Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Fluorescence index as an indicator of dissolved organic carbon quality in hydrologic flowpaths of forested tropical watersheds

  • Published:
Biogeochemistry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Over two hundred samples were collected in tropical headwater forested catchments in the lowland Amazon basin near Juruena, Mato Grosso Brazil. These were analyzed for fluorescence characteristics and DOC concentrations, and represented a range of terrestrial hydrologic flowpaths and first-order streams during baseflow and stormflow conditions. The fluorescence index (FI) of McKnight et al. (2001) was found to have a significant relationship with DOC concentrations for stream water at baseflow conditions, but FI values within individual terrestrial flowpaths and stormflow varied little for the range of DOC concentrations observed. FI values were seen to increase for increasing residence time of water within the terrestrial ecosystem, while DOC concentration decreased for increasing hydrologic residence time. The FI of terrestrial flow paths indicated that DOC became increasingly characterized by microbially derived carbon for flow paths with longer residence times, on the order through fall and overland flow < percolating soil water < groundwater. Base flow samples of stream water had a mean FI value of 1.78, compared with 1.51 and 1.44 for through fall and overland flow, respectively, and 1.65 for percolating soil water. The FI values for stream water at base flow were also seen to vary seasonally, and were inversely proportional to DOC concentrations over time.

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

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Westerhoff et al. (2001) Eq. (1) should read “10−(Aem+Aex)” rather than “10−Aem + 10−Aex”. Also, absorbance values for the inner filter correction are only multiplied by DOC concentration if recorded as specific absorbances.

References

  • Balcarczyk KL, Jones JB, Jaffe R, Maie N (2009) Stream dissolved organic matter bioavailability and composition in watersheds underlain with discontinuous permafrost. Biogeochemistry 94(3):255–270

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks PD, Lemon MM (2007) Spatial variability in dissolved organic matter and inorganic nitrogen concentrations in a semiarid stream, San Pedro River, Arizona. J Geophys Res 112:G03S05. doi:10.1029/2006JG000262

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carstea EM, Baker A, Pavelescu G, Boomer I (2009) Continuous fluorescence assessment of organic matter variability on the Bournbrook River, Birmingham, UK. Hydrol Process 23(13):1937–1946

    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(1):172–185

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cook RL, Birdwell JE, Lattao C, Lowry M (2009) A multi-method comparison of atchafalaya basin surface water organic matter samples. J Environ Qual 38(2):702–711

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cory RM, Miller MP, McKnight DM, Guerard JJ, Miller PL (2010) Effect of instrument-specific response on the analysis of fulvic acid fluorescence spectra. Limnol Oceanogr Method 8:67–78

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hood E, Fellman J, Edwards RT (2007) Salmon influences on dissolved organic matter in a coastal temperate brownwater stream: an application of fluorescence spectroscopy. Limnol Oceanogr 52(4):1580–1587

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jaffé R, Boyer JN, Lu X, Maie N, Yang C, Scully NM, Mock S (2004) Source characterization of dissolved organic matter in a subtropical mangrove-dominated estuary by fluorescence analysis. Mar Chem 84(3–4):195–210

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jaffé R, McKnight D, Maie N, Cory R, McDowell WH, Campbell JL (2008) Spatial and temporal variations in DOM composition in ecosystems: The importance of long-term monitoring of optical properties. J Geophys Res Biogeosci 113:G04032

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson MS, Lehmann J, Riha SJ, Novães Filho JP, Couto EG (2006a) DOC and DIC in flowpaths of Amazonian headwater catchments with hydrologically contrasting soils. Biogeochemistry 81:45–57

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson MS, Lehmann J, Selva EC, Abdo M, Riha SJ, Couto EG (2006b) Organic carbon fluxes within and exports from headwater catchments in the southern Amazon. Hydrol Process 20:2599–2614

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson MS, Weiler M, Couto EG, Riha SJ, Lehmann J (2007) Storm pulses of dissolved CO2 in a forested headwater Amazonian stream explored using hydrograph separation. Water Resour Res 43:W11201

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson MS, Lehmann J, Riha SJ, Krusche AV, Richey JE, Ometto JPHB, Couto EG (2008) CO2 efflux from Amazonian headwater streams represents a significant fate for deep soil respiration. Geophys Res Lett 35:L17401

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Katsuyama M, Ohte N (2002) Determining the sources of stormflow from the fluorescence properties of dissolved organic carbon in a forested headwater catchment. J Hydrol 268:192–202

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mariot M, Dudal Y, Furian S, Sakamoto A, Vallès V, Fort M, Barbiero L (2007) Dissolved organic matter fluorescence as a water-flow tracer in the tropical wetland of Pantanal of Nhecolândia, Brazil. Sci Total Environ 388:184–193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayorga E, Aufdenkampe AK, Masiello CA, Krusche AV, Hedges JI, Quay PD, Richey JE (2005) Young organic matter as a source of carbon dioxide outgassing from Amazonian rivers. Nature 436:538–541

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKnight DM, Boyer EW, Westerhoff PK, Doran PT, Kulbe T, Andersen DT (2001) Spectrofluorometric characterization of dissolved organic matter for indication of precursor organic material and aromaticity. Limnol Oceanogr 46(1):38–48

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ohno T (2002) Fluorescence inner-filtering correction for determining the humification index of dissolved organic matter. Environ Sci Technol 36(4):742–746

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peel MC, Finlayson BL, McMahon TA (2007) Updated world map of the Köppen–Geiger climate classification. Hydrol Earth Syst Sci 11:1633–1644

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R Development Core Team (2009) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna

  • Soil Survey Staff (1999) Soil taxonomy. USDA Natural resource conservation service, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Westerhoff P, Chen W, Esparza M (2001) Fluorescence analysis of a standard fulvic acid and tertiary treated wastewater. J Environ Qual 30:2037–2046

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The study was supported by NASA LBA-ECO grant to project group ND-11. The authors greatly appreciate the collaborations of field site hosts Rohden Indústria Lígnea Ltda. and Apolinário Stuhler. We thank Benedito Silveira de Andrade and Elielton Anterio da Souza for field assistance. Discussions with Robert G.M. Spencer and the comments provided by the anonymous reviewers were very useful in revising the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, University of British Columbia, 418-2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada

    Mark S. Johnson

  2. Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Mark S. Johnson

  3. Department of Soil Science, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, Brazil

    Eduardo G. Couto

  4. Program in Ecology and Biodiversity, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, Brazil

    Eduardo G. Couto

  5. Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Tangará da Serra, MT, Brazil

    Mara Abdo

  6. Department of Crop and Soil Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    Johannes Lehmann

Authors
  1. Mark S. Johnson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Eduardo G. Couto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Mara Abdo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Johannes Lehmann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mark S. Johnson.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Johnson, M.S., Couto, E.G., Abdo, M. et al. Fluorescence index as an indicator of dissolved organic carbon quality in hydrologic flowpaths of forested tropical watersheds. Biogeochemistry 105, 149–157 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-011-9595-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-011-9595-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation