The Impacts of Biogeochemical Sulfur Cycling on Organic Matter Composition in Terrestrial Wetlands
EMSL Project ID
49705
Abstract
Freshwater wetlands are critical areas of both organic matter sequestration and greenhouse gas release, the rates of which depend strongly on the characteristics of organic matter. In this preliminary proposal, we are specifically interested in the effects of biogeochemical sulfur cycling on organic matter condensation, degradation, and preservation. We propose to investigate natural organic matter from two freshwater wetlands where we have conducted previous work, collecting two surface peat samples and one deeper sample that will be incubated with 0, 0.5 and 5 mM sulfide for 30 days, with and without sterilization. These incubations will utilize 34S-enriched sulfide to monitor total experimental sulfur addition (by EA-IRMS at Washington University) and distinguish natural from experimentally–generated compounds in FT-ICR-MS spectra. By using the FT-ICR-MS facility at EMSL, we will be able to investigate changes in the structural and functional composition of wetland organic matter following different histories of sulfide exposure in the environment and the laboratory. Analyses of a total of ~42 extracts will serve as preliminary data to support the development of future work. At the same time, these data will provide novel insights into the role of biogeochemical sulfur cycling in preserving and transforming organic matter and will help us generate a mechanistic understanding how biogeochemical sulfur cycling in wetlands impacts the global carbon cycle.
Project Details
Project type
Limited Scope
Start Date
2017-04-10
End Date
2017-06-10
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Co-Investigator(s)