Production of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and trihalomethane (THM) precursor from peat soils

Water passing through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta contains elevated concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and trihalomethane (THM) precursor relative to upstream waters from the Sacramento River and the San Joaquin River. Drainage from agricultural peat soils has been identified as one of the major sources of DOC and THM precursor. A series of controlled laboratory experiments were conducted to evaluate abiotic and biotic effects on the quantity and the nature of DOC and THM precursors produced from oxidized surface and reduced subsurface soils in the Delta. For abiotic effects, DOC was extracted from both soils with synthetic solutions containing a range of salinity (0-4dS/m) and sodicity (0 to infinity). The results showed that an increase in salinity significantly decreased the concentration of DOC in the soil-water from both soils but increased its aromaticity, as indicated by specific ultraviolet absorbance at 254 nm (SUVA). For biotic effects, peat soils were incubated over a range of temperatures (10degreesC, 20degreesC and 30degreesC) and soil moisture contents (0.3-10g water/g soil). After 8 weeks of incubation, only extracted DOC from flooded conditions and flooded and non-flooded cycles showed an increase in DOC. These findings indicate that neither salinity nor sodicity is the major factor for DOC production, but both can affect the solubility and mobility of DOC in the Delta soils. We believe wetting processes in oxidized peat soils produce significant amounts of DOC found in agricultural drainage discharged into the Delta waters. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.