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Peatland Stream Lipid Biogeochemistry Features in an Intermediate Fen Peatland, Ontario Canada

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Abstract

Changes in climate and land use pressures in the boreal region may influence peatland stream sediment organic carbon (C) dynamics. Fifteen to 50% of stream sediment organic C resides in recalcitrant pools, with the lipids accounting for up to 25% of the peatland C pool. Nevertheless, lipid mineralization within peatlands and their draining stream sediments is poorly understood. Potential esterase activity, which is known to be an important enzyme group in recalcitrant C decomposition, is presented as an indicator of lipid hydrolysis in three streams surrounding an intermediate fen peatland. Organic C concentration ranged from 5 to 250 g C kg−1 sediment during the sampling period, with the recalcitrant C pool accounting for 15 to 20%. Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectra were typical of humic-like substances, such as aliphatic compounds (including lipids), phenolic and other aromatic structures, carboxyl groups, and polysaccharide structures. Esterase activity was positively correlated with organic C and total nitrogen (N) concentrations, and sediment pH. Esterase was most active in the presence of high organic C fractions and recalcitrant C, supporting the hypothesis that lipid hydrolysis in the peatland stream sediments may be an important and underestimated component of peatland C sequestration dynamics.

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Acknowledgments

Support for this project was provided by the Ontario Forest Research Institute, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Project CC-167 and Michigan Technological University. Special thanks to John Adler, Casey Huckins, Martin Jurgensen, and Tom Noland for their insightful comments. We also thank Lisa Buse for editing the draft manuscript and Ted Atkinson, Darren Falcioni, Ravi Kanipayor, John Ralston, Lesley Rich, Stephanie Hall, and Trudy Vaittinen for technical assistance. Finally, we are grateful to the editors and three anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions, which greatly improved the manuscript.

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Author notes

  1. Maara S. Packalen

    Present address: Department of Geography, University of Toronto, 100 St. George Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3G3, Canada

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ontario Forest Research Institute, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, P6A 2E5, Canada

    Maara S. Packalen & James W. McLaughlin

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, 49931, USA

    Maara S. Packalen & Susan T. Bagley

Authors
  1. Maara S. Packalen
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  2. Susan T. Bagley
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  3. James W. McLaughlin
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Correspondence to Maara S. Packalen.

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Growing season (June-October 2004) mean ± SD (μeq l−1, unless otherwise stated) porewater (PW) and surface water (SW) constituents, geophysical characteristics, and sediment physical, chemical, and biological features for three streams draining an intermediate fen peatland (TP: total phosphorus; TN: total nitrogen; DIC: dissolved inorganic carbon; DOC: dissolved organic carbon). Capitalized superscripts indicate significant difference between porewater and surface water parameters; miniscule superscripts indicate significant difference among streams, per parameter (DOC 104 kb)

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Packalen, M.S., Bagley, S.T. & McLaughlin, J.W. Peatland Stream Lipid Biogeochemistry Features in an Intermediate Fen Peatland, Ontario Canada. Wetlands 31, 353–365 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-010-0141-8

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