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Characteristics and behavior of dissolved organic matter in the Kumaki River, Noto Peninsula, Japan

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Abstract

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) in river water was studied to understand the transport behavior of DOM in a small watershed with forest and paddy fields. Field experiments were conducted under normal flow conditions in the Kumaki River, which is located in the central part of the Noto Peninsula in Japan, during the period 2009–2010. The concentrations and structural properties of fulvic acid-like components, which are the major components of DOM, were determined using three-dimensional excitation–emission matrix spectroscopy and high-performance size-exclusion chromatography. The relative fluorescence intensity for fulvic acid-like components at an excitation wavelength of 305–335 nm and an emission wavelength of 425–440 nm increased from the upper forest area to the lower paddy field area and increased seasonally in this river system in the following order: winter, autumn, spring, summer. Fulvic acid-like components with a higher molecular weight were observed in the summer samples. These results suggest that higher precipitation and agricultural activity in the summer season increase the amount of fulvic acid-like components with higher molecular weight that are transported from the watershed into the river.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. S. Ochiai, Dr. S. Nishimura, and Mr. T. Tokunari of the Low Level Radioactivity Laboratory of Kanazawa University for their assistance with sample collection and analysis. We also thank the Rivers Division of Ishikawa Prefecture for providing the data from the Integrated River Information System and the Asia Air Survey Co. Ltd. for producing the vegetation map of the Kumaki River basin in 2006. This work was partly supported by the Sasakawa Scientific Research Grant from the Japan Science Society (No. 24-623) and the Satoyama Satoumi Revitalization Project, Kanazawa University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Natural Sciences and Technology, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, 920-1192, Japan

    Tomoyo Suzuki

  2. Low Level Radioactivity Laboratory, Institute of Nature and Environmental Technology, Kanazawa University, Nomi, Ishikawa, 923-1224, Japan

    Seiya Nagao & Masayoshi Yamamoto

  3. Center for Regional Collaboration, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, 920-1192, Japan

    Mio Horiuchi & Koji Nakamura

  4. School of Veterinary Medicine, Kitasato University, Towada, Aomori, 034-8628, Japan

    Nagamitsu Maie

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  1. Tomoyo Suzuki
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  2. Seiya Nagao
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  3. Mio Horiuchi
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  4. Nagamitsu Maie
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  5. Masayoshi Yamamoto
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  6. Koji Nakamura
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Correspondence to Tomoyo Suzuki.

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Handling Editor: Youhei Yamashita.

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Suzuki, T., Nagao, S., Horiuchi, M. et al. Characteristics and behavior of dissolved organic matter in the Kumaki River, Noto Peninsula, Japan. Limnology 16, 55–68 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10201-014-0441-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10201-014-0441-4

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