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[1] Soil organic matter (SOM) stored in permafrost terrain is a key component in the global carbon cycle, but its composition and lability are largely unknown. We characterize and assess the degree of decomposition of SOM at nine sites representing major land-cover and soil types (including peat deposits) in an area of discontinuous permafrost in the European Russian Arctic. We analyze the elemental and stable isotopic composition of bulk SOM, and the degree of humification and elemental composition of humic acids (HA). The degree of decomposition is low in the O-horizons of mineral soils and peat deposits. In the permafrost free non-peatland soils there is enrichment of 13 C and 15 N, and decrease in bulk C/N ratios indicating more decomposed material with depth. Spectral characterization of HA indicates low humification in O-horizons and peat deposits, but increase in humification in the deeper soil horizons of non-peatland soils, and in mineral horizons underlying peat deposits. GIS based maps indicate that less decomposed OM characteristic of the O-horizon and permafrost peat deposits constitute the bulk of landscape SOM (>70% of landscape soil C). We conclude, however, that permafrost has not been the key environmental factor controlling the current degree of decomposition of SOM in this landscape due to relatively recent permafrost aggradation. In this century, active layer deepening will mainly affect SOM with a relatively high degree of decomposition in deeper mineral soil horizons. Additionally, thawing permafrost in peat plateaus may cause rapid remobilization of less decomposed SOM through thermokarst expansion.Citation: Hugelius, G., J. Routh, P. Kuhry, and P. Crill (2012), Mapping the degree of decomposition and thaw remobilization potential of soil organic matter in discontinuous permafrost terrain,

The Mfabeni peatland is the only known sub-tropical coastal fen that transcends the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). This ca. 10 m thick peat sequence provides a continuous sedimentation record spanning from the late Pleistocene to present (basal age c. 47 kcal yr BP). We investigated the paleaeoenvironmental controls on peat formation and organic matter source input at the Mfabeni fen by: 1) exploring geochemical records (mass accumulation rate, total organic carbon, carbon accumulation rate, δ 13 C, δ 15 N and C/N ratio) to delineate primary production, organic matter source input, preservation and diagenetic processes, and 2) employ these geochemical signatures to reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental conditions and prevailing climate that drove carbon accumulation in the peatland. We established that the Mfabeni peat sediments have undergone minimal

High arsenic (As) concentration in groundwater has affected human health, particularly in South-East Asia putting millions of people at risk. Biogeochemical cycling of As carried out by different bacterial groups are suggested to control the As fluxes in aquifers. A functional diversity approach in link with As precipitation was adopted to study bacterial community structures and their variation within the As contaminated Bengal Delta Plain (BDP) aquifers of India. Groundwater samples collected from two shallow aquifers in Karimpur II (West Bengal, India), during years 2010 and 2011, were investigated to trace the effects immediately after monsoon period (precipitation) on community structure and diversity of bacterial assemblages with a focus on arsenite oxidizing bacterial phyla for two successive years. The study focused on amplification, clone library generation and sequencing of the arsenite oxidase large sub-unit gene aioA and 16S rRNA marker, with respect to changes in elemental concentrations. New set of primers were designed to amplify the aioA gene as a phylogenetic marker to study taxonomically diverse arsenite oxidizing bacterial groups in these aquifers. The overall narrow distribution of bacterial communities based on aioA and 16S rRNA sequences observed was due to poor nutrient status and anoxic conditions in these As contaminated aquifers. Proteobacteria was the dominant phylum detected, within which Acidovorax, Hydrogenophaga, Albidiferax, Bosea, and Polymorphum were the major arsenite oxidizing bacterial genera based on the number of clones sequenced. The structure of bacterial assemblages including those of arsenite oxidizing bacteria seems to have been affected by increase in major elemental concentrations (e.g., As, Fe, S, and Si) within two sampling sessions, which was supported by statistical analyses. One of the significant findings of this study is detection of novel lineages of 16S rRNA-like bacterial sequences indicating presence of indigenous bacterial communities BDP wells that can play important role in biogeochemical cycling of elements including As.

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Southern Africa's unique global position has given rise to a dynamic climate influenced by large sea surface temperature gradients and seasonal fluctuations in the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone. Due to the semi-arid climate of the region, terrestrial palaeorecords are rare and our understanding of the long-term sensitivity of Southern African terrestrial ecosystems to climatic drivers is ambiguous. A 810 cm continuous peat core was extracted from the Mfabeni peatland with a 14 C basal age of c. 47 thousand years calibrated before present (kcal yr BP), positioning it as one of the oldest known subtropical coastal peatlands in Southern Africa. This peat core provides an opportunity to investigate palaeoenvironmental changes in subtropical Southern Africa since the late Pleistocene. Biomarker (n-alkane, n-alkanoic acid and n-alkanol) analysis, in conjunction with previously published bulk geochemical data, was employed to reconstruct organic matter (OM) sources, rates of OM remineralisation and peatland hydrology. Our results showed that the principal OM source into the peatland was emergent and terrestrial plants with exception of shallow lake conditions when submerged macrophytes dominated (c. 44.5-42.6, 29.7, 26.1-23.1, 16.7-7.1 and 2.2 kcal yr BP). n-Alkane proxies suggest that local plant assemblages were predominantly influenced by peatland hydrology. By incorporating temperature sensitive n-alkanoic acid and nalkanol proxies, it was possible to disentangle the local temperature and precipitation changes. We report large variations in precipitation intensities, but subdued temperature fluctuations during the late Pleistocene. The Holocene period was characterised by overall elevated temperatures and precipitation compared to the preceding glacial period, interspersed with a millennial scale cooling event. A close link between the Mfabeni archive and adjacent Indian Ocean marine core records

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Environmental changes in Lake Brunnsviken, its watershed, and the greater Stockholm region since the middle of the nineteenth century have left interpretable geochemical imprints in the bottom sediments. These humaninduced perturbations within the lake's watershed included agriculture, urbanization, sewage and industrial disposal, and water column aeration. Smaller ␦ 15 N total values, high organic carbon mass accumulation rates, low C : N ratios, and larger ␦ 13 C org values identify periods of increased nutrient delivery and elevated primary productivity in the lake. C : S ratios that change from high to low trace the transition from an oxic hypolimnion to an anoxic one during the periods of high productivity. Accumulations of redox-sensitive trace elements increase during the anoxic period and are further magnified during a time of industrial waste discharge into the lake. A recent decrease in black carbon concentrations in sediments reflects the conversion from wood and coal to cleaner forms of energy.The composition of lake sediments generally reflects the environmental conditions in and around a water body that existed at the time of their accumulation. Organic matter is a small yet important component of sediments because of its associations with biota, nutrient cycles, and geochemical processes. Photosynthetic plants and microbes that inhabit the lake and its surroundings produce organic matter, and organisms that dwell in the lake depths and sediments consume it. Metabolism and oxidation of organic carbon remove dissolved oxygen from the lake waters and sediments, increase their alkalinity, and lead to CaCO 3 dissolution. Lowered oxygen levels drive redox reactions that simultaneously redistribute trace elements and nutrients. Environmental changes in and around a lake affect how much and what kind of organic matter is delivered to the aquatic system and 1 Corresponding author (joyanto.routh@geo.su.se). AcknowledgmentsWe thank Tomas Hjorth, who helped us on numerous occasions with the fieldwork; Lars Erik Bågander, who provided data for trace metals and pore-water chemistry; and Birgitta Boström, who translated some of the Swedish history for the area. Stefano Bernasconi helped us make the Suess-effect corrections. Thoughtful reviews by Mark Brenner and an anonymous reviewer are greatly appreciated. Funding for this study was provided through grants from Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien and J. Rickert stiftelsen to J.R.