Composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) from periodically submerged soils in the Three Gorges Reservoir areas as determined by elemental and optical analysis, infrared spectroscopy, pyrolysis-GC–MS and thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation

• Published in: The Science of the total environment 2017-12, Vol.603-604, p.461-471
• Main Authors: Jiang, Tao, Kaal, Joeri, Liang, Jian, Zhang, Yaoling, Wei, Shiqiang, Wang, Dingyong, Green, Nelson W.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Characterization; China; Dissolved organic matter; Environmental Sciences; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Hydrolysis; Methylation; Miljövetenskap; Natural organic matter; Organic Chemicals - analysis; Soil; Soil - chemistry; Three Gorges Reservoir; Water-soluble organic matter
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.06.114

•Molecular properties of DOM from the Three Gorges Reservoir water fluctuation zone•Phenolic, aliphatic and microbial-derived structures are the main constituents.•Soil DOM of TGR area is a mixture of “allochthonous” and “autochthonous” origins.•Microbial terrigenous DOM contributes to apparent “autochthonous” fingerprint.•Multi-methodological approach essential for unambiguous DOM characterization [Display omitted] Soil-derived dissolved organic matter (DOM) has a major influence in biogeochemical processes related to contaminant dynamics and greenhouse gas emissions, due to its reactivity and its bridging role between the soil and aquatic systems. Within the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR, China) area, an extensive water-fluctuation zone periodically submerges the surrounding soils. Here we report a characterization study of soil-derived DOM across the TGR areas, using elemental and optical analysis, infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), pyrolysis-GC–MS (Py-GC–MS) and thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation (THM-GC–MS). The results showed that the soil DOM from the TGR area is a mixture of “allochthonous” (i.e., plant-derived/terrigenous) and “autochthonous” (i.e., microbial) origins. The terrigenous DOM is composed primarily of phenolic and aliphatic structures from lignin and aliphatic biopolymers (i.e. cutin, suberin), respectively. Multivariate statistics differentiated between two fractions of the microbial DOM, i.e. chitin-derived, perhaps from fungi and arthropods in soil, and protein-derived, partially sourced from algal or aquatic organisms. Molecular proxies of source and degradation state were in good agreement with optical parameters such as SUVA254, the fluorescence index (FI) and the humification index (HIX). The combined use of elemental analysis, fluorescence spectroscopy, and Py-GC–MS provides rigorous and detailed DOM characterization, whereas THM-GC–MS is useful for more precise but qualitative identification of the different phenolic (cinnamyl, p-hydroxyphenyl, guaiacyl, syringyl and tannin-derived) and aliphatic materials. With the multi-methodological approach used in this study, FTIR was the least informative, in part, because of the interference of inorganic matter in the soil DOM samples. The soil DOM from the TGR's water fluctuation zone exhibited considerable compositional diversity, mainly related to the balance between DOM source (microbial- or plant-derived), local vegetation and anthropogenic activities (e.g., agriculture). Fina