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Stream Dissolved Organic Matter in Permafrost Regions Shows Surprising Compositional Similarities but Negative Priming and Nutrient Effects

  • Ethan Wologo
  • , Sarah Shakil
  • , Scott Zolkos
  • , Sadie Textor
  • , Stephanie Ewing*
  • , Jane Klassen
  • , Robert G.M. Spencer
  • , David C. Podgorski
  • , Suzanne E. Tank
  • , Michelle A. Baker
  • , Jonathan A. O'Donnell
  • , Kimberly P. Wickland
  • , Sydney S.W. Foks
  • , Jay P. Zarnetske
  • , Joseph Lee-Cullin
  • , Futing Liu
  • , Yuanhe Yang
  • , Pirkko Kortelainen
  • , Jaana Kolehmainen
  • , Joshua F. Dean
  • Jorien E. Vonk, Robert M. Holmes, Gilles Pinay, Michaela M. Powell, Jansen Howe, Rebecca J. Frei, Samuel P. Bratsman, Benjamin W. Abbott*
*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

50 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Permafrost degradation is delivering bioavailable dissolved organic matter (DOM) and inorganic nutrients to surface water networks. While these permafrost subsidies represent a small portion of total fluvial DOM and nutrient fluxes, they could influence food webs and net ecosystem carbon balance via priming or nutrient effects that destabilize background DOM. We investigated how addition of biolabile carbon (acetate) and inorganic nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) affected DOM decomposition with 28-day incubations. We incubated late-summer stream water from 23 locations nested in seven northern or high-altitude regions in Asia, Europe, and North America. DOM loss ranged from 3% to 52%, showing a variety of longitudinal patterns within stream networks. DOM optical properties varied widely, but DOM showed compositional similarity based on Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) analysis. Addition of acetate and nutrients decreased bulk DOM mineralization (i.e., negative priming), with more negative effects on biodegradable DOM but neutral or positive effects on stable DOM. Unexpectedly, acetate and nutrients triggered breakdown of colored DOM (CDOM), with median decreases of 1.6% in the control and 22% in the amended treatment. Additionally, the uptake of added acetate was strongly limited by nutrient availability across sites. These findings suggest that biolabile DOM and nutrients released from degrading permafrost may decrease background DOM mineralization but alter stoichiometry and light conditions in receiving waterbodies. We conclude that priming and nutrient effects are coupled in northern aquatic ecosystems and that quantifying two-way interactions between DOM properties and environmental conditions could resolve conflicting observations about the drivers of DOM in permafrost zone waterways.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere2020GB006719
Number of pages25
JournalGlobal Biogeochemical Cycles
Volume35
Issue number1
Early online date18 Nov 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 11 Jan 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
E. W. and S. A. E. acknowledge funding from the Montana Agricultural Experimental Station (MAES project number MONB00389) and the National Park Service via the Northwest Alaska and Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Study Units (CESUs), as well as the MSU Bayard Taylor Fellowship. B. W. A., J. P. Z., and J. L. C. acknowledge support from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF awards: 1446328, 1846855, 1637459, 1916567, and 1916565). J. F. D. and J. E. V. acknowledge funding from the program of the Netherlands Earth System Science Centre (NESSC), financially supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW; grant number 024.002.001). S. S., S. Z., and S. E. T. acknowledge funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Polar Continental Shelf Program, the University of Alberta Northern Research Awards Program, and the Northern Scientific Training Program. M. A. B. recognizes partial NSF support from award numbers 1208732 and 1754216. R. G. M. S and S. R. T. acknowledge funding from NSF (award number 1464392); R. G. M. S., S. R. T., K. P. W., and S. S. W. F. acknowledge funding from the NASA-ABoVE Project 14-14TE-0012 (NNX15AU07A) and the USGS Biological Carbon Sequestration Program; J. O. was supported by funding from the National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring program and the USGS Changing Arctic Ecosystems program. FT-ICR MS performed at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory ICR User Facility, which is supported by the National Science Foundation Division of Chemistry through DMR-1644779 and the State of Florida. The authors thank all people in the NHMFL ICR Program who work selflessly to facilitate data acquisition and processing for users of the facility. Research reported in this publication was partially supported by Institutional Development Awards (IDeA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Awards P20GM103474, U54GM115371, and 5P20GM104417. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes Health.

Funding Information:
E. W. and S. A. E. acknowledge funding from the Montana Agricultural Experimental Station (MAES project number MONB00389) and the National Park Service via the Northwest Alaska and Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Study Units (CESUs), as well as the MSU Bayard Taylor Fellowship. B. W. A., J. P. Z., and J. L. C. acknowledge support from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF awards: 1446328, 1846855, 1637459, 1916567, and 1916565). J. F. D. and J. E. V. acknowledge funding from the program of the Netherlands Earth System Science Centre (NESSC), financially supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW; grant number 024.002.001). S. S., S. Z., and S. E. T. acknowledge funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Polar Continental Shelf Program, the University of Alberta Northern Research Awards Program, and the Northern Scientific Training Program. M. A. B. recognizes partial NSF support from award numbers 1208732 and 1754216. R. G. M. S and S. R. T. acknowledge funding from NSF (award number 1464392); R. G. M. S., S. R. T., K. P. W., and S. S. W. F. acknowledge funding from the NASA‐ABoVE Project 14‐14TE‐0012 (NNX15AU07A) and the USGS Biological Carbon Sequestration Program; J. O. was supported by funding from the National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring program and the USGS Changing Arctic Ecosystems program. FT‐ICR MS performed at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory ICR User Facility, which is supported by the National Science Foundation Division of Chemistry through DMR‐1644779 and the State of Florida. The authors thank all people in the NHMFL ICR Program who work selflessly to facilitate data acquisition and processing for users of the facility. Research reported in this publication was partially supported by Institutional Development Awards (IDeA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Awards P20GM103474, U54GM115371, and 5P20GM104417. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes Health.

Publisher Copyright:
©2020. The Authors.

Keywords

  • carbon cycling
  • cryosphere and high-latitude processes
  • nutrients and nutrient cycling
  • permafrost
  • rivers
  • thermokarst

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