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Effects of changing land use on dissolved organic matter in a subtropical river watershed, southeast China

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Abstract

The composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) is an important determinant for its biogeochemical role in the aquatic environments. Therefore, it is crucial to determine the effects of changing land use on the DOM composition in the river watershed. Water samples were collected from the outlets of 15 sub-watersheds in the subtropical Jiulong River (southeast China) for fluorescence measurements and parallel factor analysis. Two humic-like (C1 and C2) and one protein-like (C3) fluorescent components were identified. Overall, DOM in the Jiulong River watershed was dominated by humic-like materials, probably due to the fact that 69% of the watershed is covered with forest. The 15 sub-watersheds were grouped into four clusters based on the proportion of each fluorescent component in the total fluorescence, suggesting that the DOM composition could be very different among sub-watersheds. There was a strong negative correlation between C2 and C3%. C1% correlated with the water body fraction, likely associated with the aquatic production of C1. C3% correlated positively with the residential area fraction, likely indicating the influence of anthropogenic activities. These results are useful for assessing the effects of land use/land cover changes on the composition and hence biogeochemical roles of DOM in aquatic environments.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the funds from National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 40810069004 and 40776041), National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (No. 2007AA091704) and the Program for New Century Excellent Talents (NCET) for Weidong Guo. We thank Zengrong Zhou, Mingchao Qu and Wenfang Lu for their assistances in sample collection and field water quality measurements and Jing Xu for her assistance in PARAFAC modeling. Dr. Kunming Xu is thanked for helpful discussions on the statistic problems. Great thanks to Dr. Stephen V. Smith and one anonymous reviewer for their comments that greatly improved the quality of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Oceanography and Environmental Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, People’s Republic of China

    Liyang Yang, Huasheng Hong, Weidong Guo, Jinliang Huang, Qingsheng Li & Xiangxiang Yu

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  1. Liyang Yang
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  2. Huasheng Hong
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  3. Weidong Guo
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  4. Jinliang Huang
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  5. Qingsheng Li
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  6. Xiangxiang Yu
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Correspondence to Weidong Guo.

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Yang, L., Hong, H., Guo, W. et al. Effects of changing land use on dissolved organic matter in a subtropical river watershed, southeast China. Reg Environ Change 12, 145–151 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-011-0250-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-011-0250-9

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