Peatlands of the Northern Hemisphere and Central European coniferous forests experience significant environmental change. The resultant browning of surface waters, that is, elevated concentrations of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and metals, is of interest in the context of the global C cycle, peatland and forest management, and water treatment. In an attempt to identify the causes of this process in the Harz Mountains (Central Germany), we studied the spatiotemporal variations in DOM molecular composition (thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation combined with GC-MS) and metal concentrations in headwater stream samples. We found strong relationships between DOM and metals and seasonal variations in the DOM quality and tentatively DOM-metal binding mode: during summer base flow, DOM and metal concentrations are low, and all elements other than the alkali and alkaline earth metals (Ca, Mg, Sr, K, and Na) are positively correlated to DOM, whereas during spring and autumn (high discharge), only metals with strong affinity for DOM (Fe, As, Cu, Cr, Pb, and Ti), but not weakly binding ones (Al, Cd, La, Mn, Ni, Zn, and Zr), are correlated to DOM, indicative of selectivity in DOM-metal interactions. The products of polyphenols are the key ingredients of the DOM-metal complexes. We argue the importance of spruce lignin-derived vanillic acid moieties, which are involved in weak (all seasons) and strong, multidentate and/or colloidal, binding (spring and autumn) of metals. Considering the ongoing spruce forest dieback and climate change acceleration, it is tempting to conclude that spruce necromass and forest soils may release vast amounts of lignin-derived DOM and associated metals to headwater streams. This would have significant implications for forest soil C stocks and the management of connected drinking water reservoirs.
Keywords: brownification; dissolved organic matter source; environmental change; metal biogeochemical cycles; molecular scale; peatland; spruce forest.