title: Relative contribution of iron reduction to sediments organic matter mineralization in contrasting habitats of a shallow eutrophic freshwater lake.
abstract: Iron reduction is one of the important organic matter (OM) mineralization pathway in sediments. Here we investigated the rates and the relative contribution of iron reduction to OM mineralization in Zhushan bay (ZSB, cyanobacterial bloom biomass (CBB)-dominated habitats) and East Taihu Lake (ETL, submerged macrophypes (SM)-dominated habitats) of Lake Taihu, China. Anaerobic microcosm incubation revealed that the rate of iron reduction at ZSB (4.42 μmol cm(-3) d(-1)) in summer was almost 1.5 times higher than at ETL (3.13 μmol cm(-3) d(-1)). Iron reduction accounted for 66.5% (ZSB) and 31.8% (ETL) of total anaerobic carbon mineralization, respectively. No detectable methanogenesis was found at ZSB, while methanogenesis was responsible for 16.7% of total anaerobic respiration in sediments of ETL. Geochemical analysis of solid phase constituents indicated that ZSB surface sediments experienced highly oxidizing conditions with much higher amorphous Fe(III) (71 mmol m(-2)) than ETL (11 mmol m(-2)). Conversely, AVS inventories at ETL (38 mmol m(-2)) were up to 30 times higher than at ZSB (1.27 mmol m(-2)), indicating significant sulfate reduction in sediments of ETL. Overall results suggested that varying carbon sources and distinct geochemical characterizations of the sediments in contrasting habitats significantly influenced the rate of iron reduction and the pathway of C mineralization in a large freshwater lake.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China.
authors.forename: Mo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China. Electronic address: hljiang@niglas.ac.cn.
authors.forename: He-Long
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D018533:Biomass; D002244:Carbon / Q000032:analysis*; D002681:China; D000458:Cyanobacteria / Q000378:metabolism*; D017753:Ecosystem; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D007501:Iron / Q000737:chemistry*; D060106:Lakes / Q000737:chemistry*; D008903:Minerals / Q000737:chemistry; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D014876:Water Pollution
chemical_list: D008903:Minerals; D012987:Soil; D002244:Carbon; D007501:Iron
keywords: Freshwater lakes; Iron reduction; Methanogenesis; Organic matter mineralization; Sediments