Abstract
Organic carbon (OC) source attribution for cascade reservoir sediments has been identified as a critical gap in understanding the effective carbon sink of inland waters. In this study, nine sediment cores were collected from cascade reservoirs in the Wujiang and Pearl Rivers. We analyzed lignin phenol (Λ8), total organic carbon (TOC) content, and stable carbon isotopic composition (δ13C) of the sediments, focusing on the changes of terrigenous OC, and the variation of OC source in cascade reservoir sediments after damming. Our results showed that the Σ8 and TOC contents decreased from upstream to downstream reservoirs, indicating the significant interception of terrigenous OC by cascade damming. Additionally, the Λ8 content in the Pearl River reservoir sediments was much higher than that in the Wujiang River. From the three-end-member mixing model, we estimated that OC in reservoir sediments mainly comes from soil and plankton. After damming, the proportion of plankton OC in TOC slightly increased in seasonal and annual regulation reservoirs due to the limnetic evolution of the reservoir. These findings suggest that the cascade damming increases the interception capacity of the river to terrigenous OC and nutrients, and that slowing of water velocity caused by damming affected primary productivity and fluvial carbon cycling.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Availability of data and material
All data generated and analyzed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information files.
References
Akerjord MA, Christophersen N (1996) Assessing mixing models within a common framework. Environ Sci Technol 30(7):2105–2112. https://doi.org/10.1021/es940672n
Anja M, Kay CE (2000) Terrestrial organic matter in surface sediments of the Baltic Sea, Northwest Europe, as determined by CuO oxidation. Geochim Cosmochimica Acta 1285–1299. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7037(00), 00603–7
Bugg TD, Ahmad M, Hardiman EM, Rahmanpour R (2011) Pathways for degradation of lignin in bacteria and fungi. Nat Prod Rep 28(12):1883–1896. https://doi.org/10.1039/c1np00042j
Chen F, Jia G (2009) Spatial and seasonal variations in δ13C and δ15N of particulate organic matter in a dam-controlled subtropical river. River Res Appl 25(9):1169–1176. https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.1225
Cloern J (2002) Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope composition of aquatic and terrestrial plants of the San Francisco Bay estuarine system. Limnol Oceamogr https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2002.47.3.0713
Daly P, Cai F, Kubicek CP, Jiang S et al (2021) From lignocellulose to plastics: knowledge transfer on the degradation approaches by fungi. Biotechnol Adv 50:107770. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biotechadv.2021.107770
Delwiche CF, Graham LE, Thomson N (1989) Lignin-like compounds and sporopollenin coleochaete, an algal model for land plant ancestry. Science 245(4916):399–401. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.245.4916.399
Ding H, Zhu C, Zhang K, Xiao S, Cui X, Sun Y (2017) Source and composition of sedimentary organic matter in the head of Three Gorges Reservoir: a multiproxy approach using δ13C, lignin phenols, and lipid biomarker analyses. Acta Geochim 452–455. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11631-017-0189-8
Ellis EE, Keil RG, Ingalls AE, Richey JE et al. (2012) Seasonal variability in the sources of particulate organic matter of the Mekong River as discerned by elemental and lignin analyses. J Geophys Res 117: 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1029/2011jg001816.
Fontaine S, Barot S, Barré P, Bdioui N et al (2007) Stability of organic carbon in deep soil layers controlled by fresh carbon supply. Nature 450(7167):277–280. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06275
Goñi MA, Teixeira MJ, Perkey DW (2003) Sources and distribution of organic matter in a river-dominated estuary (Winyah Bay, SC, USA). Estuar Coast Shelf S 57(5–6):1023–1048. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0272-7714(03)00008-8
Gordon ES, Goni MA (2003) Sources and distribution of terrigenous organic matter delivered by the Atchafalaya River to sediments in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Geochim Cosmochim Ac 67(13):2359–2375. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0016-7037(02)01412-6
Grill G, Lehner B, Thieme M, Geenen B et al (2019) Mapping the world’s free-flowing rivers. Nature 569(7755):215–221. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1111-9
Hedges JI, Keil RG (1995) Sedimentary organic matter preservation: an assessment and speculative synthesis. Mar Chem 49:81–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-4203(95)00013-H
Hedges JI, Keil RG, Benner R (1997) What happens to terrestrial organic matter in the ocean. Org Geochem 27(5–6):195–212. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0146-6380(97)00066-1
Hedges, J I, Ertel, J R (1982) Characterization of lignin by gas capillary chromatography of cupric oxide oxidation products. Anal Chem 54(2): 174 https://doi.org/10.1021/ac00239a007.
Hopmans EC, Weijers JWH, Schefuss E, Herfort L et al (2004) A novel proxy for terrestrial organic matter in sediments based on branched and isoprenoid tetraether lipids. Earth Planet Sc Lett 224(1–2):107–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2004.05.012
Houel S, Louchouarn P, Lucotte M, Canuel R et al (2006) Translocation of soil organic matter following reservoir impoundment in boreal systems: Implications for in situ productivity. Limnol Oceanogr 51:1497–1513. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seares.2006.02.001
Kendall C, Silva SR, Kelly VJ (2001) Carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions of particulate organic matter in four large river systems across the United States. Hydrol Process 15(7):1301–1346. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.216
Kondolf GM, Rubin ZK, Minear JT (2014) Dams on the Mekong: Cumulative sediment starvation. Water Resour Res 50(6):5158–5169. https://doi.org/10.1002/2013wr014651
Lehner B, Liermann CR, Revenga C, Vörösmarty C et al (2011) High-resolution mapping of the world’s reservoirs and dams for sustainable river-flow management. Front Ecol Environ 9(9):494–502. https://doi.org/10.1890/100125
Li S (2018) CO2 oversaturation and degassing using chambers and a new gas transfer velocity model from the three gorges reservoir surface. Sci Total Environ 640–641:908–920. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.345
Li, X., Zhang, Z., Wade, T. L., Knap, A. H. Zhang, C. L. (2017). Sources and compositional distribution of organic carbon in surface sediments from the lower Pearl River to the coastal South China Sea. J Geophys Res: Biogeosci 2104–2117. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017jg003981
Lin X, Wang Y, Zhang J, Yang M et al (2021) Interception, degradation and contributions of terrestrial organic carbon obtained from lignin analysis in Wujiang River, southwest China. Acta Geochim 40(6):857–870. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11631-021-00493-z
Loh PS, Cheng LX, Lin SY, Kandasamy S (2020) Characteristics of sedimentary organic matter and phosphorus in minor rivers discharging into Zhejiang Coast, China. Geosciences https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences10090357
Lundell T K, Mkel M R, Hildén K (2010) Lignin-modifying enzymes in filamentous basidiomycetes – ecological functional and phylogenetic review. J Basic Microb 50(1): 5–20 https://doi.org/10.1002/jobm.200900338.
Nottingham AT, Griffiths H, Chamberlain PM, Stott AW et al (2009) Soil priming by sugar and leaf-litter substrates: a link to microbial groups. Appl Soil Ecol 42(3):183–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2009.03.003
Rapin A, Rabiet M, Mourier B, Grybos M et al (2020) Sedimentary phosphorus accumulation and distribution in the continuum of three cascade dams (Creuse River, France). Environ Sci Pollut R 27(6):6526–6539. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-07184-6
Rezende CE, Pfeiffer WC, Martinelli LA, Tsamakis E et al (2010) Lignin phenols used to infer organic matter sources to Sepetiba Bay – RJ. Brasil Estuar Coast Shelf S 87(3):479–486. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2010.02.008
Robert A, Berner, (1989) Biogeochemical cycles of carbon and sulfur and their effect on atmospheric oxygen over Phanerozoic time. Global Planet Change 1(1–2):97–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/0921-8181(89)90018-0
Routh J, Meyers PA, Gustafsson O, Baskaran M et al (2004) Sedimentary geochemical record of human-induced environmental changes in the Lake Brunnsviken watershed, Sweden. Limnol Oceanogr 49:1560–1569. https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2004.49.5.1560
Sampere, TP, Bianchi TS Allison, M. A. (2011). Historical changes in terrestrially derived organic carbon inputs to Louisiana continental margin sediments over the past 150 years. Journal of Geophysical Research. https://doi.org/10.1029/2010jg001420
Sekar R, Jin X, Liu S, Lu J et al (2021) Fecal contamination and high nutrient levels pollute the watersheds of Wujiang. China Water 13(4):457–477. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13040457
Sen IS, Peucker-Ehrenbrink B (2012) Anthropogenic disturbance of element cycles at the Earth’s surface. Environ Sci Technol 46(16):8601–8609. https://doi.org/10.1021/es301261x
Shi W, Chen Q, Yi Q, Yu J et al (2017) Carbon emission from cascade reservoirs: spatial heterogeneity and mechanisms. Environ Sci Technol 51(21):12175–12181. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.7b03590
Sobrinho R, d L, Bernardes, M C, de Rezende, C E, Kim, J-H, et al (2021) A multiproxy approach to characterize the sedimentation of organic carbon in the Amazon continental shelf. Mar Chem 232:103961. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marchem.2021.103961
Sun S, Schefuß E, Mulitza S, Chiessi CM, Sawakuchi AO, Zabel M, Baker PA, Hefter J, Mollenhauer G (2017) Origin and processing of terrestrial organic carbon in the Amazon system: lignin phenols in river, shelf, and fan sediments. Biogeosciences 2495–2512. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-2495-2017
Sun D, Tang J, He Y, Liao W et al (2018) Sources, distributions, and burial efficiency of terrigenous organic matter in surface sediments from the Yellow River mouth, northeast China. Org Geochem 118:89–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2017.12.009
Tao FX, Liu CQ, Li SL (2009) Source and flux of POC in two subtropical karstic tributaries with contrasting land use practice in the Yangtze River Basin. Appl Geochem 24(11):2102–2112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2009.08.007
Tareq SM, Handa N, Tanoue E (2006) A lignin phenol proxy record of mid Holocene paleovegetation changes at Lake DaBuSu, northeast China. J Geochem Explor 88(1–3):445–449. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2005.08.096
Teisserenc R, Lucotte M, Canuel R, Moingt M, Obrist, D (2013) Combined dynamics of mercury and terrigenous organic matter following impoundment of Churchill Falls Hydroelectric Reservoir, Labrador. Biogeochemistry. 21–34. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-013-9902-9
Thomas SB, Marina A, Helene FC (1999) Contribution of vascular-plant carbon to surface sediments across the coastal margin of Cyprus (eastern Mediterranean). Org Geochem 287–297. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0146-6380(99), 00016–9
Wang K, Pang Y, He C, Li P et al (2019) Optical and molecular signatures of dissolved organic matter in Xiangxi Bay and mainstream of Three Gorges Reservoir, China: spatial variations and environmental implications. Sci Total Environ 657:1274–1284. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.12.117
Wei B, Mollenhauer G, Hefter J, Grotheer H et al (2020) Dispersal and aging of terrigenous organic matter in the Pearl River Estuary and the northern South China Sea Shelf. Geochim Coschim Acta 282:324–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2020.04.032
Williamson CE, Saros JE, Vincent WF, Smol JP (2009) Lakes and reservoirs as regulators of carbon cycling and climate. Limnol Oceanogr 54(6):2298–2314. https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2009.54.6_part_2.2298
Yi Y, Zhong J, Bao H, Mostofa KMG et al (2021) The impacts of reservoirs on the sources and transport of riverine organic carbon in the karst area: a multi-tracer study. Water Res 194:116933. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2021.116933
Yu F, Zong Y et al (2010) Bulk organic δ13C and C/N as indicators for sediment sources in the Pearl River delta and estuary, southern China. Estuar Coast Shelf S 87(4):618–630. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2010.02.018
Yu N, Qin Y et al (2019) Using seismic surveys to investigate sediment distribution and to estimate burial fluxes of OC, N, and P in a canyon reservoir. Acta Geochim 38(6):785–795. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11631-019-00353-x
Zhang L, Chen FR, Yang YQ, Zhang DR (2008) Chemical and isotopic alteration of organic matter during early diagenesis: evidence from the coastal area off-shore the Pearl River estuary, south China. Acta Oceanolog Sin 372-380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmarsys.2008.02.004
Zhang Y, Kaiser K, Li L, Zhang D et al (2014) Sources, distributions, and early diagenesis of sedimentary organic matter in the Pearl River region of the South China sea. Mar Chem 158:39–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marchem.2013.11.003
Acknowledgements
This study was funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFA0601003). The authors appreciate Li Lu and Nan Hu from Tianjing University for their assistance with stable isotope analysis.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Li Gao: experimental analysis; data curation; formal analysis; writing—original draft; writing—review and editing. Xin Lin: sample collection; data curation; experimental analysis. Jun Fan: sample testing. Ming Yang: supervision. Xueping Chen: supervision. Fushun Wang: investigation. Jing Ma: validation; supervision.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.
Consent for publication
Not applicable.
Consent to participate
Not applicable.
Ethical approval
Not applicable.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gao, L., Lin, X., Fan, J. et al. Identification of terrigenous and autochthonous organic carbon in sediment cores from cascade reservoirs in the upper stream of Pearl River and Wujiang River, southwest China: lignin phenol as a tracer. Acta Geochim 41, 753–764 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11631-022-00551-0
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11631-022-00551-0