Prolonged Storage of Bound Organic Carbon in Wetland but Not Upland Soils: A <sup>13</sup>C and <sup>14</sup>C Perspective
Abstract Protection by metal (hydr) oxides is one of the key mechanisms for the long‐term stabilization of soil organic carbon (SOC). However, the source and turnover of (metal‐) bound organic carbon (OC) in soils are poorly constrained. Here we present the first large‐scale study on the 13 C and 14 C characteristics of bound OC in 15 wetland and upland soil profiles. We find that bound OC has similar δ 13 C as SOC, suggesting no preference for plant‐ or microbe‐derived carbon. However, bound OC Δ 14 C is more negative than SOC in wetland but not upland mineral soils, and decreases with increasing reactive minerals. Hence, in contrast to the conventional assumption, bound OC is better preserved relative to SOC in wetlands with high contents of reactive metals. Our finding highlights the dynamic exchange of bound OC with SOC in upland soils and calls for a better recognition of reactive metals in stabilizing OC in wetlands.
Authors
- Timothy I. Eglinton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5060-2155)
- Simin Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6135-7546)
- Negar Haghipour (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8223-0536)
- Yiyun Wang
- Bingrui Jia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9662-0738)
- Lukas Wacker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8215-2678)
- Erxiong Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2113-3171)
- Jin He (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5081-3569)
- Yufu Jia
- Zongguang Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4141-7462)
- Juan Jia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9347-6221)
- Meixun Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9450-6448)
- Xiaojuan Feng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0443-0628)
- Xinying Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-7181-3887)
- Hailong Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8830-8901)
- Tian Ma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8824-1380)
- Guohua Dai
Institutions
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Peking University (CN)
- Beijing Botanical Garden (CN)
- ETH Zurich (CH)
- Institute of Botany (CN)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Laoshan Laboratory
- China National Botanical Garden
- Ocean University of China (CN)
- East China Normal University (CN)
- Lanzhou University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Geophysical Research Letters
- Published
- 2024-12-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1029/2024gl112491
- Citations
- 7
- Primary Topic
- Peatlands and Wetlands Ecology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.21
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Chinese Academy of Sciences