Aerobic and anaerobic metabolism of a sediment enriched with Spartina detritus

Metabolism of a salt-marsh sediment, kept flooded at constant temperature, was monitored for 30 d after burial of fresh and aged Spartina detritus. Carbon dioxide released by the sediment was between 2.0 and 6.9 times the oxygen taken up, indicating that the anaerobic mineralization of organic carbon was predominant. Sulfate reduction accounted for only 21 % of the CO, production during an initial 8 d period of rapid decomposition, but became more dominant as decomposition slowed, eventually accounting for 77 % of the CO2 produced. Selective inhibition of sulfate reduction and total respiration demonstrated that the production of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and its mineralization within the sediment were closely associated. As a result, very little of the DOC escaped into the water column. Instead, it fuelled an active anaerobic community, expressed in terms of the large production and upward flux of CO,.

[1]  P. Cranford,et al.  Observations on the ecological importance of salt marshes in the Cumberland Basin, a macrotidal estuary in the Bay of Fundy , 1985 .

[2]  G. A. Phillips,et al.  Primary Production and Respiration in Pelagic and Benthic Communities at Two Intertidal Sites in the Upper Bay of Fundy , 1983 .

[3]  P. Schwinghamer,et al.  Stable Carbon Isotope Studies on the Pecks Cove Mudflat Ecosystem in the Cumberland Basin, Bay of Fundy , 1983 .

[4]  A. Marinucci.  CARBON AND NITROGEN FLUXES DURING DECOMPOSITION OF SPARTINA ALTERNIFLORA IN A FLOW-THROUGH PERCOLATOR , 1982 .

[5]  R. Howarth,et al.  THE REGULATION OF DECOMPOSITION AND HETEROTROPHIC MICROBIAL ACTIVITY IN SALT MARSH SOILS: A REVIEW , 1982 .

[6]  B. B. J�rgensen,et al.  Volatile Fatty Acids and Hydrogen as Substrates for Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria in Anaerobic Marine Sediment , 1981, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[7]  G. A. Phillips,et al.  Annual in situ carbon dioxide and oxygen flux across a subtidal marine sediment , 1981 .

[8]  J. Novitsky,et al.  Patterns of Microbial Heterotrophy Through Changing Environments in a Marine Sediment , 1981 .

[9]  P. Kepkay,et al.  Microbial control of organic carbon in marine sediments: Coupled chemoautotrophy and heterotrophy , 1980 .

[10]  J. Mclachlan,et al.  Angiosperm productivity in two saltmarshes of Minas Basin. , 1980 .

[11]  P. H. Rich.  Differential CO2 and O2 Benthic Community Metabolism in a Soft-Water Lake , 1979 .

[12]  W. Granéli,et al.  A comparison of carbon dioxide production and oxygen uptake in sediment cores from four south Swedish lakes , 1979 .

[13]  B. F. Taylor,et al.  Sulfate reduction and methanogenesis in marine sediments , 1978 .

[14]  T. M. McNamara,et al.  Comparison between two methods of assaying relative microbial activity in marine environments , 1977, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[15]  W. Wiebe,et al.  FLUX OF ORGANIC MATTER THROUGH A SALT MARSH , 1977 .

[16]  B. Hargrave.  Oxidation-reduction potentials, oxygen concentration and oxygen uptake of profundal sediments in a eutrophic lake , 1972 .

[17]  M. M. Pamatmat.  Ecology and Metabolism of a Benthic Community on an Intertidal Sandflat , 1968 .

[18]  E. Odum,et al.  Particulate organic detritus in a Georgia salt marsh-estuarine system , 1967 .

[19]  J. Teal,et al.  Gas Exchange in a Georgia Salt MARSH1 , 1961 .