Controls on the hydrogen isotope composition in the pore water from the Dajiuhu Peatland, central China

Abstract

The hydrogen isotope composition of leaf wax n-alkanes (δ²H_alk) has been used to reconstruct hydroclimate conditions, yet the factors that influence it are not fully understood, particularly the control of soil pore water δ²H. This study monitored the temporal and vertical variations of peat pore water δ²H (δ²H_pw) from 2015 to 2019 in the Dajiuhu peatland, central China. Results showed that δ²H_pw was highly variable in the surface layers (0−10 cm; avg. −47‰, 1σ = 11‰) and remained almost constant in deeper depths (below 50 cm; avg. −56‰, 1σ = 2‰). The δ²H_pw of the 0−10 cm layer was strongly correlated with the preceding month’s precipitation δ²H (δ²H_p) in the adjacent area (r = 0.7, p < 0.01), indicating that δ²H_p is the main factor affecting the temporal variations of δ²H_pw in the upper layers. Moreover, the surface (0−10 cm) peat pore water slightly deviated from the local meteoric water line, suggesting that evaporation may also have an effect on the δ²H_pw. These findings emphasize the importance of precipitation isotope composition in interpreting the δ²H_alk in peat deposits under subtropical climates.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

pore water / hydrogen isotope composition / spatiotemporal variability / soil evaporation / leaf wax n-alkane / peat deposit

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Data availability statement

Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Author contributions

XH designed the study. YW and XH collected samples, performed analyses, and analyzed the data, and wrote the manuscript.

Acknowledgments

We thank Zhiqi Zhang, Dr. Jiantao Xue, Bingyan Zhao, Dr. Yiming Zhang, Chaoyang Yan, Xiaofang Yu, Ruicheng Wang, Guang Yang and Xin Yang for their help in the fieldwork. Dr. Xiuli Li and Yingzhao Wang are thanked for their helps in the water isotope analysis. We thanked the anonymous reviewers for their comments to improve the quality of this manuscript. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. U20A2094).

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