Biodegradability of unheated and laboratory heated dissolved organic matter

Following wildfires, partially combusted biomass remains on the forest floor and erosion from the landscape can release dissolved pyrogenic organic matter (dPyOM) to surface waters. Therefore, post-fire alterations to dissolved organic matter (DOM) in aquatic systems may play a vital role in DOM stability and biogeochemical cycles. Dissolved PyOM biodegradation remains poorly understood and is expected to vary with combustion temperature and fuel source. In this study laboratory heating and leaching of forest floor materials (soil and litter) were used to compare the biodegradability of unheated, low (250 °C), and moderate (450 °C) temperature leachates. Inoculation experiments were performed with river microbes. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen (DON), inorganic nitrogen, and DOM optical properties were monitored for 38 days. Inoculation experiments showed significantly greater DOC biodegradation of low and moderate temperature samples (64% and 71%, respectively) compared to unheated samples (32%). The greater DOC biodegradation may be explained by lower molecular weight DOM composition of heated leachates which was supported by higher initial E₂/E₃ ratios (absorbance at 250 nm/365 nm). Further, the observed decrease in the E₂/E₃ ratio after incubation suggests biodegradation of smaller compounds. This trend was greater for heated samples than unheated DOM. Specific ultraviolet absorbance increased after incubation, suggesting biodegradation of aliphatic compounds. Inoculated moderate temperature samples showed the greatest DON degradation (74%), followed by low temperature (58%) and unheated (51%) samples. Overall, results suggest that low and moderate temperature dPyOM was more biodegradable than unheated DOM, which may have implications for aquatic biogeochemical cycling, ecosystem function, and water quality in fire-impacted watersheds.