Novel application of Compound Specific Stable Isotope (CSSI) techniques to investigate on-site sediment origins across arable fields

Mabit, Lionel; Gibbs, Max M.; Mbaye, Modou; Meusburger, Katrin; Toloza, Arsenio; Resch, Christian; Klik, Andreas; Swales, Andrew; Alewell, Christine

doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2017.12.008

Cited by 52 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Fresh leaves of broadleaved trees showed relatively high concentrations of n-C 27 alkane and n-C 28 : 0 fatty acid. The sphagnum species were characterized by high n-C 23 or n-C 21 alkane, differing from conifers and broadleaved trees, also consistent with previously reported distribution patterns (Maffei et al, 2004;Bush and McInerney, 2013). However, molecular distribution patterns observed in fresh plant biomass were not necessarily transferred to the O and A horizons ( Fig.…”

Section: Concentration Of Biomarkerssupporting

confidence: 88%

Understanding the effects of early degradation on isotopic tracers: implications for sediment source attribution using compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA)

et al. 2020

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Application of compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) in sediment fingerprinting source apportionment studies is becoming more frequent, as it can potentially provide robust land-use-based source attribution of suspended sediments in freshwater and marine systems. Isotopic tracers such as δ 13 C values of vegetation-derived organic compounds are considered to be suitable for the CSIA-based fingerprinting method. However, a rigorous evaluation of tracer conservativeness in terms of the stability of isotopic signature during detachment and transport of soil during erosion is essential for the suitability of the method. With the aim to identify potential fractionation and shifts in tracer signature during early degradation of organic matter in surface soils, we measured concentrations and δ 13 C values of long-chain fatty acids and n-alkanes from fresh plant biomass (as vegetation is a direct source of these compounds to the soils), degraded organic horizon (O horizon), and mineral soil (A horizon) from various forest types with different humus forms (five sites). The bulk δ 13 C values showed continuous 13 C enrichment through the degradation stages from fresh plant material to the O and A horizons, ranging between 3.5 ‰ and 5.6 ‰. Compound-specific δ 13 C values showed a general 13 C enrichment for both long-chain fatty acids (up to 5 ‰) and n-alkanes (up to 3.9 ‰) from fresh plant biomass to the O horizon overlying the A horizon. However, only slight or no further changes occurred from the O to the A horizon. We also compared compound-specific δ 13 C values between two soil particle size classes (< 2 mm and < 63 µm) from four sites and found no significant differences of tracer values between them, with even less fractionation for the long-chain n-alkanes within the soil particle fractions. This points to the conclusion that sampling and analysing bulk soil material might be valid for the isotopic tracer applications. We further conclude that our results support the suitability of studied isotopic tracers as a representative source soil signature in the CSIA-based sediment source attribution, as they demonstrated necessary stability in the plant-soil system during organic matter degradation.

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Section: Concentration Of Biomarkerssupporting

confidence: 88%

Understanding the effects of early degradation on isotopic tracers: implications for sediment source attribution using compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA)

et al. 2020

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“…Temporal studies involving experimental tracers could also be used to assess how non‐production vegetation elements affect ecosystem processes such as sedimentation and run‐off (e.g. Mabit et al., 2018), and the potential level of below‐ground connectivity between different ecosystem components. Indeed, the roles of non‐production vegetation elements for farm‐to‐catchment scale water flow and movement were particularly understudied in the literature we reviewed.…”

Section: Available Methods Should Be Harnessed To Improve the Direct mentioning

confidence: 99%

The roles of non‐production vegetation in agroecosystems: A research framework for filling process knowledge gaps in a social‐ecological context

et al. 2020

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1. An ever-expanding human population, climatic changes and the spread of intensive farming practices are putting increasing pressure on agroecosystems and their inherent biodiversity. Non-production vegetation elements, such as woody patches, riparian margins and restoration plantings, are vital for conserving agroecosystem biodiversity. Furthermore, such elements are key building blocks that are manipulated via land management, thereby influencing the biotic and abiotic processes that underpin functioning agroecosystems. 2. Despite this critical role, there has been a lack of synthesis on which types of vegetation elements drive and/or support ecological processes, and the mechanisms by which this occurs. Using a systematic, quantitative literature review of 342 articles, we asked the following questions: what are the effects of non-production vegetation on agroecosystem processes and how are these processes measured within global agroecosystems? 3. Woody patches, hedgerows and borders, riparian margins, and shelterbelts were the most studied types of non-production vegetation. The majority (61%) of studies showed positive effects of non-production vegetation on ecological processes, where the presence, level or rate of the studied process was increased or enhanced. 4. However, four key research gaps were revealed: (a) most studies (83%) used proxies for, instead of direct measurements of, ecosystem processes related to non-production vegetation; (b) study designs used to investigate non-production vegetation effects on ecosystem processes directly were largely limited to observational comparisons of non-production vegetation types, farm-scale vegetation configurations and different proximities to vegetation in terms of the effect on ecological processes; relatively few studies used manipulative experiments; (c) the relatively few studies directly measuring ecosystem processes were dominated | 293 People and Nature CASE Et Al.

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“…Fallout radionuclides have been widely adopted to trace sediment redistribution based on the principles of comparing inventories rather than to apportion sediment source using tracer concentrations (Walling and Quine, 1990). The recent application of biomarkers in fingerprinting studies has potentially improved the capacity to discriminate sources with specific vegetation (Bravo-Linares et al, 2018) or crop types (Mabit et al, 2018), although there remains scope for further testing the environmental behavior and conservation of such tracers.…”

Section: Fingerprint Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fingerprinting the sources of water-mobilized sediment threatening agricultural and water resource sustainability: Progress, challenges and prospects in China

Tang

Wen

et al. 2019

Sci. China Earth Sci.

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Sediment source fingerprinting apportions the sources of sediment produced by water erosion by linking sampled sediment mixtures and landscape source materials using diagnostic and conservative fingerprints. Using this approach, the nature and location of active sediment sources across the catchment can be elucidated, generating information which is a key prerequisite for the design and implementation of catchment management strategies. The science of sediment source fingerprinting continues to attract much research globally, but to date, there have been relatively few fingerprinting studies in China. Here, there remain major challenges for the fingerprinting approach arising from the uniqueness of Chinese landscapes, including for instance, the complex land use configuration with highly fragmented or mosaic patches and the highly dynamic land use conversion rates, generating a need to test the physical basis for the discriminatory power and environmental behavior of both traditional and novel tracers. Future research is needed to investigate the applicability of tracer properties in different physiographic settings and to evaluate the potential strategic utility of the approach for supporting the improved management of soil and water sustainability. Here, the strategic availability of independent observation data for different components of catchment sediment budgets and well-maintained research infrastructure for plots, micro-catchments and drainage basins provides immediate opportunity for testing the approach and refining procedures. Such detailed testing across scales would be invaluable for promoting sediment source fingerprinting as both a scientific and management tool for informing soil and water conservation practices in China.

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Novel application of Compound Specific Stable Isotope (CSSI) techniques to investigate on-site sediment origins across arable fields

Cited by 52 publications

References 36 publications

Understanding the effects of early degradation on isotopic tracers: implications for sediment source attribution using compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA)

Understanding the effects of early degradation on isotopic tracers: implications for sediment source attribution using compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA)

The roles of non‐production vegetation in agroecosystems: A research framework for filling process knowledge gaps in a social‐ecological context

Fingerprinting the sources of water-mobilized sediment threatening agricultural and water resource sustainability: Progress, challenges and prospects in China

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