Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM) in a Warm-Temperate Forested Watershed—A Possibility of Ultraviolet Absorbance as an Indicator of DOM

Abstract

We investigated changes in the quantity and quality of dissolved organic matter (DOM) from rain to stream water in a forested watershed at Yamashiro Experimental Forest (YMS) in southern Kyoto prefecture. The dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration and specific UV absorbance at 254 nm (SUVA254) in rainwater increased in the order of bulk rain, throughfall, stemflow, and O layer leachate because of the DOM supply from tree tissue and O layer. Decreases in DOC concentration and SUVA254 with soil depth were not observed in the soil-percolating water. This finding may have been caused by the low free oxide content of the soil and the collection of soil water with a tension-free lysimeter. The DOC concentration was very low in both seepage and stream waters; seasonal variation with a high concentration in summer was observed in the stream water. An increase in K+ concentration in summer was also observed in the stream water; thus, we presumed that DOC seasonal variation was caused by the DOM supply with the accumulated decomposition of litter in the streambed. The significant correlation between DOC concentration and absorbance at 254 nm (UV254) was observed for all sample types of observation target in the watershed; the ratio of DOC concentration to UV254 was different, while the correlation coefficient between DOC concentration and UV254 value differed among sample types in the watershed. We concluded that UV254 which can be measured by simply and easily is a good indicator for estimating DOC concentration in liquid samples in forested watersheds.