Fatima Laggoun-Défarge

Above- and belowground linkages in Sphagnum peatland: climate warming affects plant-microbial interactions

Peatlands contain approximately one third of all soil organic carbon (SOC). Warming can alter above- and belowground linkages that regulate soil organic carbon dynamics and C-balance in peatlands. Here we examine the multiyear impact of in situ experimental warming on the microbial food web, vegetation, and their feedbacks with soil chemistry. We provide evidence of both positive and negative impacts of warming on specific microbial functional groups, leading to destabilization of the microbial food web. We observed a strong reduction (70%) in the biomass of top-predators (testate amoebae) in warmed plots. Such a loss caused a shortening of microbial food chains, which in turn stimulated microbial activity, leading to slight increases in levels of nutrients and labile C in water. We further show that warming altered the regulatory role of Sphagnum-polyphenols on microbial community structure with a potential inhibition of top predators. In addition, warming caused a decrease in Sphagnum cover and an increase in vascular plant cover. Using structural equation modelling, we show that changes in the microbial food web affected the relationships between plants, soil water chemistry, and microbial communities. These results suggest that warming will destabilize C and nutrient recycling of peatlands via changes in above- and belowground linkages, and therefore, the microbial food web associated with mosses will feedback positively to global warming by destabilizing the carbon cycle. This study confirms that microbial food webs thus constitute a key element in the functioning of peatland ecosystems. Their study can help understand how mosses, as ecosystem engineers, tightly regulate biogeochemical cycling and climate feedback in peatlands.

Exploitation of northern peatlands and biodiversity maintenance: a conflict between economy and ecology.

Peatlands are ecosystems of exceptional conservation value because of their beauty, biodiversity, importance in global geochemical cycles, and the paleoenvironmental records they preserve. Commercial extraction and drainage for forestry or agriculture have caused the destruction of many peatlands, especially in or close to urban areas of the northern temperate zone. Are these commercial and environmental interests irreconcilable? A close analysis suggests that limited peat extraction may actually increase biodiversity in some cases, and may be sustainable over the long term. As we learn more about how peatlands spontaneously regenerate following disturbance, and what conditions govern the re-establishment of a diverse community and the ability to sequester carbon, we increase our chances of being able to restore damaged peatlands. Preserving the chronological records hidden in the peat profile, the natural heritage value of peatlands, and the bulk of sequestered carbon, however, will remain incompatible with any form of exploitation.

Organic matter sources and early diagenetic degradation in a tropical peaty marsh (Tritrivakely, Madagascar). Implications for environmental reconstruction during the Sub-Atlantic.

Peat samples from a one metre core and living Cyperaceae, collected in Tritrivakely marsh in Madagascar, were studied to determine the organic matter (OM) composition and extent of OM degradation in this core. The study was carried out combining light microscopy observations, bulk analyses, infra-red spectroscopy, hydrolyses of sugars, oxidation of lignin and pyrolyses. In the surface peat, organic matter derived from Cyperaceae undergoes extensive degradation of its basic cell wall components, morphologically revealed by destructuration of plant tissues and their transformation into reddish amorphous organic matter occurring in large amounts all along the core. Two ratios (cinnamic units/lignin and xylose+arabinose/total sugars) were determined as markers of Cyperaceae. It appeared that the vegetation of the marsh remained probably unchanged during the considered accumulation period, i.e. the last 2300 years B.P. Rhamnose, mannose and non-cellulosic glucose probably have a common origin and are mostly derived from bacteria. In contrast, galactose is likely to be a marker of algal source, especially of the diatoms that occur only in the upper part of the core (0-ca. 50 cm). Acid/aldehyde ratios of syringic and vanillic monomers (index of lignin oxidative depolymerisation) and mannose+rhamnose+non-cellulosic glucose/total sugars ratios (reflecting bacterial degradation of hemicelluloses) are positively correlated, and can thus be considered as markers of microbial degradation of the Cyperaceae tissues. The n-alkane/n-alk-1-ene doublets that dominate the pyrolysates of hydrolysed peat samples reflect the contribution of B. braunii algaenan and higher plant suberans, and of condensed lipids mostly derived from higher plants and microalgae. The upper part of the core is characterised by a greater dilution of Cyperaceae-derived compounds by organic matter from microalgae when compared with deeper samples, as recorded by peat bulk features, hydrolysable sugars, lignin oxidation products and pyrolysis products. Two accumulation periods can thus be distinguished in the core: a peaty phase between 2300 years B.P. and ca. 1500 years B.P. (low watertable and strongly limited microalgal growth); a waterlogged marsh, from ca. 1500 years B.P. to the present time, in which a higher water table was longer lasting with a substantial algal production. The environmental variation thus recorded could correspond to a regional climatic change occurring around 1500 years B.P.

Trace elements as palaeoenvironmental markers in strongly mature hydrocarbon source rocks: the Cretaceous La Luna Formation of Venezuela

Abstract The Late Cretaceous La Luna Formation is the main hydrocarbon source-rock formation in Venezuela. In the Lake Maracaibo area, the formation shows a steep maturation gradient affecting sedimentary organic matter (OM) and clay minerals, related to local burial history and thrusting events. The influence of the gradient is examined through geochemical (organic and inorganic) and mineralogical investigations carried out on samples from five cored boreholes in the Maracaibo Basin. The analytical procedure comprises Rock Eval pyrolysis, vitrinite reflectance measurement, palynofacies observation, major- and trace-element content determination, performed on bulk-rock samples or after a sequential leach protocol (DOP calculation) and the examination and analysis of clay-mineral assemblages. The maturation gradient seems to have had no effect upon the distribution of the trace elements referred to as proxy indicators for palaeodepositional conditions of OM-rich sediments (Ba, P, V, Mo, Ni, Co, Cu, Cd, Cr and Mn). Consequently, trace elements appear to be reliable palaeoenvironmental markers. They indicate that, during the La Luna Fm. deposition, the water column must have had variable conditions, with high primary production near the surface and the correlative development of euxinic conditions at the bottom. This provides further arguments for an upwelling system affecting the northern platform of South America during Late Cretaceous time. The relative scarcity of reactive iron in the depositional environment must have taken an active part in a process involving sulphur and acting on the environmental conditions as well as on OM (vulcanisation). This process favours aliphatic OM storage and may be relevant for many other OM-rich facies or hydrocarbon source rocks.

Control of the chemical structure of perhydrous coals; FTIR and Py-GC/MS investigation

Abstract This work analyses a set of perhydrous coals (mainly composed of huminite/vitrinite maceral group) in order to determine the inter-relations between the hydrogen content and the modifications in the coal structure at a molecular level. The study involves the direct solid state characterisation of the coal combined with the analysis of representative fragments of the coal network obtained through flash-pyrolysis. The perhydrous character of the coals is not reflected either in the aliphatic hydrogen concentration (from FTIR data) or by the presence of straight-chain aliphatic moieties in the pyrolysates. This structural study shows that perhydrous coals contain mainly aromatic structures with 1–2 rings and a very small concentration of aromatic rings of large size. In agreement with this, phenol and alkyl phenols are the most prominent degradation products whereas other aromatic compounds (mainly benzene and naphthalene derivatives) are minor and probably evaporative compounds. The major structural elements in the samples studied are simple phenols with a preponderance of substituted para alkyl. The results obtained show that the processes of hydrogen enrichment affect the reactions of aromatisation and condensation. During the natural evolution of the perhydrous coals the transformations of the oxygenated functionalities in the lignin precursor seem to have taken place without the parallel structural reorganisation of the lignin framework responsible for the formation of polycyclic aromatic systems. As a result, the chemical structure of perhydrous vitrinites in coals is substantially modified with respect to that described in ‘normal’ coals. The results obtained also indicate that the source of hydrogen content and the effect that it has during the subsequent evolution process of the coals, affects the chemical structure of the perhydrous vitrinite and hence its properties and behaviour.

Pyrobitumen occurrence and formation in a Cambro{Ordovician sandstone reservoir, Fahud Salt Basin, North Oman

The Cambro–Ordovician Barik Sandstone reservoirs in the Fahud Salt Basin in Oman contain bitumen which may fill up to 40% of the porosity. In well Jaleel-1, this bitumen was isolated (according to kerogen procedure) and typed by NMR, elemental analysis and density measurements. The isolated bitumen is characterized by: (1) a highly aromatic character (NMR 75% CAro, H/C atomic ratio: 0.65), (2) a very high sulphur content (4.2%) and (3) a relatively high density (1.3–1.4 g/cm3). The insolubility and the reflectivity of the bitumen (1.2% Vr) qualify it as a low mature pyrobitumen. The combination of Rock-Eval and density data was used to calculate the actual volume of the pyrobitumen in the rock, as a percentage of porosity. It was found that the pyrobitumen volume shows a negative correlation with total porosity, indicating that small pores are more invaded by bitumen than larger ones. Finally, closed system pyrolysis experiments, performed on oils with different NSO contents, indicate that an in situ oil with a very high content of NSO compounds is required to generate such large amounts of pyrobitumen in the pore system. These observations suggest that the precursor oil of the current pyrobitumen was a very heavy oil tentatively assumed to be the result of a severe biodegradation. Basin modeling shows that the reservoir was charged already in Devonian times. A major uplift brought the oil accumulation near the surface during the Carboniferous and a rather regular burial to the present day position (4500 m, 140°C) (Loosveld et al., 1996). This scenario, involving a residence time at shallow depth, strengthens the biodegradation hypothesis. The numerical modeling, which involves the IFP kinetic model for secondary oil cracking, suggests that pyrobitumen formation is a very recent event. Inclusion of pyrobitumen particles within quartz overgrowth, containing fluid inclusions, provides an upper temperature limit for the beginning of pyrobitumen formation which comforts the result of kinetic modelling.

An unexpected role for mixotrophs in the response of peatland carbon cycling to climate warming

Mixotrophic protists are increasingly recognized for their significant contribution to carbon (C) cycling. As phototrophs they contribute to photosynthetic C fixation, whilst as predators of decomposers, they indirectly influence organic matter decomposition. Despite these direct and indirect effects on the C cycle, little is known about the responses of peatland mixotrophs to climate change and the potential consequences for the peatland C cycle. With a combination of field and microcosm experiments, we show that mixotrophs in the Sphagnum bryosphere play an important role in modulating peatland C cycle responses to experimental warming. We found that five years of consecutive summer warming with peaks of +2 to +8°C led to a 50% reduction in the biomass of the dominant mixotrophs, the mixotrophic testate amoebae (MTA). The biomass of other microbial groups (including decomposers) did not change, suggesting MTA to be particularly sensitive to temperature. In a microcosm experiment under controlled conditions, we then manipulated the abundance of MTA, and showed that the reported 50% reduction of MTA biomass in the field was linked to a significant reduction of net C uptake (-13%) of the entire Sphagnum bryosphere. Our findings suggest that reduced abundance of MTA with climate warming could lead to reduced peatland C fixation.

A portable infrared laser spectrometer for flux measurements of trace gases at the geosphere–atmosphere interface

A portable infrared laser absorption spectrometer named SPIRIT (SPectrometre Infra-Rouge In situ Tropospherique) has been set up for the simultaneous flux measurements of trace gases at the geosphere–atmosphere interface. It uses a continuous wave distributed feedback room temperature quantum cascade laser and a patented new optical multi-pass cell. The aim of SPIRIT field studies is to get a better understanding of land and water bodies to atmosphere exchange mechanisms of greenhouse gases (GHG). The analytical procedures to derive concentrations and fluxes are described, as well as the performances of the instrument under field conditions. The ability of SPIRIT to assess space and time dependence emissions of two GHG—nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4)—for different types of ecosystems is demonstrated through in situ measurements on peatland, on fertilized soil, and on water body systems. The objectives of these investigations and preliminary significant results are reported.

Fluorescence of organic matter and thermal maturity assessment

Abstract One of the aims of the organic petrologist is to study the thermal changes of the sedimentary organic matter through its consequences on a microscopical scale, i.e. on the maceral scale. Different fluorescence properties of organic constituents were studied on several natural or artificial series, each of them exhibiting both specific organic matter content and thermal history: Green River Shales, Uinta basin, U.S.A. (type I); Toarcian Shales, Paris basin, France (type II); Sancerre borehole, Paris basin, France (type II); Mahakam basin, Indonesia (type III); Haltenbanken graben, North Sea (type III); Cretaceous basin, Sudan; Sbaa basin, Algeria. In each case, the results were compared to different optical and geochemical evolution parameters. Vitrinite reflectance (Rm) behaves as a rank parameter and follows a monotonous evolution, systematically increasing with diagenesis. For its part, the fluorescence of macerals is strongly influenced by their bitumen fraction. When a maceral reaches a peculiar thermal evolution state (maturity threshold), and produces its own thermal effluents, important changes in its fluorescence properties occur. We show that along a thermal series each fluorescent maceral exhibits its own threshold. This threshold is different from that of the whole organic content, as defined by global geochemical parameters. For these reasons, the liptinite fluorescence parameters do not parallel the monotonous evolution of vitrinite reflectance; they account for oil generation and thus behave as maturity parameters. Special attention must be paid to additional phenomenon affecting the organic matter (oxidation, oil migration, etc.), since their resulting effect on fluorescence properties can at times hide the thermal effects, or, at others, can be sometimes mistaken for them. The experienced use of such pinpoint tools leads to an accurate knowledge of the mechanisms which govern the thermal maturation of the sedimentary organic matter. Considering the difference between the rank and maturity concepts, and taking into account the proper maturity state of several organic constituents, they allow the detailed determination of the maturity state of a source rock in relation to its microtexture.

A new oil-window indicator? The magnetic assemblage of claystones from the Baffin Bay volcanic margin (Greenland)

Identifying independent parameters to bracket the oil window in sedimentary basins is of first importance for petroleum exploration. We investigate the magnetic assemblage of Cretaceous claystones collected from the western volcanic margin of Greenland. These claystones experienced low-grade burial ( 300 K) properties of isothermal remanent magnetization. The magnetic assemblage of immature claystones (lower Ro) resides in goethite, greigite, and some magnetite. The magnetic assemblage of immature to early mature claystones (higher Ro) resides in stoichiometric magnetite and fine-grained pyrrhotite. By comparing these results with those from claystones from the Paris Basin (France) and the Jura Mountains (Switzerland), we suggest the existence of similar mechanisms for the formation of magnetic minerals during burial. If confirmed by further studies, the magnetic assemblage of claystones may be diagnostic of oil windows.