Global warming alters carbon sink and source situation of the Tibetan lakes

Abstract:

Global warming would accelerate glacier retreat and permafrost degeneration on the Tibetan Plateau. The carbon stored in permafrost would be released to nearby lakes. However, little is known about how the carbon sink and source situation could be altered and what role the microbial community could play in Tibetan lakes in response to global warming. To fill this knowledge gap, six lakes (Erhai Lake, Qinghai Lake, Tuosu Lake, Gahai Lake, Xiaochaidan Lake and Lake Chaka) on the Tibetan Plateau were studied. In order to compare the seasonal variations in geochemistry and microbial communities, two sampling cruises were performed (May and July of 2015, corresponding to dry and wet seasons, respectively). For each lake, salinity, pH, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total nitrogen (TN), and chlorophyll were measured for water samples, and salinity and total organic carbon (TOC) were measured for sediments. Chamber-based greenhouse gas flux measurement were performed on the surface of each lake. Microbial communities were analyzed by using MiSeq sequencing technique. The results showed that in response to seasonal variation (from dry to set season), lake surface increased by 5-20% (calculated on the basis of satellite data) and salinity decreased by 4-30% for the studied lakes, suggesting the studied lakes were diluted by precipitations. The DOC contents of the lake waters were almost stable for the studied lakes, whereas TN increased by more than 70% for the lakes with salinity less than 100g/L. In the meanwhile, chlorophyll content increased by more than 180% for lakes with low salinities (Erhai Lake, Qinghai Lake, and Tuosu Lake) and decreased by 17-94% for lakes with high salinities (Gahai Lake, Xiaoxhaidan Lake, and Lake Chaka. This indicated that desalination (precipitation plus glacier melt) would increase carbon fixation potential in Tibetan lakes. Microbial community analyses showed that microbial diversity increased in response to desalination. All in all, global warming could increase microbial diversity and thus carbon fixation potential, thus alter the carbon sink and source situation in Tibetan lakes.