The molecular structure of humus substances from permafrost-affected peat mounds of the East European forest-tundra has been studied with the use of up to date physicochemical methods (C-13 NMR, EPR spectroscopy). The structural-functional parameters of humus substances from these soils are specified by the integral action of cryogenic processes in the active layer, natural selection of aromatic structures in the course of humification, and by the species composition and degree of peat decomposition; they reflect the climatic conditions of peat formation in the Holocene. Humic acids of peat bogs are represented by low-condensed molecular structures with the low portion of carbon atoms of aromatic components, which increases down the soil profile, and by with the high content of non-oxidized aliphatic fragments. Active changes in the portions of aromatic and non-oxidized aliphatic fragments take place at the lower boundary of the active layer in the soils of bare peat spots. Such changes may serve as the basis for further search of the bioindicators of recent climate changes.

Arctic warming may induce slope failure in upland permafrost soils. These landslide-like events, referred to as active layer detachments (ALDs), redistribute soil material into hydrological networks during spring melt and heavy rainfall. In 2011, 2013 and 2014, fluvial sediments from the West River at the Cape Bounty Arctic Watershed Observatory were sampled where ALDs occurred in 2007-2008. Two ALD-impacted subcatchments were examined exhibiting either continuing disturbance or short-term stabilization. Solid-state C-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and targeted biomarker analysis via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry were used to investigate shifts in organic matter (OM) composition. Additionally, radiocarbon ages were determined using accelerator mass spectrometry. Biomarker concentrations and O-alkyl carbon assessed via NMR were both lower in sediments nearest the active disturbance and increased in sediments downstream where other aquatic inputs became more dominant. This suggests immobilization of recalcitrant OM near the ALD and the sustained transport of labile ALD-derived OM further downstream. Shifts toward older radiocarbon dates along the river between 2011 and 2014 suggest the continued transport of permafrost-derived OM downstream. The stabilizing subcatchment revealed high O-alkyl carbon via NMR and increased concentrations of unaltered terrestrial-derived biomarkers indicative of enhanced OM accumulation following ALD activity. The relatively young radiocarbon ages from these sediments suggest accumulation from contemporary sources and potential burial of the previously dispersed ALD inputs. Within the broader context of Arctic climate change, these results portray a complex environmental trajectory for thaw-released permafrost-derived OM and highlight uncertainty in the relationship between lability and persistence upon release by permafrost disturbance. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ongoing global temperature rise has caused significant thaw and degradation of permafrost soils on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). Leaching of organic matter from permafrost soils to aquatic systems is highly complex and difficult to reproduce in a laboratory setting. We collected samples from natural seeps of active and permafrost layers in an alpine swamp meadow on the QTP to shed light on the composition of mobilized dissolved organic matter (DOM) by combining optical measurements, ultrahigh-resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry, radiocarbon (C-14), and solid-state C-13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Our results show that even though the active layer soils contain large amounts of proteins and carbohydrates, there is a selective release of aromatic components, whereas in the deep permafrost layer, carbohydrate and protein components are preferentially leached during the thawing process. Given these different chemical characteristics of mobilized DOM, we hypothesize that photomineralization contributes significantly to the loss of DOM that is leached from the seasonally thawed surface layer. However, with continued warming, biodegradation will become more important since biolabile materials such as protein and carbohydrate are preferentially released from deep-layer permafrost soils. This transition in DOM leachate source and associated chemical composition has ramifications for downstream fluvial networks on the QTP particularly in terms of processing of carbon and associated fluxes.

Humification plays an important role in stabilization of organic matter in soils of the cryolithic zone. In this context, the degree of organic matter stabilization has been assessed, using instrumental methods, for permafrost peat soils of the eastern European Arctic, based on selected plots from within the Komi Republic (Russian Federation). Humic substances (HSs) isolated from the mire permafrost peats of the forest-tundra sub-zone of the European Arctic have been characterized in terms of molecular composition. This was accomplished using elemental and amino acid fragments (AAFs) composition. Solid-state C-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (C-13 NMR) spectroscopy was utilized to identify the structure of HSs. Changes in the molar x(H) : x(C) ratio, ratio of aromatic to paraffin fragments and ratio of hydroxy AAFs to heterocyclic AAFs along the peat profiles have been revealed. They are due to the activation of cryogenic processes in the upper part of the seasonally thawing layer, the natural selection of condensed humic molecules, the botanical composition and degree of degradation of peat, which reflect the climatic features of the area in the Holocene. Humic acids and fulvic acids of the peat soils showed the prevalence of compounds with a low degree of condensation and a low portion of aromatic fragments. The aromaticity degree showed the trend to increase within the depth. Changes of quantitative and qualitative parameters of specific organic compounds occur at the permafrost boundary of peatlands, which can serve as an indicator of recent climate changes in environments from the high latitudes. The presented data can be useful in the evaluation of soil organic matter stabilization degree in the active layer and below the permafrost table.

Increased mineralization of the organic matter (OM) stored in permafrost is expected to constitute the largest additional global warming potential from terrestrial ecosystems exposed to a warmer climate. Chemical composition of permafrost OM is thought to be a key factor controlling the sensitivity of decomposition to warming. Our objective was to characterise OM from permafrost soils of the European Arctic: two mineral soils-Adventdalen, Svalbard, Norway and Vorkuta, northwest Russia-and a palsa (ice-cored peat mound patterning in heterogeneous permafrost landscapes) soil in Neiden, northern Norway, in terms of molecular composition and state of decomposition. At all sites, the OM stored in the permafrost was at an advanced stage of decomposition, although somewhat less so in the palsa peat. By comparing permafrost and active layers, we found no consistent effect of depth or permafrost on soil organic matter (SOM) chemistry across sites. The permafrost-affected palsa peat displayed better preservation of plant material in the deeper layer, as indicated by increasing contribution of lignin carbon to total carbon with depth, associated to decreasing acid (Ac) to aldehyde (Al) ratio of the syringyl (S) and vanillyl (V) units, and increasing S/V and contribution of plant-derived sugars. By contrast, in Adventdalen, the Ac/Al ratio of lignin and the Alkyl C to O-alkyl C ratio in the NMR spectra increased with depth, which suggests less oxidized SOM in the active layer compared to the permafrost layer. In Vorkuta, SOM characteristics in the permafrost profile did not change substantially with depth, probably due to mixing of soil layers by cryoturbation. The composition and state of decomposition of SOM appeared to be site-specific, in particular bound to the prevailing organic or mineral nature of soil when attempting to predict the SOM proneness to degradation. The occurrence of processes such as palsa formation in organic soils and cryoturbation should be considered when up-scaling and predicting the responses of OM to climate change in arctic soils.