Biogeosciences www.biogeosciences.net 1726-4170 1726-4189 7 1 2010 10.5194/bg-7-187-2010 http://www.biogeosciences.net/7/187/2010/ http://www.biogeosciences.net/7/187/2010/bg-7-187-2010.html http://www.biogeosciences.net/7/187/2010/bg-7-187-2010.pdf 187 198 2010-01-13 Effect of peat quality on microbial greenhouse gas formation in an acidic fen M. Reiche G. Gleixner K. Küsel kirsten.kuesel@uni-jena.de Institute of Ecology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Dornburger Strasse 159, 07743 Jena, Germany Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, POB 100164 10, 07701 Jena, Germany Peatlands play an important role in the global carbon cycle and represent both an important stock of soil carbon and a substantial natural source of relevant greenhouse gases like CO₂ and CH₄. While it is known that the quality of organic matter affects microbial degradation and mineralization processes in peatlands, the manner in which the quality of peat organic matter affects the formation of CO₂ and CH₄ remains unclear. In this study we developed a fast and simple peat quality index in order to estimate its potential greenhouse gas formation by linking the thermo-degradability of peat with potential anaerobic CO₂ and CH₄ formation rates. Peat samples were obtained at several depths (0–40 cm) at four sampling locations from an acidic fen (pH 4.7). CO₂ and CH₄ formation rates were highly spatially variable and depended on depth, sampling location, and the composition of pyrolysable organic matter. Peat samples active in CO₂ and CH₄ formation had a quality index above 1.35, and the fraction of thermally labile pyrolyzable organic matter (comparable to easily available carbon substrates for microbial activity) obtained by thermogravimetry was above 35%. Curie-point pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry mainly identified carbohydrates and lignin as pyrolysis products in these samples, indicating that undecomposed organic matter was found in this fraction. In contrast, lipids and unspecific pyrolysis products, which indicate recalcitrant and highly decomposed organic matter, correlated significantly with lower CO₂ formation and reduced methanogenesis. Our results suggest that undecomposed organic matter is a prerequisite for CH₄ and CO₂ development in acidic fens. Furthermore, the new peat quality index should aide the estimation of potential greenhouse gas formation resulting from peatland restoration and permafrost thawing and help yield more robust models of trace gas fluxes from peatlands for climate change research. AIST: Integrated Spectral Data Base System for Organic Compounds (SDBS), 2001. Aselmann, I. and Crutzen, P. J.: Global distribution of natural fresh-water wetlands and rice paddies, their net primary productivity, seasonality and possible methane emissions, J. Atmos. Chem., 8, 307–358, 1989. Bergman, I., Klarqvist, M., and Nilsson, M.: Seasonal variation in rates of methane production from peat of various botanical origins: effects of temperature and substrate quality, FEMS Microbiol. Ecol., 33, 181–189, 2000. Bohlin, E., Hamalainen, M., and Sunden, T.: Botanical and chemical characterization of peat using multivariate methods, Soil Sci., 147, 252–263, 1989. Botch, M. S., Kobak, K. I., Vinson, T. S., and Kolchugina, T. P.: Carbon pools and accumulation in peatlands of the former Soviet-Union, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 9, 37–46, 1995. Bridgham, S. D. and Richardson, C. J.: Mechanisms controlling soil respiration (CO₂ and CH₄) in southern peatlands, Soil Biol. Biochem., 24, 1089–1099, 1992. Charman, D. J., Aravena, R., Bryant, C. L., and Harkness, D. D.: Carbon isotopes in peat, DOC, CO₂, and CH₄ in a holocene peatland on Dartmoor, southwest England, Geology, 27, 539–542, 1999. Chow, A. T., Tanji, K. K., Gao, S. D., and Dahlgren, R. A.: Temperature, water content and wet-dry cycle effects on DOC production and carbon mineralization in agricultural peat soils, Soil Biol. Biochem., 38, 477–488, 2006. Christensen, T. R., Ekberg, A., Strom, L., Mastepanov, M., Panikov, N., Mats, O., Svensson, B. H., Nykanen, H., Martikainen, P. J., and Oskarsson, H.: Factors controlling large scale variations in methane emissions from wetlands, Geophys. Res. Lett., 30, 1414, doi:10.1029/2002L016848, 2003. Clymo, R. S.: Peat, in: Ecosystems of the world , 4A, Mires: Swamp, bog, fen and moor, edited by: Gore, A. J. P., Elsevier, Amsterdam, 159–224, 1983. Crill, P. M., Bartlett, K. B., Harriss, R. C., Gorham, E., Verry, E. S., Sebacher, D. I., Madzar, L., and Sanner, W.: Methane flux from Minnesota peatlands, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 2, 371–384, 1988. Crozier, C. R., Devai, I., and Delaune, R. D.: Methane and reduced sulfur gas-production by fresh and dried wetland soils, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 59, 277–284, 1995. Dell'Abate, M. T., Canali, S., Trinchera, A., Benedetti, A., and Sequi, P.: Thermal analysis in the evaluation of compost stability: A comparison with humification parameters, Nutr. Cycl. Agroecosys., 51, 217–224, 1998. Dell'Abate, M. T., Benedetti, A., Trinchera, A., and Dazzi, C.: Humic substances along the profile of two Typic Haploxerert, Geoderma, 107, 281–296, 2002. Dell'Abate, M. T., Benedetti, A., and Brookes, P. C.: Hyphenated techniques of thermal analysis for characterisation of soil humic substances, J. Sep. Sci., 26, 433–440, 2003. Enriquez, S., Duarte, C. M., and Sandjensen, K.: Patterns in decomposition rates among photosynthetic organisms – The importance of detritus C-N-P content, Oecologia, 94, 457–471, 1993. Fernandez, J. M., Hockaday, W. C., Plaza, C., Polo, A., and Hatcher, P. G.: Effects of long-term soil amendment with sewage sludges on soil humic acid thermal and molecular properties, Chemosphere, 73, 1838–1844, doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2008.08.001, 2008. Galand, P. E., Fritze, H., Conrad, R., and Yrjala, K.: Pathways for methanogenesis and diversity of methanogenic archaea in three boreal peatland ecosystems, Appl. Environ. Microb., 71, 2195–2198, 2005. Gholz, H. L., Wedin, D. A., Smitherman, S. M., Harmon, M. E., and Parton, W. J.: Long-term dynamics of pine and hardwood litter in contrasting environments: Toward a global model of decomposition, Glob. Change Biol., 6, 751–765, 2000. Glatzel, S., Basiliko, N., and Moore, T.: Carbon dioxide and methane production potentials of peats from natural, harvested, and restored sites, eastern Quebec, Canada, Wetlands, 24, 261–267, 2004. Gleixner, G., Bol, R., and Balesdent, J.: Molecular insight into soil carbon turnover, Rapid Commun. Mass Sp., 13, 1278–1283, 1999. Gleixner, G., Czimczik, C. J., Kramer, C., Lühker, B., and Schmidt, M. W. I.: Plant Compounds and their Turnover and Stabilization as Soil Organic Matter, in: Global Biogeochemical Cycles in the Climate System, edited by: Schulze, E. D., Heimann, M., Harrison, S., Holland, E. A., Lloyd, J., Prentice, I. C., and Schimel, D. S., Academic Press, San Diego, 201–215, 2001. Gleixner, G., Poirier, N., Bol, R., and Balesdent, J.: Molecular dynamics of organic matter in a cultivated soil, Org. Geochem., 33, 357–366, 2002. Gorham, E.: Northern peatlands – role in the carbon-cycle and probable responses to climatic warming, Ecol. Appl., 1, 182–195, 1991. Grayston, S. J., Vaughan, D., and Jones, D.: Rhizosphere carbon flow in trees, in comparison with annual plants: The importance of root exudation and its impact on microbial activity and nutrient availability, Appl. Soil Ecol., 5, 29–56, 1996. Grisi, B., Grace, C., Brookes, P. C., Benedetti, A., and Dell'Abate, M. T.: Temperature effects on organic matter and microbial biomass dynamics in temperate and tropical soils, Soil Biol. Biochem., 30, 1309–1315, 1998. Houghton, J.: Global warming, Rep. Prog. Phys., 68, 1343–1403, 2005. Hughes, S., Dowrick, D. J., Freeman, C., Hudson, J. A., and Reynolds, B.: Methane emissions from a gully mire in mid-Wales, UK under consecutive summer water table drawdown, Environ. Sci. Technol., 33, 362–365, 1999. Keller, J. K., White, J. R., Bridgham, S. D., and Pastor, J.: Climate change effects on carbon and nitrogen mineralization in peatlands through changes in soil quality, Glob. Change Biol., 10, 1053–1064, 2004. Kögel-Knabner, I.: The macromolecular organic composition of plant and microbial residues as inputs to soil organic matter, Soil Biol. Biochem., 34, 139–162, 2002. Kracht, O. and Gleixner, G.: Isotope analysis of pyrolysis products from \textitSphagnum peat and dissolved organic matter from bog water, Org. Geochem., 31, 645–654, 2000. Küsel, K., Blöthe, M., Schulz, D., Reiche, M., and Drake, H. L.: Microbial reduction of iron and porewater biogeochemistry in acidic peatlands, Biogeosciences, 5, 1537–1549, 2008. Lopez-Capel, E., Sohi, S. P., Gaunt, J. L., and Manning, D. A. C.: Use of thermogravimetry-differential scanning calorimetry to characterize modelable soil organic matter fractions, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 69, 136–140, 2005. McLafferty, F. W.: Wiley registry of mass spectral data, 6th Edn., 2001. Metje, M. and Frenzel, P.: Methanogenesis and methanogenic pathways in a peat from subarctic permafrost, Environ. Microbiol., 9, 954–964, 2007. Mikaloff Fletcher, S. E., Tans, P. P., Bruhwiler, L. M., Miller, J. B., and Heimann, M.: CH₄ sources estimated from atmospheric observations of CH₄ and its $^13$C/$^12$C isotopic ratios: 1. Inverse modeling of source processes, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 18, Gb4004, doi:4010.1029/2004gb002223, 2004. Moore, T. R. and Knowles, R.: Methane emissions from fen, bog and swamp peatlands in Quebec, Biogeochemistry, 11, 45–61, 1990. Moore, T. R., Roulet, N. T., and Knowles, R.: Spatial and temporal variation on methane flux from subarctic/northern boreal fens, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 4, 29–46, 1990. Moore, T. R. and Dalva, M.: Methane and carbon dioxide exchange potentials of peat soils in aerobic and anaerobic laboratory incubations, Soil Biol. Biochem., 29, 1157–1164, 1997. Moore, T. R., Trofymow, J. A., Siltanen, M., and Prescott, C.: Patterns of decomposition and carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus dynamics of litter in upland forest and peatland sites in central Canada, Can. J. Forest Res., 35, 133–142, 2005. Moore, T. R., Bubier, J. L., and Bledzki, L.: Litter decomposition in temperate peatland ecosystems: The effect of substrate and site, Ecosystems, 10, 949–963, 2007. Nip, M., Tegelaar, E. W., Brinkhuis, H., Deleeuw, J. W., Schenck, P. A., and Holloway, P. J.: Analysis of modern and fossil plant cuticles by Curie-point Py-GC and Curie-point Py-GC-MS – Recognition of a new, highly aliphatic and resistant bio-polymer, Org. Geochem., 10, 769–778, 1986. NIST: NIST Chemistry WebBook, 2002. Otto, A. and Simpson, M. J.: Sources and composition of hydrolysable aliphatic lipids and phenols in soils from western Canada, Org. Geochem., 37, 385–407, 2006. Paul, S., Küsel, K., and Alewell, C.: Reduction processes in forest wetlands: Tracking down heterogeneity of source/sink functions with a combination of methods, Soil Biol. Biochem., 38, 1028–1039, 2006. Petrescu, A. M. R., van Huissteden, J., Jackowicz-Korczynski, M., Yurova, A., Christensen, T. R., Crill, P. M., Bäckstrand, K., and Maximov, T. C.: Modelling CH₄ emissions from arctic wetlands: effects of hydrological parameterization, Biogeosciences, 5, 111–121, 2008. Plante, A. F., Pernes, M., and Chenu, C.: Changes in clay-associated organic matter quality in a C depletion sequence as measured by differential thermal analyses, 129, 186–199, doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2004.12.043, 2005. Plante, A. F., Fernandez, J. M., and Leifeld, J.: Application of thermal analysis techniques in soil science, Geoderma, 153, 1–10, doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2009.08.016, 2009. Pope, M. I. and Judd, M. J.: Differential thermal analysis, Academic Press, London, 1977. Reiche, M., Torborg, G., and Küsel, K.: Competition of Fe(III) reduction and methanogenesis in an acidic fen, FEMS Microbiol. Ecol., 65, 88–101, 2008. Reiche, M., Hädrich, A., Liescheid, G., and Küsel, K.: Impact of manipulated drought and heavy rainfall events on peat mineralization processes and source-sink functions of an acidic fen, J. Geophys. Res.-Bio., 114, doi:10.1029/2008JG000853, 2009. Rooney-Varga, J. N., Giewat, M. W., Duddleston, K. N., Chanton, J. P., and Hines, M. E.: Links between archaeal community structure, vegetation type and methanogenic pathway in Alaskan peatlands, FEMS Microbiol. Ecol., 60, 240–251, 2007. Roulet, N., Moore, T., Bubier, J., and Lafleur, P.: Northern fens – Methane flux and climatic change, Tellus B, 44, 100–105, 1992a. Roulet, N. T., Ash, R., and Moore, T. R.: Low boreal wetlands as a source of atmospheric methane, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 97, 3739–3749, 1992b. Rubino, M., Lubritto, C., D'Onofrio, A., Terrasi, F., Gleixner, G., and Cotrufo, M. F.: An isotopic method for testing the influence of leaf litter quality on carbon fluxes during decomposition, Oecologia, 154, 155–166, 2007. Schulten, H. R. and Gleixner, G.: Analytical pyrolysis of humic substances and dissolved organic matter in aquatic systems: Structure and origin, Water Res., 33, 2489–2498, 1999. Steinbeiss, S., Schmidt, C. M., Heide, K., and Gleixner, G.: Delta C-13 values of pyrolysis products from cellulose and lignin represent the isotope content of their precursors, J. Anal. Appl. Pyrol., 75, 19–26, 2006. Strack, M. and Waddington, J. M.: Response of peatland carbon dioxide and methane fluxes to a water table drawdown experiment, Glob. Biogeochem. Cy., 21, GB1007, doi:10.1029/2006GB002715, 2007. Svensson, B. H. and Rosswall, T.: In situ methane production from acid peat in plant-communities with different moisture regimes in a subarctic mire, Oikos, 43, 341–350, 1984. Taylor, B. R., Parkinson, D., and Parsons, W. F. J.: Nitrogen and lignin content as predictors of litter decay-rates – A microcosm test, Ecology, 70, 97–104, 1989. Tegelaar, E. W., Hollman, G., Vandervegt, P., Deleeuw, J. W., and Holloway, P. J.: Chemical characterization of the periderm tissue of some angiosperm species – recognition of an insoluble, nonhydrolyzable, aliphatic biomacromolecule (suberan), Org. Geochem., 23, 239–251, 1995. Turunen, J., Tomppo, E., Tolonen, K., and Reinikainen, A.: Estimating carbon accumulation rates of undrained mires in Finland – application to boreal and subarctic regions, Holocene, 12, 69–80, 2002. Valentine, D. W., Holland, E. A., and Schimel, D. S.: Ecosystem and physiological controls over methane production in northern wetlands, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 99, 1563–1571, 1994. van den Pol-van Dasselaar, A. and Oenema, O.: Methane production and carbon mineralisation of size and density fractions of peat soils, Soil Biol. Biochem., 31, 877–886, 1999. Wagner, D., Lipski, A., Embacher, A., and Gattinger, A.: Methane fluxes in permafrost habitats of the Lena Delta: Effects of microbial community structure and organic matter quality, Environ. Microbiol., 7, 1582–1592, 2005. Walter, B. P. and Heimann, M.: A process-based, climate-sensitive model to derive methane emissions from natural wetlands: Application to five wetland sites, sensitivity to model parameters, and climate, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 14, 745–765, 2000. Walter, K. M., Zimov, S. A., Chanton, J. P., Verbyla, D., and Chapin, F. S.: Methane bubbling from Siberian thaw lakes as a positive feedback to climate warming, Nature, 443, 71–75, doi:10.1038/nature05040, 2006. Whalen, S. C. and Reeburgh, W. S.: A methane transect along the trans-Alaskan pipeline haul road, Tellus B, 42, 237–249, 1990. Whiting, G. J. and Chanton, J. P.: Primary production control of methane emission from wetlands, Nature, 364, 794–795, 1993. Winkler, A., Haumaier, L., and Zech, W.: Insoluble alkyl carbon components in soils derive mainly from cutin and suberin, Org. Geochem., 36, 519–529, 2005. Yan, W., Artz, R. R. E., and Johnson, D.: Species-specific effects of plants colonising cutover peatlands on patterns of carbon source utilisation by soil microorganisms, Soil Biol. Biochem., 40, 544–549, 2008. Yavitt, J. B., Lang, G. E., and Wieder, R. K.: Control of carbon mineralization to CH₄ and CO₂ in anaerobic, \textitSphagnum-derived peat from Big Run Bog, West-Virginia, Biogeochemistry, 4, 141–157, 1987. Yavitt, J. B. and Lang, G. E.: Methane production in contrasting wetland sites – Response to organic-chemical components of peat and to sulfate reduction, Geomicrobiol. J., 8, 27–46, 1990. Zeikus, J. G.: Metabolic communication between biodegradative populations in nature, in: Microbes in their natural environment, edited by: Slater, J. H., Whittenbury, R., and Wimpenny, J. W. T., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 423–462, 1983. Zhuang, Q., Melillo, J. M., Kicklighter, D. W., Prinn, R. G., McGuire, A. D., Steudler, P. A., Felzer, B. S., and Hu, S.: Methane fluxes between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere at northern high latitudes during the past century: A retrospective analysis with a process-based biogeochemistry model, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 18, Gb3010, doi:10.1029/2004gb002239, 2004.