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Impacts of land use patterns and typhoon-induced heavy rainfall event on dissolved organic matter properties in the South Tiaoxi River, China

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Abstract

Stream samples were collected from 16 subcatchments of the South Tiaoxi River, East China, before and after incidence of Typhoon Fitow in October 2013. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), spectroscopic indices (i.e., specific ultraviolet absorbance at 254 nm, SUVA254; spectral slope ratio, S R; fluorescence index, FI; humification index, HIX), fluorescence excitation emission matrix spectroscopy in combination with parallel factor analysis (EEMs-PARAFAC) were applied to assess how extreme storm altered the amount and composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM). DOM properties between pre- and post-storm were significantly distinguished. The torm promoted increased DOC and DON concentrations respectively by 15 and 76 %. The humic-like fluorescence intensities increased by 10 %, and the fluorescence intensities of tyrosine-like substances increased while these of tryptophan-like substances decreased. Moreover, the DOM quality in streams shifted to higher HIX and SUVA254 but lower S R and FI. In addition, 16 subcatchments were clustered into four groups according to the dominated land use types. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that the differences in DOM properties among subcatchments were associated with the dominated land use types during storm. Our findings suggested that elevated DOC and DON concentration were associated with the proportion of residential area and planted forest land (Phyllostachys praecox), respectively. Humic-like materials were related to the proportion of native forest land and cropland, while protein-like components were associated with planted forest land. Extreme storm events will strengthen the linkage between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and further alter DOM in both quantity and quality in headwater streams, which is also associated with land use types in the watershed.

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Acknowledgments

This research was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41071301 and 40601095), the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (Nos. 13DJ1400103 and 13DJ1400104) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (0400219216). We are deeply grateful to Dr. Penghui Li for constructive comments to improve the quality of the paper; Qinghua Kong for drawing the catchment map; Dr. Jingshui Huang for improving the English text; Hengzao Cui for assistance in the field.

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  1. Key laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment of the Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China

    Bingbing Xu, Jianhua Li, Qinghui Huang, Qingwan Gong & Linghui Li

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  1. Bingbing Xu
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  2. Jianhua Li
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  3. Qinghui Huang
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Correspondence to Qinghui Huang.

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Xu, B., Li, J., Huang, Q. et al. Impacts of land use patterns and typhoon-induced heavy rainfall event on dissolved organic matter properties in the South Tiaoxi River, China. Environ Earth Sci 75, 632 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-016-5413-z

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