Overlooked great role of wind erosion in terrestrial dissolved organic matter input to lake ecosystem in cold and arid regions

Ying Guo; Zhaokui Ni; Yue Dong; Shengrui Wang; Yue Wu; Shuai Liu; Yuqi Huang

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164272

Overlooked great role of wind erosion in terrestrial dissolved organic matter input to lake ecosystem in cold and arid regions

Sci Total Environ. 2023 Sep 10:890:164272. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164272. Epub 2023 May 19.

Authors

Ying Guo¹, Zhaokui Ni², Yue Dong³, Shengrui Wang⁴, Yue Wu⁵, Shuai Liu¹, Yuqi Huang¹

Affiliations

¹ Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory for Water Security, Center for Water Research, Advanced Institute of Natural Sciences, Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai, Zhuhai 519087, China; College of Water Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Engineering Research Center of Ministry of Education on Groundwater Pollution Control and Remediation, Beijing 100875, China.
² Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory for Water Security, Center for Water Research, Advanced Institute of Natural Sciences, Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai, Zhuhai 519087, China; Engineering Research Center of Ministry of Education on Groundwater Pollution Control and Remediation, Beijing 100875, China.
³ Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory for Water Security, Center for Water Research, Advanced Institute of Natural Sciences, Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai, Zhuhai 519087, China; Engineering Research Center of Ministry of Education on Groundwater Pollution Control and Remediation, Beijing 100875, China. Electronic address: dongyue@bnu.edu.cn.
⁴ Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory for Water Security, Center for Water Research, Advanced Institute of Natural Sciences, Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai, Zhuhai 519087, China; College of Water Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Engineering Research Center of Ministry of Education on Groundwater Pollution Control and Remediation, Beijing 100875, China; Yunnan Key Laboratory of Pollution Process and Management of Plateau Lake Watershed, Kunming, Yunnan Province 650034, China. Electronic address: wangsr@bnu.edu.cn.
⁵ North China Institute of Science and Technology, Beijing 100012, China.

PMID: 37209752
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164272

Abstract

Lakes in cold and arid regions have weak hydrological connectivity to their watersheds and serious soil erosion by wind, and are particularly sensitive to changes in underlying surface process and global climate changes, which may result in unique carbon cycles across the terrestrial-aquatic interface and ecological impacts. However, the roles of input pathways of terrestrial dissolved organic matter (TDOM) to lakes in cold and arid regions, especially the effects of possible TDOM input caused by wind erosion, has not been fully understood. Taking a typical lake in cold and arid regions as an example, this study comprehensively investigated the characteristics and contributions of dissolved organic matter (DOM) input from different TDOM input pathways, ultimately highlighted the impacts of wind erosion from composition characteristics, historical changes and universal proofs. The results showed that DOM introduced by wind erosion contributed 37.34 % to all TDOM input, and exhibited the strongest humification and aromaticity, and greatest molecular weight and stability. The considerable input and refractory characteristics led to the differences in the TDOM distribution and DOM composition between the near-wind and far-wind shores of the lake. Moreover, historical analysis showed that wind erosion became the main way driving the changes in buried terrestrial organic matter in the lake through a combined action of precipitation and land cover changes after 2008. The pervasive importance of wind erosion pathways on TDOM inputs in the cold and arid regions was further demonstrated through the proof from two other representative lakes. The findings also shed light on the possible impacts of wind erosion on material distribution, aquatic productivity, and energy input in lake ecosystems. The study provides new insights to broaden the content of global lake-landscape interactions and regional ecosystem conservation.

Keywords: Cold and arid regions; Lake ecosystems; Land cover; Terrestrial dissolved organic matter; Wind erosion.

MeSH terms

Dissolved Organic Matter
Ecosystem*
Lakes*
Wind

Substances

Dissolved Organic Matter