Search results for " Organic carbon"
showing 10 items of 291 documents
Natural organic matter export from boreal catchments (the Salaca River basin, Latvia) and its influencing factors
2012
A noteworthy increase in the organic matter concentration and export, as well as water colour, in the catchments of the Salaca River has been observed during the last decades. This study investigates factors behind this increase: the impact of climate, land use and human loading changes on the concentrations and export of the organic matter in the Salaca River/Lake Burtnieks catchments. Proportion of wetlands in the river basin, type of land use, and runoff regime can be considered as the main factors influencing the organic carbon loadings. Despite a steady overall tendency of increase, considerable oscillations of organic matter loadings influenced by the changes in the river discharge re…
Meiofauna and benthic microbial biomass in a semi-enclosed mediterranean marine system (Stagnone di Marsala, Italy)
2004
Microbial and meiofaunal dynamics and their relationships with the biochemical composition of the sedimentary organic matter were investigated in a semi-enclosed marine system (Marsala lagoon, Western Sicily, Mediterranean Sea). Sediment samples were collected on a monthly basis from March 1996 to February 1997 in four stations located along a N–S transect characterized by different hydrodynamic regimes. Total sedimentary organic matter concentration ranged from 5.681.11 to 156.2812.63 mg g1, while the biopolymeric fraction of organic carbon (BPC, measured as sum of the lipids, carbohydrates and proteins) accounted for only a small fraction (24%) of total organic matter. Total meiofaunal de…
Holothuria tubulosa Gmelin 1791 (Holothuroidea, Echinodermata) enhances organic matter recycling in Posidonia oceanica meadows
2014
Abstract The role of Holothuria tubulosa in organic matter recycling of Posidonia oceanica detritus was estimated in a laboratory feeding experiment. The individual mean ingestion rate of seagrass detritus by holothurians was evaluated and carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes, carbon and nitrogen content and C:N ratio analyzed in H. tubulosa , P. oceanica detritus and surface sediment. Results showed that H. tubulosa is capable of ingesting from 30% to 100% of the detritus produced by P. oceanica meadows, depending on the holothurian density. Stable isotope analysis provided evidence for the assimilation of seagrass detritus by H. tubulosa as their signatures were compatible with 1 trophic l…
Carbon decomposition of the topsoils and soil fractions under forest and pasture in the western Brazilian Amazon basin, Rondonia
2000
The topsoils of two sites, comprising natural forest and 4- and 20-year-old pastures, respectively, were selected in Rondonia to evaluate the changes of soil organic matter due to pasture establishment. These changes were evaluated by measuring the proportions of the C and N associated with clay and silt fractions, and by the C decomposition (CD) rate of the whole topsoils and their size fractions. The topsoils studied had large proportions of C and N associated with fine fractions, especially with clay fractions. The CD rate of the silt fractions was higher than that of the clay fractions under the two forest topsoils and under the 20-year-old pasture. The CD rate of the silt fractions und…
Benthic resources are the key to Daphnia middendorffiana survival in a high arctic pond
2011
Summary 1. Shallow arctic lakes and ponds have simple and short food webs, but large uncertainties remain about benthic–pelagic links in these systems. We tested whether organic matter of benthic origin supports zooplankton biomass in a pond in NE Greenland, using stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen in the pond itself and in a 13C-enrichment enclosure experiment. In the latter, we manipulated the carbon isotope signature of benthic algae to enhance its isotopic discrimination from other potential food sources for zooplankton. 2. The cladoceran Daphnia middendorffiana responded to the 13C-enrichment of benthic mats with progressively increasing δ13C values, suggesting benthic feed…
Recycling and fluxes of carbon gases in a stratified boreal lake following experimental carbon addition
2014
Partly anoxic stratified humic lakes are important sources of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere. We followed the fate of CH4 and CO2 in a small boreal stratified lake, Alinen Mustajärvi, during 2007–2009. In 2008 and 2009 the lake received additions of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) with stable carbon isotope ratio (δ13C) around 16‰ higher than that of local allochthonous DOC. Carbon transformations in the water column were studied by measurements of δ13C of CH4 and of the dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). Furthermore, CH4 and CO2 production, consumption and emissions were estimated. Methane oxidation was estimated by a diffusion gradient method. The amount, lo…
How important are terrestrial organic carbon inputs for secondary production in freshwater ecosystems?
2017
Article
Body size and population dynamics of enchytraeids with different disturbance histories and nutrient dynamics
2010
The population dynamics of the enchytraeid Cognettia sphagnetorum originating from an unmanaged forest (FP), a clear-cut area (CCP) or a plot treated with birch ash (APP) and the effects of population origin on labile C and N dynamics were investigated. Twenty individuals of C. sphagnetorum were introduced in microcosms containing humus from the unmanaged forest devoid of enchytraeids and amended with sucrose, and incubated for 14 weeks. Triplicate microcosms from FP, CCP and APP treatments were destructively sampled every second week and enchytraeid population density, individual length, nematode abundance and trophic structure, humus properties and dissolved organic C (DOC) and N (DON), a…
How much can regional agri-environmental measures contribute to SOC stocking in the soils of Sicily?
2014
Soils have a great potential in stocking soil organic carbon SOC, but how much can human activities, and particularly agricultural ones, contribute to increase (or decrease) the SOC content? Which kind of agricultural practices are the most effective? From the soil database of Sicily we have selected 52 profiles, whose first 40 cm from the soil surface were analyzed for the SOC, of which 15 analyzed also for nitrogen N content, localized in the clayey hills and limestone marine terraces of the western Sicily, cultivated with grain crops and orchards (mainly olive groves and vineyards), surveyed and analyzed in a period from 1995 to 2008. By interviews to the farmers owners of those parcels,…
Validation and application of a PCR primer set to quantify fungal communities in the soil environment by real-time quantitative PCR
2011
Fungi constitute an important group in soil biological diversity and functioning. However, characterization and knowledge of fungal communities is hampered because few primer sets are available to quantify fungal abundance by real-time quantitative PCR (real-time Q-PCR). The aim in this study was to quantify fungal abundance in soils by incorporating, into a real-time Q-PCR using the SYBRGreen (R) method, a primer set already used to study the genetic structure of soil fungal communities. To satisfy the real-time Q-PCR requirements to enhance the accuracy and reproducibility of the detection technique, this study focused on the 18S rRNA gene conserved regions. These regions are little affec…