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Biogeochemical and hydrological controls on carbon export from a forested catchment in central Japan

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Forest Ecosystems and Environments

Abstract

Here we review research on the links between hydrological processes and the biogeochemical environment controlling the dynamics of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in temperate forested catchments. In addition, we present the results of original experiments. The spatial and temporal changes in DIC and DOC concentrations were investigated in tandem with observations of elementary belowground hydrological processes for a forested headwater catchment in central Japan. The soil CO2 gas concentration, which is the source of DIC, increased with depth. The hydrological characteristics of groundwater also affected the spatial variation of partial pressure of dissolved CO2 (pCO2) in groundwater. The temporal variations in the soil CO2 gas concentration and the pCO2 values of groundwater suggested that the dynamics of DIC were strongly affected by biological activity. However, the geographical differences in DIC leaching were affected not only by the link between climatological conditions and biological activity, but also by other factors such as geomorphologic conditions. The DOC concentrations decreased with selective removal of hydrophobic acid during vertical infiltration. The major DOC-removal mechanisms were retention of metal-organic complexes to soil solids in the upper mineral soil layer and decomposition of DOC in the lower mineral soil layer. The responses of the DIC and DOC concentrations to changes in discharge during storm events were explained by the spatial variation in the DIC and DOC concentrations. Seasonal variation, which represents a long-term change, in stream water DOC concentrations was affected not only by the temporal variation in DOC concentrations in the topsoil, which may be affected by biological activity, but also by water movement, which transports DOC from the topsoil to stream water. These results indicate that both a biogeochemical approach and a method for evaluating the hydrological effects on carbon dynamics are critical for clarifying the carbon accumulation-and-release processes in forested ecosystems.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Forest Hydrology, Division of Environmental Science and Technology, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan

    Masatoshi Kawasaki, Nobuhito Ohte & Masanori Katsuyama

Authors
  1. Masatoshi Kawasaki
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  2. Nobuhito Ohte
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  3. Masanori Katsuyama
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Correspondence to Masatoshi Kawasaki .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-0810, Japan

    Takashi Kohyama

  2. Global Carbon Project, Earth Observation Centre, CSIRO Division of Atmospheric Research, GPO Box 3023, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia

    Josep Canadell

  3. Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, NESB, B229, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523-1499, USA

    Dennis S. Ojima

  4. Appalachian Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, 301 Braddock Road, Frostburg, MD, 21532-2307, USA

    Louis F. Pitelka

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© 2005 The Ecological Society of Japan

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Kawasaki, M., Ohte, N., Katsuyama, M. (2005). Biogeochemical and hydrological controls on carbon export from a forested catchment in central Japan. In: Kohyama, T., Canadell, J., Ojima, D.S., Pitelka, L.F. (eds) Forest Ecosystems and Environments. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/4-431-29361-2_11

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