Temporal and Spatial Changes in Black Carbon Sedimentary Processes in Wetlands of Songnen Plain, Northeast of China

Jiabao He; Chuanyu Gao; Qianxin Lin; Shaoqing Zhang; Winston Zhao; Xianguo Lu; Guoping Wang

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0140834

Temporal and Spatial Changes in Black Carbon Sedimentary Processes in Wetlands of Songnen Plain, Northeast of China

PLoS One. 2015 Oct 15;10(10):e0140834. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0140834. eCollection 2015.

Authors

Jiabao He¹, Chuanyu Gao¹, Qianxin Lin², Shaoqing Zhang³, Winston Zhao⁴, Xianguo Lu³, Guoping Wang³

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
² Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China; Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, School of the Coast & Environment, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States of America.
³ Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China.
⁴ Smeal College, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America.

Abstract

Black carbon (BC), an important component of organic carbon (OC) produced from incomplete combustion of carbon compounds, is widespread and affects the global carbon storage. The objectives of this study were to analyze the BC contents and fluxes in the last 150 years to determine the causes of differences in the three profiles of the Songnen Plain of Northeast China and to estimate the BC storage in the wetlands of the Songnen Plain. In the three sampling sites, BC fluxes in the period between 1950 and the present time increased by the ratios of 1.3, 31.1 and 1.4, respectively, compared to their own baseline between 1850 and 1900. Furthermore, the BC fluxes varying from 0.76 to 5.63 g m-2 y-1 in the three profiles had an opposite trend with the sand percentages with mean values changing from 78.9% to 19.6%, suggesting that sand desertification might additionally affect the BC processes in the region.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants / analysis
Aluminum Silicates / analysis
Carbon / analysis*
China
Clay
Conservation of Natural Resources
Environmental Monitoring / methods*
Geologic Sediments / analysis*
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
Lead / analysis
Particulate Matter / analysis
Soot / analysis*
Time Factors
Wetlands*

Substances

Air Pollutants
Aluminum Silicates
Particulate Matter
Soot
Lead
Carbon
Clay

Grants and funding

Financial support was provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41271209, 41571191), the National Basic Research Program (No. 2012CB956100), and the CAS/SAFEA International Partnership Program for Creative Research Teams (No. KZZD-EW-TZ-07). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.