Abstract
This paper represents the first continuous dissolved organic carbon (DOC) record, measured in a stream draining an Atlantic blanket bog in South West Ireland for the calendar year 2007. At 30-min intervals, the DOC concentration was automatically measured using an in-stream spectroanalyser whose variation compared well with laboratory analysed samples taken by a 24-bottle auto-sampler. The concentration of DOC ranged from 2.7 to 11.5 mg L−1 with higher values during the summer and lower values during the winter. A simple linear regression model of DOC concentration versus air temperature of the previous day was found, suggesting that temperature more than discharge was controlling the DOC concentration in the stream. The change in DOC concentration with storm events showed two patterns: (1) in the colder period: the DOC concentration seemed to be independent of changes in stream flow; (2) in the warmer period: the DOC concentration was found to rise with increases in stream flow on some occasions and to decrease with increasing stream flow on other occasions. The annual export of DOC for 2007 was 14.1 (±1.5) g C m−2. This value was calculated using stream discharge data that were determined by continuously recorded measurements of stream height. The flux of DOC calculated with the 30-min sampling was compared with that calculated based on lower sampling frequencies. We found that sampling frequency of weekly or monthly were adequate to calculate the annual flux of DOC in our study site in 2007.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adamson JK, Scott WA, Rowland AP et al (2001) Ionic concentration in a blanket peat bog in northern England and correlations with deposition and climate variables. Eur J Soil Sci 52:69–79. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2389.2001.t01-1-00350.x
Aherne J, Farrell EP (2002) Deposition of sulphur, nitrogen and acidity in precipitation over Ireland: chemistry, spatial distribution and long-term trends. Atmos Environ 36:1379–1389. doi:10.1016/S1352-2310(01)00507-6
Billett MF, Deacon CM, Palmer SM et al (2006) Connecting organic carbon in stream water and soil in a peatland catchment. J Geophys Res 111:G02010. doi:10.1029/2005JG000065
Boyer EW, Hornberger GM, Bencala KE et al (1997) Response characteristics of DOC flushing in an alpine catchment. Hydrol Process 11:1635–1647. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-1085(19971015)11:12<1635::AID-HYP494>3.0.CO;2-H
Buffam I, Galloway JN, Blum LK et al (2001) A stormflow/baseflow comparison of dissolved organic matter concentrations and bioavailability in an Appalachian stream. Biogeochemistry 53:269–306. doi:10.1023/A:1010643432253
Clark JM, Chapman PJ, Adamson J et al (2005) Influence of drought-induced acidification on the mobility of dissolved organic carbon in peat soils. Glob Change Biol 11:791–809. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2005.00937.x
Clark JM, Lane SN, Chapman PJ et al (2007) Export of dissolved organic carbon from an upland peatland during storm events: implications for flux estimates. J Hydrol (Amst) 347:438–447. doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2007.09.030
Dawson JJC, Billett MF, Neal C et al (2002) A comparison of particulate, dissolved and gaseous carbon in two contrasting upland streams in the UK. J Hydrol (Amst) 257:226–246. doi:10.1016/S0022-1694(01)00545-5
Dawson JJC, Billett MF, Hope D et al (2004) Sources and sinks of aquatic carbon in a peatland stream continuum. Biogeochemistry 70:71–92. doi:10.1023/B:BIOG.0000049337.66150.f1
Eaton JM, McGoff NM, Byrne KA et al (2007) The impact of agricultural land cover change on soil organic carbon stocks in Ireland. COST 639:75–80
Evans CD, Monteith DT, Cooper RJ (2005) Long-term increases in surface water dissolved organic carbon: observations, possible causes and environmental impacts. Environ Pollut 137:55–71. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2004.12.031
Fenner N, Freeman C, Reynolds B (2005) Observations of a seasonally shifting thermal optimum in peatland carbon-cycling processes; implications for the global carbon cycle and soil enzyme methodologies. Soil Biol Biochem 37:1814–1821. doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2005.02.032
Fraser CJD, Roulet NT, Moore TR (2001) Hydrology and dissolved organic carbon biogeochemistry in an ombrotrophic bog. Hydrol Process 15:3151–3166. doi:10.1002/hyp.322
Freeman C, Evans CD, Monteith DT et al (2001) Export of organic carbon from peat soils. Nature 412:785–786. doi:10.1038/35090628
Gorham E (1991) Northern peatlands: role in the carbon cycle and probable responses to climate warming. Ecol Appl 1:182–195. doi:10.2307/1941811
Gorham E (1995) The biogeochemistry of northern peatlands and its possible responses to global warming. Oxford University Press, New York
Hammond RF (1981) The peatlands of Ireland. An Foras Talúntais, Dublin
Heppell CM, Worrall F, Burt TP et al (2002) A classification of drainage and macropore flow in an agricultural catchment. Hydrol Process 16:27–46. doi:10.1002/hyp.282
Hinton MJ, Schiff SL, English MC (1997) The significance of storms for the concentration and export of dissolved organic carbon from two Precambrian Shield catchments. Biogeochemistry 36:67–88. doi:10.1023/A:1005779711821
Holden J (2003) Runoff production in blanket peat covered catchments. Water Resour Res 39:1191. doi:10.1029/2002WR001956
Holden J (2005) Peatland hydrology and carbon release: why small-scale process matters. Philos T R Soc A 363:2891–2913. doi:10.1098/rsta.2005.1671
Hope D, Billett MF, Cresser MS (1994) A review of the export of carbon in river water—fluxes and processes. Environ Pollut 84:301–324. doi:10.1016/0269-7491(94)90142-2
Hope D, Billet MF, Cresser MS (1997) Exports of organic carbon in two river systems in NE Scotland. J Hydrol (Amst) 193:61–82. doi:10.1016/S0022-1694(96)03150-2
Hornberger GM, Bencala KE, McKnight DM (1994) Hydrological controls on dissolved organic-carbon during snowmelt in the Snake River near Montezuma, Colorado. Biogeochemistry 25:147–165. doi:10.1007/BF00024390
Inamdar SP, O’Leary N, Mitchell MJ et al (2006) The impact of storm events on solute exports from a glaciated forested watershed in western New York, USA. Hydrol Process 20:3423–3439. doi:10.1002/hyp.6141
Littlewood IG (1992) Estimating contaminant loads in rivers: a review. Institute of Hydrology, Wallingford
McDowell WH, Likens GE (1988) Origin, composition, and flux of dissolved organic carbon in the Hubbard brook valley. Ecol Monogr 58:177–195. doi:10.2307/2937024
Meybeck M (1993) Riverine transport of atmospheric carbon: sources, global typology and budget. Water Air Soil Pollut 70:443–463. doi:10.1007/BF01105015
Moore TR, Dalva M (2001) Some controls on the release of dissolved organic carbon by plant tissues and soils. Soil Sci 166:38–47. doi:10.1097/00010694-200101000-00007
Naden PS, McDonald AT (1989) Statistical modelling of water colour in the uplands: the upper Nidd catchment 1979–1987. Environ Pollut 60:141–163. doi:10.1016/0269-7491(89)90224-8
Palmer SM, Hope D, Billett MF et al (2001) Sources of organic and inorganic carbon in a headwater stream: evidence from carbon isotope studies. Biogeochemistry 52:321–338. doi:10.1023/A:1006447706565
Roulet NT, Lafleur PM, Richard PJH et al (2007) Contemporary carbon balance and late Holocene carbon accumulation in a northern peatland. Glob Change Biol 13:397–411. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2006.01292.x
Schiff SL, Aravena R, Trumbore SE et al. (1997) Export of DOC from forested catchments on the Precambrian Shield of Central Ontario: clues from C-13 and C-14. Biogeochemistry 36:43–65
Schiff S, Aravena R, Mewhinney E et al (1998) Precambrian shield wetlands: hydrologic control of the sources and export of dissolved organic matter. Clim Change 40:167–188. doi:10.1023/A:1005496331593
Scott MJ, Jones MN, Woof C et al (1998) Concentrations and fluxes of dissolved organic carbon in drainage water from an upland peat system. Environ Int 24:537–546
Skjelkvåle BL, Stoddard JL, Jeffries DS et al (2005) Regional scale evidence for improvements in surface water chemistry 1990–2001. Environ Pollut 137:165–176. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2004.12.023
Sottocornola M, Kiely G (2005) An Atlantic blanket bog is a modest CO2 sink. Geophys Res Lett 32:L23804. doi:10.1029/2005GL024731
Sottocornola M, Laine A, Kiely G et al. (2009) Vegetation and environmental variation in an Atlantic blanket bog in South-western Ireland. Plant Ecol 203(1):69–81. doi:10.1007/s11258-008-9510-2
Tomlinson RW (2005) Soil carbon stocks and changes in the Republic of Ireland. J Environ Manage 76:77–93. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2005.02.001
Turunen J, Tomppo E, Tolonen K et al (2002) Estimating carbon accumulation rates of undrained mires in Finland—application to boreal and subarctic regions. Holocene 12:69–80. doi:10.1191/0959683602hl522rp
Walling DE, Webb BW (1985) Estimating the discharge of contaminants to coastal waters by rivers: some cautionary comments. Mar Pollut Bull 16:488–492. doi:10.1016/0025-326X(85)90382-0
Worrall F, Parker A, Rae JE et al (1997) A study of adsorption kinetics of isoproturon on soil and subsoil: the role of dissolved organic carbon. Chemosphere 34:87–97. doi:10.1016/S0045-6535(96)00369-4
Worrall F, Burt TP, Jaeban RY et al (2002) Release of dissolved organic carbon from upland peat. Hydrol Process 16:3487–3504. doi:10.1002/hyp.1111
Worrall F, Reed M, Warburton J et al (2003) Carbon budget for a British upland peat catchment. Sci Total Environ 312:133–146. doi:10.1016/S0048-9697(03)00226-2
Worrall F, Harriman R, Evans C et al (2004) Trends in dissolved organic carbon in UK rivers and lakes. Biogeochemistry 70:369–402. doi:10.1007/s10533-004-8131-7
Acknowledgments
This study was funded by the ERTDI Programme 2000–2006, financed by the Irish Government under the National Development Plan and administered on behalf of the Department of Environment and Local Government by the Environmental Protection Agency (CELTICFLUX 2001-CC-C2-M1). AK was funded by Environmental Protection Agency PhD fellowship (Grant code 2006_PhD_AQ-4). We thank Caitriona Douglas of NPWS and Coillte Teoranta for permission to use the study site. We wish to acknowledge the assistance of Dr. Xie Quishi of the Aquatic Services Unit of University College Cork in the water quality analyses. Useful discussions with Anne Brune, James Eaton, Kenneth Byrne and Paul Leahy are appreciated. Thanks for the helpful comments from three anonymous reviewers on the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Koehler, AK., Murphy, K., Kiely, G. et al. Seasonal variation of DOC concentration and annual loss of DOC from an Atlantic blanket bog in South Western Ireland. Biogeochemistry 95, 231–242 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-009-9333-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-009-9333-9