Chemical Composition of Soil Organic Matter in a Subarctic Peatland: Influence of Shifting Vegetation Communities

Core Ideas Soil organic matter chemical composition highlighted the inputs of varied vegetation communities in the past. Soil N is an indicator of peat decomposition based on relationship of functional group C and total N. Future surveys of soil organic matter biogeochemical parameters and C chemica...

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Published in:Soil Science Society of America Journal
Main Authors: Normand, Anna E., Smith, Adam N., Clark, Mark W., Long, Joanna R., Reddy, K. Ramesh
Other Authors: NSF GRFP
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2016.05.0148
https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.2136%2Fsssaj2016.05.0148
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.2136/sssaj2016.05.0148/fullpdf
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author Normand, Anna E.
Smith, Adam N.
Clark, Mark W.
Long, Joanna R.
Reddy, K. Ramesh
author2 NSF GRFP
author_facet Normand, Anna E.
Smith, Adam N.
Clark, Mark W.
Long, Joanna R.
Reddy, K. Ramesh
author_sort Normand, Anna E.
collection Wiley Online Library
container_issue 1
container_start_page 41
container_title Soil Science Society of America Journal
container_volume 81
description Core Ideas Soil organic matter chemical composition highlighted the inputs of varied vegetation communities in the past. Soil N is an indicator of peat decomposition based on relationship of functional group C and total N. Future surveys of soil organic matter biogeochemical parameters and C chemical composition should be pursued. Climate change in the subarctic region has increased the rate of inundation of peatlands due to increased temperatures, precipitation, and permafrost thaw. Increased inundation may result in vegetation community shifts, as documented in a subarctic mire near Abisko, Sweden. The wet fen communities have established in former sphagnum areas, and sphagnum colonized in degraded palsa hummocks. At Stordalen mire, we studied the influence of vegetation community on chemical composition of peat soil organic matter (SOM). Vegetation and soil samples were obtained along a hydrologic gradient with representative communities: palsa, sphagnum, and fen. Soil organic matter chemical composition indicated shifts in vegetative communities. Total N and N isotope signatures in fen soils showed characteristics of sphagnum and palsa communities at >6‐cm depth, and sphagnum soil profile signatures shifted from sphagnum to palsa properties at a 20‐cm depth. Soil chemical composition measured by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and 13 C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy showed increasing recalcitrant C (alkyl and aromatic) in palsa soil. Sphagnum soil profiles sustained labile organic C (O‐alkyl) until 15 cm then shifted to humified soil, and fen soil profiles showed areas of sphagnum and palsa signatures. Furthermore, the strong relationship between functional group C (O‐alkyl and alkyl) and total N demonstrated that soil N is an effective indicator of peat decomposition. Our results identified change points in soil chemical composition in regards to N content and C functional group which highlights the importance of historic vegetation community on chemical composition of peat ...
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
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palsa
permafrost
Subarctic
genre_facet Abisko
palsa
permafrost
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geographic Abisko
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spelling crwiley:10.2136/sssaj2016.05.0148 2025-04-20T14:18:05+00:00 Chemical Composition of Soil Organic Matter in a Subarctic Peatland: Influence of Shifting Vegetation Communities Normand, Anna E. Smith, Adam N. Clark, Mark W. Long, Joanna R. Reddy, K. Ramesh NSF GRFP 2017 https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2016.05.0148 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.2136%2Fsssaj2016.05.0148 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.2136/sssaj2016.05.0148/fullpdf en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Soil Science Society of America Journal volume 81, issue 1, page 41-49 ISSN 0361-5995 1435-0661 journal-article 2017 crwiley https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2016.05.0148 2025-03-21T09:25:41Z Core Ideas Soil organic matter chemical composition highlighted the inputs of varied vegetation communities in the past. Soil N is an indicator of peat decomposition based on relationship of functional group C and total N. Future surveys of soil organic matter biogeochemical parameters and C chemical composition should be pursued. Climate change in the subarctic region has increased the rate of inundation of peatlands due to increased temperatures, precipitation, and permafrost thaw. Increased inundation may result in vegetation community shifts, as documented in a subarctic mire near Abisko, Sweden. The wet fen communities have established in former sphagnum areas, and sphagnum colonized in degraded palsa hummocks. At Stordalen mire, we studied the influence of vegetation community on chemical composition of peat soil organic matter (SOM). Vegetation and soil samples were obtained along a hydrologic gradient with representative communities: palsa, sphagnum, and fen. Soil organic matter chemical composition indicated shifts in vegetative communities. Total N and N isotope signatures in fen soils showed characteristics of sphagnum and palsa communities at >6‐cm depth, and sphagnum soil profile signatures shifted from sphagnum to palsa properties at a 20‐cm depth. Soil chemical composition measured by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and 13 C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy showed increasing recalcitrant C (alkyl and aromatic) in palsa soil. Sphagnum soil profiles sustained labile organic C (O‐alkyl) until 15 cm then shifted to humified soil, and fen soil profiles showed areas of sphagnum and palsa signatures. Furthermore, the strong relationship between functional group C (O‐alkyl and alkyl) and total N demonstrated that soil N is an effective indicator of peat decomposition. Our results identified change points in soil chemical composition in regards to N content and C functional group which highlights the importance of historic vegetation community on chemical composition of peat ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Abisko palsa permafrost Subarctic Wiley Online Library Abisko ENVELOPE(18.829,18.829,68.349,68.349) Stordalen ENVELOPE(7.337,7.337,62.510,62.510) Soil Science Society of America Journal 81 1 41 49
spellingShingle Normand, Anna E.
Smith, Adam N.
Clark, Mark W.
Long, Joanna R.
Reddy, K. Ramesh
Chemical Composition of Soil Organic Matter in a Subarctic Peatland: Influence of Shifting Vegetation Communities
title Chemical Composition of Soil Organic Matter in a Subarctic Peatland: Influence of Shifting Vegetation Communities
title_full Chemical Composition of Soil Organic Matter in a Subarctic Peatland: Influence of Shifting Vegetation Communities
title_fullStr Chemical Composition of Soil Organic Matter in a Subarctic Peatland: Influence of Shifting Vegetation Communities
title_full_unstemmed Chemical Composition of Soil Organic Matter in a Subarctic Peatland: Influence of Shifting Vegetation Communities
title_short Chemical Composition of Soil Organic Matter in a Subarctic Peatland: Influence of Shifting Vegetation Communities
title_sort chemical composition of soil organic matter in a subarctic peatland: influence of shifting vegetation communities
url https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2016.05.0148
https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.2136%2Fsssaj2016.05.0148
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.2136/sssaj2016.05.0148/fullpdf