Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1021/acs.est.5c01998
Licence creative commons licence
Title (Primary) Functional group distribution shapes chemical properties of degraded terrestrial and marine dissolved organic matter
Author Rodrigues Matos, R.; Craig, A.; Koch, B.; Hawkes, J.; Moodie, L.; Ivanova, A.; Gleixner, G.; Guth, P.; Knorr, K.-H.; Tebben, J.; Reemtsma, T.; Zherebker, A.; Lechtenfeld, O. ORCID logo
Source Titel Environmental Science & Technology
Year 2025
Department EAC
Volume 59
Issue 49
Page From 26539
Page To 26549
Language englisch
Topic T9 Healthy Planet
Data and Software links https://doi.org/10.48758/ufz.16221
Supplements Supplement 1
Keywords degradation markers; dissolved organic matter (DOM); acidity-based fractionation; sequential solid-phase extraction (SSPE); liquid chromatography fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (LC-FT-ICR MS); proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-NMR); molecular tagging; deuteromethylation; functional groups
UFZ wide themes ProVIS;
Abstract Dissolved organic matter (DOM) plays a crucial role in global carbon cycling, yet its molecular complexity and the factors governing its turnover and degradation in different ecosystems are poorly understood. Here, we provide an experimental assessment of structural diversity in terrestrial and marine DOM, using a multimethod approach. Terrestrial peat pore water (PPW) exhibited a similar number of COOH-groups, two times more noncarboxylic oxygen atoms (non-COOH–O, up to n = 20) as compared to surface seawater (SSW; up to n = 10), and significantly higher isomeric dispersity indices (2.5–3.0 vs 1.3–1.5), highlighting its greater structural complexity and isomeric diversity. At the level of individual molecular formulas of the widely used DOM degradation index (IDEG), we found that POSIDEG molecular formulas representing fresh DOM (i.e., they were positively correlated with radiocarbon content) share similar structural characteristics in both environments (e.g., low number of carboxyl-groups). In contrast, NEGIDEG markers for degraded DOM (i.e., negatively correlated with radiocarbon content) displayed a higher number of carboxyl-groups in the least acidic fraction for PPW but in the most acidic fraction for SSW. Our results indicate ecosystem-specific degradation pathways emphasizing how global carbon cycling is influenced by the molecular structure of DOM.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=31618
Rodrigues Matos, R., Craig, A., Koch, B., Hawkes, J., Moodie, L., Ivanova, A., Gleixner, G., Guth, P., Knorr, K.-H., Tebben, J., Reemtsma, T., Zherebker, A., Lechtenfeld, O. (2025):
Functional group distribution shapes chemical properties of degraded terrestrial and marine dissolved organic matter
Environ. Sci. Technol. 59 (49), 26539 - 26549 10.1021/acs.est.5c01998