scholarly journals Extensive primary production promoted the recovery of the Ediacaran Shuram excursion

2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fuencisla Cañadas ◽  
Dominic Papineau ◽  
Melanie J. Leng ◽  
Chao Li

AbstractMember IV of the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation records the recovery from the most negative carbon isotope excursion in Earth history. However, the main biogeochemical controls that ultimately drove this recovery have yet to be elucidated. Here, we report new carbon and nitrogen isotope and concentration data from the Nanhua Basin (South China), where δ13C values of carbonates (δ13Ccarb) rise from − 7‰ to −1‰ and δ15N values decrease from +5.4‰ to +2.3‰. These trends are proposed to arise from a new equilibrium in the C and N cycles where primary production overcomes secondary production as the main source of organic matter in sediments. The enhanced primary production is supported by the coexisting Raman spectral data, which reveal a systematic difference in kerogen structure between depositional environments. Our new observations point to the variable dominance of distinct microbial communities in the late Ediacaran ecosystems, and suggest that blooms of oxygenic phototrophs modulated the recovery from the most negative δ13Ccarb excursion in Earth history.

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 2595-2621 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. M. Hill ◽  
C. R. Myrvold ◽  
H. J. Spero ◽  
T. P. Guilderson

Abstract. Deep-sea bamboo corals (order Gorgonacea, family Isididae) are known to record changes in water mass chemistry over decades to centuries. These corals are composed of a two-part skeleton of calcite internodes segmented by gorgonin organic nodes. We examine the spatial variability of bamboo coral organic node 13C/12C and 15N/14N from thirteen bamboo coral specimens sampled along the California margin (37–32° N; 792 to 2136 m depth). Radiocarbon analyses of the organic nodes show the presence of the anthropogenic bomb spike, indicating the corals utilize a surface-derived food source (pre-bomb D14C values of ∼ −100‰, post-bomb values to 82‰). Carbon and nitrogen isotope data from the organic nodes (13C = −15.9‰ to −19.2‰ 15N = 13.8‰ to 19.4‰) suggest selective feeding on surface-derived organic matter or zooplankton. A strong relationship between coral 15N and habitat depth indicate a potential archive of changing carbon export, with decreased 15N values reflecting reduced microbial degradation (increased carbon flux) at shallower depths. Using four multi-centennial length coral records, we interpret long-term 15N stability in the California Current. Organic node 13C values record differences in carbon isotope fractionation dictated by nearshore vs. offshore primary production. These findings imply strong coupling between primary production, pelagic food webs, and deep-sea benthic communities.


2008 ◽  
Vol 86 (7) ◽  
pp. 685-691 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. Miller ◽  
J. S. Millar ◽  
F. J. Longstaffe

The dietary habits of most small mammals are not well documented, and stable isotope measurements can provide information on when and how diets change. Here we document the discrimination and turnover times for carbon and nitrogen isotopes in blood, liver, muscle, hair, and milk from deer mice ( Peromyscus maniculatus (Wagner, 1845)) fed a controlled diet. Nonbreeding adults and pregnant females were livetrapped, maintained on a commercial laboratory chow, and had tissues sampled on a regular schedule. After adjusting to the laboratory diet, most tissues of nonbreeding adults were slightly depleted of 13C and enriched in 15N relative to diet (Δ13Ctissue–diet range = 0.3‰ to –1.1 ‰; Δ15Ntissue–diet range = 1.9‰ to 3.4‰). Liver (half-lives of 2.8 and 3.6 days for C and N, respectively) turned over more rapidly than blood (22.4 and 19.8 days for C and N, respectively) and muscle (18.7 and 24.8 days for C and N, respectively). The isotopic compositions of nonbreeding and breeding adults indicated tissue turnover at approximately the same rate, but juvenile tissues reflected the laboratory diet much more quickly than adult tissues.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongtao Xu ◽  
Xinqiang Wang ◽  
Xiaoying Shi ◽  
Yongbo Peng ◽  
Eva E. Stüeken

The middle Ediacaran Period records one of the deepest negative carbonate carbon isotope (δ13Ccarb) excursions in Earth history (termed the Shuram excursion). This excursion is argued by many to represent a large perturbation of the global carbon cycle. If true, this event may also have induced significant changes in the nitrogen cycle, because carbon and nitrogen are intimately coupled in the global ocean. However, the response of the nitrogen cycle to the Shuram excursion remains ambiguous. Here, we reported high resolution bulk nitrogen isotope (δ15N) and organic carbon isotope (δ13Corg) data from the upper Doushantuo Formation in two well-preserved sections (Jiulongwan and Xiangerwan) in South China. The Shuram-equivalent excursion is well developed in both localities, and our results show a synchronous decrease in δ15N across the event. This observation is further supported by bootstrapping simulations taking into account all published δ15N data from the Doushantuo Formation. Isotopic mass balance calculations suggest that the decrease in δ15N during the Shuram excursion is best explained by the reduction of isotopic fractionation associated with water column denitrification (εwd) in response to feedbacks between carbon and nitrogen cycling, which were modulated by changes in primary productivity and recycled nutrient elements through remineralization of organic matter. The study presented here thus offers a new perspective for coupled variations in carbon and nitrogen cycles and sheds new light on this critical time in Earth history.


2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (14) ◽  
pp. 3845-3854 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. M. Hill ◽  
C. R. Myrvold ◽  
H. J. Spero ◽  
T. P. Guilderson

Abstract. Deep-sea bamboo corals (order Gorgonacea, family Isididae) are known to record changes in water mass chemistry over decades to centuries. These corals are composed of a two-part skeleton of calcite internodes segmented by gorgonin organic nodes. We examine the spatial variability of bamboo coral organic node 13C/12C and 15N/14N from 13 bamboo coral specimens sampled along the California margin (37–32° N, 792–2136 m depth). Radiocarbon analyses of the organic nodes show the presence of the anthropogenic bomb spike, indicating the corals utilize a surface-derived food source (pre-bomb D14C values of ∼−100‰, post-bomb values up to 82‰). Carbon and nitrogen isotope data from the organic nodes (δ13C = −15.9‰ to −19.2‰; δ15N = 13.8‰ to 19.4‰) suggest selective feeding on surface-derived organic matter or zooplankton. A strong relationship between coral δ15N and habitat depth indicates a potential archive of changing carbon export, with decreased δ15N values reflecting reduced microbial degradation (increased carbon flux) at shallower depths. Using four multi-centennial-length coral records, we interpret long-term δ15N stability in the California Current. Organic node δ15C values record differences in carbon isotope fractionation dictated by nearshore vs. offshore primary production. These findings imply strong coupling between primary production, pelagic food webs, and deep-sea benthic communities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (8) ◽  
pp. 819-824
Author(s):  
P. Yu. Voronin ◽  
V. A. Mukhin ◽  
T. A. Velivetskaya ◽  
A. V. Ignatiev ◽  
Vl. V. Kuznetsov

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (10) ◽  
pp. 160361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne l-M-Arnold ◽  
Maren Grüning ◽  
Judy Simon ◽  
Annett-Barbara Reinhardt ◽  
Norbert Lamersdorf ◽  
...  

Climate change may foster pest epidemics in forests, and thereby the fluxes of elements that are indicators of ecosystem functioning. We examined compounds of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in insect faeces, leaf litter, throughfall and analysed the soils of deciduous oak forests ( Quercus petraea  L.) that were heavily infested by the leaf herbivores winter moth ( Operophtera brumata  L.) and mottled umber ( Erannis defoliaria  L.). In infested forests, total net canopy-to-soil fluxes of C and N deriving from insect faeces, leaf litter and throughfall were 30- and 18-fold higher compared with uninfested oak forests, with 4333 kg C ha −1 and 319 kg N ha −1 , respectively, during a pest outbreak over 3 years. In infested forests, C and N levels in soil solutions were enhanced and C/N ratios in humus layers were reduced indicating an extended canopy-to-soil element pathway compared with the non-infested forests. In a microcosm incubation experiment, soil treatments with insect faeces showed 16-fold higher fluxes of carbon dioxide and 10-fold higher fluxes of dissolved organic carbon compared with soil treatments without added insect faeces (control). Thus, the deposition of high rates of nitrogen and rapidly decomposable carbon compounds in the course of forest pest epidemics appears to stimulate soil microbial activity (i.e. heterotrophic respiration), and therefore, may represent an important mechanism by which climate change can initiate a carbon cycle feedback.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianqiang Li ◽  
Qibo Chen ◽  
Zhuang Li ◽  
Bangxiao Peng ◽  
Jianlong Zhang ◽  
...  

AbstractThe carbon (C) pool in forest ecosystems plays a long-term and sustained role in mitigating the impacts of global warming, and the sequestration of C is closely linked to the nitrogen (N) cycle. Accurate estimates C and N storage (SC, SN) of forest can improve our understanding of C and N cycles and help develop sustainable forest management policies in the content of climate change. In this study, the SC and SN of various forest ecosystems dominated respectively by Castanopsis carlesii and Lithocarpus mairei (EB), Pinus yunnanensis (PY), Pinus armandii (PA), Keteleeria evelyniana (KE), and Quercus semecarpifolia (QS) in the central Yunnan Plateau of China, were estimated on the basis of a field inventory to determine the distribution and altitudinal patterns of SC and SN among various forest ecosystems. The results showed that (1) the forest SC ranged from 179.58 ± 20.57 t hm−1 in QS to 365.89 ± 35.03 t hm−1 in EB. Soil, living biomass and litter contributed an average of 64.73%, 31.72% and 2.86% to forest SC, respectively; (2) the forest SN ranged from 4.47 ± 0.94 t ha−1 in PY to 8.91 ± 1.83 t ha−1 in PA. Soil, plants and litter contributed an average of 86.88%, 10.27% and 2.85% to forest SN, respectively; (3) the forest SC and SN decreased apparently with increasing altitude. The result demonstrates that changes in forest types can strongly affect the forest SC and SN. This study provides baseline information for forestland managers regarding forest resource utilization and C management.


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