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Influence of the biological carbon pump effect on the sources and deposition of organic matter in Fuxian Lake, a deep oligotrophic lake in southwest China

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Abstract

Biological carbon pumping (BCP) is a key process in which dissolved inorganic carbon in terrestrial aquatic ecosystems is utilized by aquatic autotrophs for photosynthesis and transformed into autochthonous organic matter (AOC). However, the mechanisms underlying BCP and the amount of generated AOC deposited effectively, are still poorly understood. Therefore, we conducted a systematic study combining modern hydrochemical monitoring and a sediment trap experiment in Fuxian Lake (Yunnan, SW China), the second-deepest plateau, oligotrophic freshwater lake in China. Temperature, pH, EC (electrical conductivity), DO (dissolved O2), [HCO3−], [Ca2+], SIc, partial CO2 (pCO2) pressure, and carbon isotopic compositions of HCO3− (δ13CDIC) in water from Fuxian Lake all displayed distinct seasonal and vertical variations. This was especially apparent in an inverse correlation between pCO2 and DO, indicating that variations of hydrochemistry in the lake water were mainly controlled by the metabolism of the aquatic phototrophs. Furthermore, the lowest C/N ratios and highest δ13Corg were recorded in the trap sediments. Analyses of the C/N ratio demonstrated that the proportions of AOC ranged from 30% to 100% of all OC, indicating that AOC was an important contributor to sedimentary organic matter (OC). It was calculated that the AOC flux in Fuxian Lake was 20.43 t C km−2 in 2017. Therefore, AOC produced by carbonate weathering and aquatic photosynthesis could potentially be a significant carbon sink and may have an important contribution to solving the lack of carbon sinks in the global carbon cycle.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 41430753, U1612441).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, CAS, Guiyang, 550081, China

    Haibo He, Zaihua Liu, Chongying Chen, Yu Wei, Qian Bao, Hailong Sun, Yundi Hu & Hao Yan

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Haibo He, Yu Wei, Qian Bao & Yundi Hu

  3. CAS Center for Excellence in Quaternary Science and Global Change, Guiyang, 550081, China

    Zaihua Liu

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  1. Haibo He
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Correspondence to Zaihua Liu.

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He, H., Liu, Z., Chen, C. et al. Influence of the biological carbon pump effect on the sources and deposition of organic matter in Fuxian Lake, a deep oligotrophic lake in southwest China. Acta Geochim 38, 613–626 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11631-019-00359-5

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