M. M. Bisiaux

Stormwater and fire as sources of black carbon nanoparticles to Lake Tahoe.

Emitted to the atmosphere through fire and fossil fuel combustion, refractory black carbon nanoparticles (rBC) impact human health, climate, and the carbon cycle. Eventually these particles enter aquatic environments, where they may affect the fate of other pollutants. While ubiquitous, the particles are still poorly characterized in freshwater systems. Here we present the results of a study determining rBC in waters of the Lake Tahoe watershed in the western United States from 2007 to 2009. The study period spanned a large fire within the Tahoe basin, seasonal snowmelt, and a number of storm events, which resulted in pulses of urban runoff into the lake with rBC concentrations up to 4 orders of magnitude higher than midlake concentrations. The results show that rBC pulses from both the fire and urban runoff were rapidly attenuated suggesting unexpected aggregation or degradation of the particles. We find that those processes prevent rBC concentrations from building up in the clear and oligotrophic Lake Tahoe. This rapid removal of rBC soon after entry into the lake has implications for the transport of rBC in the global aquatic environment and the flux of rBC from continents to the global ocean.

Carbon allocation in Larrea tridentata plant-soil systems as affected by elevated soil moisture and N availability

Background and AimsGlobal change will likely express itself in southwestern United States arid lands through changes in amounts and timing of precipitation in response to elevated CO2 concentrations. In addition, increased nitrogen (N) deposition may occur due to increased urban development. This study addressed the effects of water and N availability on C allocation in arid land soil-plant systems.MethodsColumns filled with Mojave Desert topsoil containing Larrea tridentata seedlings with two treatment levels each of N and soil moisture were labeled by exposure to 13C-enriched CO2.ResultsIncreased soil moisture increased plant biomass, total 13C uptake, 13C levels in leaves, soil organic matter, and soil respiration, decreased relative C allocation to stems but increased allocation to soil organic matter. Increased soil N availability increased N uptake but decreased C allocation to soil respiration presumably due to decreased substrate supply for microbes. There was no detectable label in carbonate C, suggesting that this pool does not significantly contribute to ecosystem C fluxes.ConclusionsOur study indicates that increased water availability causes increased C uptake with increased C allocation to soil organic matter in Larrea tridentata-dominated communities while increased N deposition will have a minimal impact on C sequestration.