Hydrological conditions control dissolved organic matter dynamics along
a peatland headwater boreal stream
Abstract
Hydrological conditions (i.e., high-flow versus low-flow) in peatland
drainage streams influence both the quantity of dissolved organic carbon
(DOC) exports and dissolved organic matter (DOM) composition. Yet, our
knowledge on DOM fate after exports from the peatland remains limited
while this highly reactive component sustains emissions and exports of
carbon dioxide (CO2) from streams through degradation processes. The
present study demonstrates the relationships between DOM composition
evolution and catchment hydrological conditions along a 3 km long
headwater stream running through a boreal peatland, from its source to
the outlet. Our results show that hydrological conditions significantly
influenced DOM composition evolution along the stream. DOM exported
during high-flow conditions presented a composition similar to peat
porewater in terms of DOC:DON ratio and aromaticity, but a lower average
molecular weight, indicating preferential exports of low molecular
weight DOM recently produced in the acrotelm. The DOM composition
changed little along the stream during high-flow as it was rapidly
flushed downstream. During low-flow conditions, DOM composition evolved
along the stream in contrast to high-flow with a strong increase in DOM
aromaticity and molecular weight along the stream. These changes were
significantly correlated to the water residence time in the stream and
to the estimated proportion of mineralized DOC to total DOC flux
exported at the stream outlet. These results highlight the importance of
hydrological conditions on DOM dynamics as DOM was locally mineralized
during low-flow conditions, when DOC exports were low, while
mineralization processes happened downstream under high-flow conditions
which favored important DOC exports.