors
  1. A. S. Prokushkin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. I. V. Gavrilenko
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. A. P. Abaimov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. S. G. Prokushkin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. A. V. Samusenko
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. S. Prokushkin.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Prokushkin, A.S., Gavrilenko, I.V., Abaimov, A.P. et al. Dissolved Organic Carbon in Upland Forested Watersheds Underlain by Continuous Permafrost in Central Siberia. Mitig Adapt Strat Glob Change 11, 223–240 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-006-1022-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-006-1022-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation