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The influence of hydrology andpatterns of supply of electron donors and acceptors onsubsurface denitrification was studied in a forestriparian zone along the Boyne River in southernOntario that received high nitrogen inputs from a sandaquifer. Two hypotheses were tested: (1) subsurfacedenitrification is restricted to localized zones ofhigh activity; (2) denitrification zones occur atsites where groundwater flow paths transportNO3 − to supplies of available organiccarbon. A plume of nitrate-rich groundwater withconcentrations of 10–30 mg N L−1 flowed laterallyat depths of 1.5–5 m in sands beneath peat for ahorizontal distance of 100–140 m across the riparianzone to within 30–50 m of the river. In situ acetyleneinjections to piezometers revealed that significantdenitrification was restricted to a narrow zone ofsteep NO3 − and N2O decline at theplume margins. The location of these denitrificationsites in areas with steep gradients of groundwater DOCincrease supported hypothesis 2. Many of thesedenitrification “hotspots” occurred near interfacesbetween sands and either peats or buried river channeldeposits. Field experiments involving in situadditions of either glucose or NO3 − topiezometers indicated that denitrification wasC-limited in a large subsurface area of the riparianzone, and became N-limited beyond the narrow zone ofNO3 − consumption. These data suggest thatdenitrification may not effectively removeNO3 − from groundwater transported at depththrough permeable riparian sediments unlessinteraction occurs with localized supplies of organicmatter.

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC), humicsubstances (HS), polysaccharides (PS) and lowmolecular weight acids (LMWA) werecharacterized in water from the dystrophicLake Große Fuchskuhle over a period ofseven months. In addition, porewater from anadjacent fen was investigated in order toobtain information about the DOC in thecatchment area. Size-exclusion-chromatographycombined with UV- and organic carbon(IR)-detection was used to quantify DOC andits fractions. The lake had previously beendivided into four separate sections by largesheets of plastic, and the DOC compositiondiffered markedly between the fourcompartments. Spatial variations in HS and PSconcentrations were greater than seasonalvariations. The high amounts of HS (up to58%) in the western sections of the lake,indicated influence by subsurface water fromthe fen, whereas the eastern sections weredominated by PS (up to 35%) of algal origin.These differences could be explained byhydrological conditions, indicating thatcompletely different catchment areasinfluenced the water chemistry in the separatecompartments. By characterizing the HS bytheir average molecular weight and theiraromaticity, three different groups of HScould be distinguished depending on theirorigin and fate. Microbial degradation of DOCand its fractions differed between two of thecompartments during incubation studies over aperiod of six weeks.

Understanding the role of catchment sensitivity to dissolved carbon export to aquatic systems is crucial to predict future changes in carbon fluxes under changing climatic conditions. We present 1-year variations in dissolved organic (DOC) and inorganic carbon (DIC) concentrations and fluxes in eight river catchments differing in size (3–300 km2), morphology (steep to flat), and vegetation cover (grassland, forest and peatland) along a precipitation gradient in southern Patagonia, Chile. The results show large differences between catchments in terms of river DOC (2–47 mg L−1; 1–44 tons km−2 year−1) and DIC (0.1–38 mg L−1; 1–5 tons km−2 year−1) concentrations and fluxes in response to changes in discharge. Small and steep catchments hosting organic rich forest soils and peatlands were the most sensitive and showed the highest and fastest DOC release if evaluated on a per unit area basis. Here, rain events caused a rapid exponential increase in DOC release, while DIC export decreased exponentially. A negative correlation between DOC and DIC reveals the minor importance of DIC production through mineralization of DOC in most catchments. Catchments hosting large peatlands had low sensitivity to discharged controlled DOC release attributed to their high hydrological buffer capacity. Similarly, flat and relatively dry Patagonian steppe catchments have comparatively low sensitivity but have short-term high release of DOC accumulated during dry periods. In conclusion, morphology, rather than catchment size or vegetation cover, was found to show the major influence on sensitivity to DOC release.

The Sava River and its tributaries in Slovenia represent waters strongly influenced by chemical weathering of limestone and dolomite. The carbon isotopic compositions of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and suspended organic carbon (POC) fractions as well as major solute concentrations yielded insights into the origin and fluxes of carbon in the upper Sava River system. The major solute composition was dominated by carbonic acid dissolution of calcite and dolomite. Waters were generally supersaturated with respect to calcite, and dissolved CO2 was about fivefold supersaturated relative to the atmosphere. The δ13C of DIC ranged from −13.5 to −3.3‰. Mass balances for riverine inorganic carbon suggest that carbonate dissolution contributes up to 26%, degradation of organic matter ∼17% and exchange with atmospheric CO2 up to 5%. The concentration and stable isotope diffusion models indicated that atmospheric exchange of CO2 predominates in streams draining impermeable shales and clays while in the carbonate-dominated watersheds dissolution of the Mesozoic carbonates predominates.

Litter decomposition is mediated by multiple variables, of which climate is expected to be a dominant factor at global scales. However, like other organisms, traits of decomposers and their communities are shaped not just by the contemporary climate but also their climate history. Whether or not this affects decomposition rates is underexplored. Here we source decomposer communities from three forest sites contrasting in climate (tropical, temperate, boreal), and, using experimental microcosms, quantify decomposition of a common litter under a factorial combination of four temperature (15, 20, 25, and 30 °C) and five moisture regimes (35, 55, 70, 85, and 100 % water holding capacity). We find that the climate history of the decomposer community is an important determinant of litter decomposition, explaining the same amount of variance in decomposition as both temperature and moisture. Further, climate history also shapes the effect of contemporary climate (i.e. experimental) on decomposition, both in terms of the magnitude of decomposition under optimal conditions and the range of abiotic conditions at which high decomposition rates are maintained. For example, at optimal conditions (i.e. 25 °C/70 % WHC) the tropical site has a greater decomposition rate than the other two sites. However, the temperate and boreal sites have greater ‘niche breadth’, where decomposition rates are more sustained (i.e. decrease less) as temperature and moisture deviate further from the optimum. Our data suggest that climate history shapes the functional response of the soil decomposer community, as it does for animals and plants. Yet how this shaping affects decomposition rates across regional and global climate gradients, and how such relationships are applied to temporal predictions, remain unanswered questions.

The tropical semiarid soils of northwestern Yucatan, Mexico, haveexceptionally high organic matter (OM) contents, between 50 and 150 g Ckg−1. The soils are formed on limestone and form amosaic of shallow black lithosols surrounding rock outcrops and deeper redrendzinas at slightly lower relief. Traditionally, these soils were managedunder shifting cultivation with an uncommonly short cultivation period of only2years followed by a long bush fallow. We examined OM mineral associationsusing size and density fractionations of two soils after 1 and 12 years offallow in a search for factors responsible for the high OM stability, shortcultivation period and poor productivity. Light-fraction OM accounted for up to38% of total soil OM and was responsible for almost all the OM accretion duringfallow. Red soils contained half as much OM as black soils. Lower average OMcontents of silt-size aggregates of red soils were due to a lower proportion ofOC-rich agregates, not to differences in composition of individual aggregateclasses. Expandable clays were practically absent in both soil types andsesquioxides were not related to OM contents or stability. Fine-sized secondarycarbonates, undetectable to X-ray, impreganted light fraction OM and stabilizedaggregates, and may be the principal cause of the OM accumulation.Mineralisation of coarse OM accumulated during fallow was impeded in bothsoils,but to a greater extent in the more calcareous black soils, so that relativelyundecomposed OM accumulates to well above the levels that are typical for othersemiarid tropical soils. Limited OM turnover will limit nutrient release, whichmay limit the agricultural productivity.