Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A large carbon pool in lake sediments over the arid/semiarid region, NW China

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Chinese Journal of Geochemistry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Carbon burial in lake sediments is an important component of the global carbon cycle. However, little is known about the magnitude of carbon sequestered in lake sediments over the arid/semiarid region of China (ASAC). In this study, we estimate both organic and inorganic carbon burial since ~ad 1800 based on nine lakes in ASAC, and discuss the most plausible factors controlling carbon burial. Our estimates show that the annual organic carbon burial rate (OCBR) ranges from 5.3 to 129.8 g cm−2 year−1 (weighted mean of 49.9 g cm−2 year−1), leading to a standing stock of 1.1–24.0 kg cm−2 (weighted mean of 8.6 kg cm−2) and a regional sum of ~108 Tg organic carbon sequestered since ~ad 1800. The annual inorganic carbon burial rate (ICBR) ranges from 11.4 to 124.0 g cm−2 year−1 (weighted mean of 48.3 g cm−2 year−1), which is slightly lower than OCBR. The inorganic carbon standing stock ranges from 2.4 to 26.0 kg cm−2 (weighted mean of 8.1 kg cm−2), resulting in a sum of ~101 Tg regional inorganic carbon burial since ~ad 1800, which is slightly lower than the organic carbon sequestration. OCBR in ASAC shows a continuously increasing trend since ~ad 1950, which is possibly due to the high autochthonous and allochthonous primary production and subsequently high sedimentation rate in the lakes. This increasing carbon burial is possibly related to both climatic changes and enhanced anthropogenic activities, such as land use change, deforestation, and eutrophication in the lake. Furthermore, OCBR and ICBR are expected to continuously increase under the scenario of increasing precipitation and runoff and enhanced anthropogenic activities. The results of this research show that the buried carbon in lake sediments of the ASAC region constitutes a significant and large carbon pool, which should be considered and integrated into the global carbon cycle.

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

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alin SR, Johnson TC (2007) Carbon cycling in large lakes of the world: a synthesis of production, burial, and lake-atmosphere exchange estimates. Glob Biogeochem Cycles 21:GB3002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson NJ, Dietz RD, Engstrom DR (2013) Land-use change, not climate change, controls organic carbon burial in lakes. Proc R Soc B 280:20131278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson NJ, Bennion H, Lotter AF (2014) Lake eutrophication and its implications for organic carbon sequestration in Europe. Glob Change Biol 20:2741–2751

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Avnimelech Y, Ritvo G, Meijer LE, Kochba M (2001) Water content, organic carbon and dry bulk density in flooded sediments. Aquacult Eng 25:25–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ballantyne AP, Alden CB, Miller JB, Tans PP, White JWC (2012) Increase in observed net carbon dioxide uptake by land and oceans during the past 50 years. Nature 488:70–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Battin TJ, Luyssaert S, Kaplan LA, Aufdenkampe AK, Richter A, Tranvik LJ (2009) The boundless carbon cycle. Nat Geosci 2:598–600

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bloom AA, Palmer PI, Fraser A, Reay DS, Frankenberg C (2010) Large-scale controls of methanogenesis inferred from methane and gravity spaceborne data. Science 327:322–325

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bond-Lamberty B, Thomson A (2010) Temperature-associated increases in the global soil respiration record. Nature 464:579–582

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell ID, Campbell C, Vitt DH, Kelker D, Laird LD, Trew D, Kotak B, LeClair D, Bayley S (2000) A first estimate of organic carbon storage in Holocene lake sediments in Alberta, Canada. J Paleolimnol 24:395–400

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Canadell JG, Le Quéré C, Raupach MR, Field CB, Buitenhuis ET, Ciaisf P, Conwayg TJ, Gillettc NP, Houghtonh RA, Marlandet G (2007) Contributions to accelerating atmospheric CO2 growth from economic activity, carbon intensity, and efficiency of natural sinks. Proc Natl Acad Sci 104:18866

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen FH, Huang XZ, Zhang JW, Holmes JA, Chen JH (2006) Humid little ice age in arid central Asia documented by Bosten Lake. Sci China Ser D Earth Sci 49:1280–1290

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cole JJ, Prairie YT, Caraco NF, McDowell WH, Tranvik LJ, Striegl RG, Duarte CM, Kortelainen P, Downing JA, Middelburg JJ, Melack J (2007) Plumbing the global carbon cycle: integrating inland waters into the terrestrial carbon budget. Ecosystems 10:171–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dean WE (1974) Determination of carbonate and organic-matter in calcareous sediments and sedimentary-rocks by loss on ignition—comparison with other methods. J Sediment Petrol 44:242–248

    Google Scholar 

  • Dean WE (1999) The carbon cycle and biogeochemical dynamics in lake sediments. J Paleolimnol 21:375–393

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dean WE, Gorham E (1998) Magnitude and significance of carbon burial in lakes, reservoirs, and peatlands. Geology 26:535–538

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dillon PJ, Molot LA (1997) Dissolved organic and inorganic carbon mass balances in central Ontario lakes. Biogeochemistry 36:29–42

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dong X, Anderson NJ, Yang X, Chen X, Shen J (2012) Carbon burial by shallow lakes on the Yangtze floodplain and its relevance to regional carbon sequestration. Glob Change Biol 18:2205–2217

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Downing JA (2009) Global limnology:up-scaling aquatic services and processes to planet earth. Verh Int Ver Limnol 30:1149–1166

    Google Scholar 

  • Downing JA, Prairie YT, Cole JJ, Duarte CM, Tranvik LJ, Striegl RG, McDowell WH, Kortelainen P, Caraco NF, Melack JM, Middelburg JJ (2006) The global abundance and size distribution of lakes, ponds, and impoundments. Limnol Oceanogr 51:2388–2397

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Downing JA, Cole JJ, Middelburg JJ, Striegl RG, Duarte CM, Kortelainen P, Prairie YT, Laube KA (2008) Sediment organic carbon burial in agriculturally eutrophic impoundments over the last century. Glob Biogeochem Cycles 22:GB1018

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fang J, Chen A, Peng C, Zhao S, Ci L (2001) Changes in forest biomass carbon storage in China between 1949 and 1998. Science 292:2320–2322

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frank DC, Esper J, Raible CC, Büntgen U, Trouet V, Stocker B, Joos F (2010) Ensemble reconstruction constraints on the global carbon cycle sensitivity to climate. Nature 463:527–530

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ge QS, Dai JH (2005) Farming and forestry land use changes in China and their driving forces from 1900 to 1980. Sci China Ser D Earth Sci 48:1747–1757

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ge QS, Dai JH, He FN, Pan Y, Wang MM (2008) Land use changes and their relations with carbon cycles over the past 300 a in China. Sci China Ser D Earth Sci 51:871–884

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gudasz C, Bastviken D, Steger K, Premke K, Sobek S, Tranvik LJ (2010) Temperature-controlled organic carbon mineralization in lake sediments. Nature 466:478–481

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • He FN, Ge QS, Dai JH, Lin SS (2007) Quantitative analysis on forest dynamics of China in recent 300 years. Acta Geogr Sin 62:30–40

    Google Scholar 

  • Heathcote AJ, Downing JA (2012) Impacts of eutrophication on carbon burial in freshwater lakes in an intensively agricultural landscape. Ecosystems 15:60–70

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hollander DJ, Mckenzie JA, Lotenhaven H (1992) A 200-year sedimentary record of progressive eutrophication in Lake Greifen (Switzerland)—implications for the origin of organic-carbon-rich sediments. Geology 20:825–828

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jiang QF, Shen J, Liu XQ, Zhang EL, Xiao XY (2007) A high-resolution climatic change since Holocene inferred from multi-proxy of lake sediment in westerly area of China. Chin Sci Bull 52:1970–1979

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jiang QF, Shen J, Liu XQ, Ji JF (2010) Environmental changes recorded by lake sediments from Lake Jili, Xinjiang during the past 2500 year. J Sci 22:119–126 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalff J (2001) Limnology: inland water ecosystems. Prentice, New Jersey

    Google Scholar 

  • Kastowski M, Hinderer M, Vecsei A (2011) Long-term carbon burial in European lakes: analysis and estimate. Glob Biogeochem Cycles 25:GB3019

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kortelainen P, Pajunen H, Rantakari M, Saarnisto M (2004) A large carbon pool and small sink in boreal Holocene lake sediments. Glob Change Biol 10:1648–1653

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lan JH, Xu H, Liu B (2011) A preliminary study of sedimentation rate and geochemistry in Lake Daihai, southeastern of Inner Mongolia, China. J Earth Environ 2:278–284 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lehner B, Döll P (2004) Development and validation of a global database of lakes, reservoirs and wetlands. J Hydrol 296:1–22

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li S, Chen S, Zhang J (2010) Environmental changes recorded by lake sediments from Hongjiannao Lake during recent fifty years. J Anhui Agric Sci 38:2534–2537 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu ZH (2011) Is pedogenic carbonate an important atmospheric CO2 sink? Chin Sci Bull 56:3794–3796

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu Y, Ma L, Leavitt SW, Cai Q, Liu W (2004) A preliminary seasonal precipitation reconstruction from tree-ring stable carbon isotopes at Mt. Helan, China, since ad 1804. Glob Planet Change 41:229–239

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu X, Herzschuh U, Shen J, Jiang Q, Xiao X (2008a) Holocene environmental and climatic changes inferred from Wulungu Lake in northern Xinjiang, China. Quat Res 70:412–425

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu Y, Cai Q, Liu W, Yang Y, Sun J, Song H, Li X (2008b) Monsoon precipitation variation recorded by tree-ring δ18O in arid Northwest China since ad 1878. Chem Geol 252:56–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu ZH, Dreybrodt W, Wang HJ (2010) A new direction in effective accounting for the atmospheric CO2 budget: considering the combined action of carbonate dissolution, the global water cycle and photosynthetic uptake of DIC by aquatic organisms. Earth Sci Rev 99:162–172

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu ZH, Dreybrodt W, Liu H (2011) Atmospheric CO2 sink: silicate weathering or carbonate weathering? Appl Geochem 26:s292–s294

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ma RH, Yang GH, Duan HT, Jiang JH, Wang SM, Feng XZ, Li AN, Kong FX, Xue B, Wu JL, Li SJ (2010) China’ lakes at present: number, area spatial distrbution. Sci China Earth Sci 54:283–289

  • Ma L, Wu J, Yu H, Zeng H, Abuduwaili J (2011) The medieval warm period and the Little ice age from a sediment record of Lake Ebinur, northwest China. Boreas 40:518–524

  • Menounos B (1997) The water content of lake sediments and its relationship to other physical parameters: an alpine case study. Holocene 7:207–212

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meybeck M (1995) Glob distribution of lakes. In: Lerman (ed) Physics and chemistry of lakes. Springer, Berlin, pp 1–35

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Molot LA, Dillon PJ (1996) Storage of terrestrial carbon in boreal lake sediments and evasion to the atmosphere. Glob Biogeochem Cycles 10:483–492

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pan Y, Birdsey RA, Fang J, Houghton R, Kauppi PE, Kurz WA, Phillips OL, Shvidenko A, Lewis SL, Canadell JG, Ciais P, Jackson RB, Pacala S, McGuire AD, Piao S, Rautiainen A, Sitch S, Hayes D (2011) A large and persistent carbon sink in the world’s forests. Science 333:988–993

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richerson PJ, Suchanek TH, Zierenberg RA, Osleger DA, Heyvaert AC, Slotton DG, Eagles-Smith CA, Vaughn CE (2008) Anthropogenic stressors and changes in the Clear Lake ecosystem as recorded in sediment cores. Ecol Appl 18:A257–A283

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sabine CL, Feely RA, Gruber N, Key RM, Lee K, Bullister JL, Wanninkhof R, Wong CS, Wallace DWR, Tilbrook B, Millero FJ, Peng T, Kozyr A, Ono T, Rios AF (2004) The oceanic sink for anthropogenic CO2. Science 305:367–371

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santisteban JI, Mediavilla R, Lopez-Pamo E, Dabrio CJ, Zapata MBR, Garcıa MJG, Castano S, Martınez-Alfaro PE (2004) Loss on ignition: a qualitative or quantitative method for organic matter and carbonate mineral content in sediments? J Paleolimnol 32:287–299

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shen J, Wang Y, Yang X, Zhang E, Yang B, Ji J (2005) Paleosandstorm characteristics and lake evolution history deduced from—the case of Hongjiannao Lake, Shaanxi Province. Chin Sci Bull 50:2355–2361

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shi Y, Shen Y, Kang E, Li D, Ding Y, Zhang G, Hu R (2007) Recent and future climate change in northwest China. Clim Change 80:379–393

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shiklomanov IA, Rodda JC (2003) World water resources at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Siegenthaler U, Sarmiento J (1993) Atmospheric carbon dioxide and the ocean. Nature 365:119–125

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sobek S, Durisch-Kaiser E, Zurbrugg R, Wongfun N, Wessels M, Pasche N, Wehrlia B (2009) Organic carbon burial efficiency in lake sediments controlled by oxygen exposure time and sediment source. Limnol Oceanogr 54:2243–2254

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sun Q, Zhou J, Shen J, Chen P, Wu F, Xie X (2006) Environmental characteristics of Mid-Holocene recorded by lacustrine sediments from Lake Daihai, north environment sensitive zone, China. Sci China Ser D Earth Sci 49(9):968–981

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Urban N, Auer M, Green S, Lu X, Apul DS, Powell KD, Bub L (2005) Carbon cycling in Lake Superior. J Geophys Res 110:C06S90

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang X, Wang J, Zhang J (2012) Comparisons of three methods for organic and inorganic carbon in calcareous soils of northwestern China. PLoS One 7:e44334

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu J, Ma L (2010) Characteristcs of the climate and environment in arid regions over the past 150 years recoreded by the core sediments of Chaiwopu Lake, Xinjiang, China. Quat Sci 30:1137–1144 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu J, Yu Z, Zeng H, Wang N (2009) Possible solar forcing of 400-year wet–dry climate cycles in northwestern China=. Clim Change 96:473–482

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wünnemann B, Mischke S, Chen F (2006) A Holocene sedimentary record from Bosten Lake, China=. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 234:223–238

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xiao J, Xu Q, Nakamura T, Yang X, Liang W, Inouchi Y (2004) Holocene vegetation variation in the Daihai Lake region: a direct indication of the Asian monsoon climatic history. Quat Sci Rev 23:1669–1679

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xiao J, Wu J, Si B, Liang W, Nakamura T, Liu B, Inouchi Y (2006) Holocene climate changes in the monsoon arid transition by carbon concentration in Daihai Lake of Inner Mongolia. Holocene 16:551–560

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu H, Lan J, Liu B, Sheng E, Yeager KM (2013) Modern carbon burial in Lake Qinghai, China. Appl Geochem 39:150–155

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xue JB, Zhong W (2011) Holocene climate variation denoted by Barkol Lake sediments and its possible linkage to the high and low latitude climates. Sci China Earth Sci 54:603–614

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang T, Yuan Y, Liu Y, Wei W, Yu S, Chen F, Fan Z, Shang H, Zhang R, Qin L (2013) A tree ring based precipitation reconstruction for the Baluntai region on the southern slope of the central Tien Shan Mountains, China, since ad 1464. Quat Int 283:55–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao HY, Wu LJ, Hao WJ (2008) Influences of climate change to ecological and environmental evolvement in the Hulun Lake wetland and its surrounding areas. Acta Ecol Sin 28:1064–1071 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Zheng B, Zhang E, Gao G (2012) The change of primary productivity of Lake Bosten in Xinjiang over the past 100-year. J Lake Sci 24:466–473 (in Chinese)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Yoni Goldsmith (Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University) for suggestions on this manuscript. This work is jointly funded by the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS) Strategic Priority Research Program (Grant No. XDA05120404), the National Basic Research Program of China (No. 2013CB955903), the State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology (No. SKLLQG1406) and the Western Light Talent Culture Project of CAS.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an, 710061, China

    Jianghu Lan, Hai Xu, Bin Liu, Enguo Sheng, Jiangtao Zhao & Keke Yu

  2. College of Resources and Environment, Zunyi Normal College, Zunyi, 563002, China

    Bin Liu

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Enguo Sheng & Keke Yu

Authors
  1. Jianghu Lan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hai Xu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Bin Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Enguo Sheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jiangtao Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Keke Yu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jianghu Lan.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lan, J., Xu, H., Liu, B. et al. A large carbon pool in lake sediments over the arid/semiarid region, NW China. Chin. J. Geochem. 34, 289–298 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11631-015-0047-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11631-015-0047-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation