Runoff-driven export of particulate organic carbon from soil in temperate forested uplands

Smith, Joanne C. and Galy, Albert and Hovius, Niels and Tye, Andrew M. and Turowski, Jens M. and Schleppi, Patrick (2013) Runoff-driven export of particulate organic carbon from soil in temperate forested uplands. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 365. pp. 198-208. ISSN 0012-821X DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2013.01.027

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Abstract

We characterise the sources, pathways and export fluxes of particulate organic carbon (POC) in a headwater catchment in the Swiss Alps, where suspended sediment has a mean organic carbon concentration of 1.45%±0.06. By chemically fingerprinting this carbon and its potential sources using carbon and nitrogen elemental and isotopic compositions, we show that it derives from binary mixing between bedrock and modern biomass with a soil-like composition. The hillslope and channel are strongly coupled, allowing runoff to deliver recent organic carbon directly to the stream beyond a moderate discharge threshold. At higher flows, more biomass is mobilised and the fraction of modern carbon in the suspended load reaches 0.70, increased from 0.30 during background conditions. Significant amounts of non-fossil organic carbon are thus transferred from the hillslope without the need for extreme events such as landsliding. Precipitation is key: as soon as the rain stops, biomass supply ceases and fossil carbon again dominates. We use rating curves modelled using samples from five storm events integrated over 29-year discharge records to calculate long-term export fluxes of total POC and non-fossil POC from the catchment of 23.3±5.8 and 14.0±4.4 t km−2 yr−1 respectively. These yields are comparable to those from active mountain belts, yet the processes responsible are much more widely applicable. Such settings have the potential to play a significant role in the global drawdown of carbon dioxide via riverine biomass erosion, and their contribution to the global flux of POC to the ocean may be more important than previously thought.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	2013AREP; IA65;
Subjects:	02 - Geodynamics, Geophysics and Tectonics
Divisions:	02 - Geodynamics, Geophysics and Tectonics
Journal or Publication Title:	Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Volume:	365
Page Range:	pp. 198-208
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2013.01.027
Depositing User:	Sarah Humbert
Date Deposited:	03 May 2013 15:38
Last Modified:	23 Jul 2013 10:06
URI:	http://eprints.esc.cam.ac.uk/id/eprint/2770

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