Vol. 337 No. 3 (2026)
DOI https://doi.org/10.18799/24131830/2026/3/5171
Spatial and temporal patterns of organic carbon fluxes in mire–river system within a small river basin in Western Siberia
Relevance. Removal of dissolved organic carbon from bogs to rivers is an important component of the carbon balance. Aim. To assess the patterns of organic carbon dynamics in the mire–river system in a small catchment area. Objects. The north-eastern part of the Great Vasyugan Mire (Bakchar bog), within the catchment area of the small Klyuch River (Polynyanka village, Bakcharsky district, Tomsk region). Methods. Temperature, potentiometric, conductometric measurements, determination of the dissolved O2 content in the field, sampling of bog and river waters to determine the content of organic carbon, CO2, hydrological monitoring and calculation of carbon removal from the catchment area of the Klyuch River flowing down from the Bakchar Bog. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using the nonparametric Mann–Whitney U-test, discriminant analysis and the principal component method. Results. The average organic carbon content in water samples collected in different areas of the Bakchar Bog varies significantly: it increases from the central parts to the marginal part of the bog and decreases along the length of the Klyuch River. The increase in the concentration of organic carbon in waters along the bog profile is in good agreement with the increase in the carbon content in the active layer of the peat deposit from the sedge-Sphagnum lagg area to the pine dwarf-shrub Sphagnum community close to the boarder area, which is determined by the change in the botanical composition of peats and the degree of decomposition. Studies shown that the type of vegetation, the physicochemical characteristics and the hydrothermal regime of the peat deposit have a significant effect on the content of organic carbon in the waters, and the forest–bog contact zone and swamp forest make a significant contribution to the total volume of organic carbon removal from the study area.
For citation: Kharanzhevskaya Yu.A., Raudina T.V., Istigechev G.I., Kurashev D.G., Bebishev A.I. Spatial and temporal patterns of organic carbon fluxes in mire–river system within a small river basin in Western Siberia. Bulletin of the Tomsk Polytechnic University. Geo Аssets Engineering, 2026, vol. 337, no. 3, pp. 178–191. https://doi.org/10.18799/24131830/2026/3/5171
Keywords:
organic carbon, bog waters, river waters, peat, swamp forest, Great Vasyugan Mire, Western Siberia
References:
1. Leach J. A., Larsson A., Wallin M. B., Nilsson M. B., Laudon H. Twelve year interannual and seasonal variability of stream carbon export from a boreal peatland catchment. Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences, 2016, vol. 121, 1851–1866. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JG003357
2. Liu L., Chen H., Zhu Q., Yang G., Zhu E., Hu J., Peng C., Jiang L., Zhan W., Ma T., He Y., Zhu D. Responses of peat carbon at different depths to simulated warming and oxidizing. Science of the Total Environment, 2016, pp. 429–440. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.11.149
3. Frey K.E., Smith L.C. Amplified carbon release from vast West Siberian peatlands by 2100. Geophysical Research Letters, 2005, vol. 32, L09401. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2004GL022025
4. Giesler R., Lyon S.W., Mörth C.-M., Karlsson J., Karlsson E.M., Jantze E.J., Destouni G., Humborg C. Catchmentscale dissolved carbon concentrations and export estimates across six subarctic streams in northern Sweden. Biogeosciences, 2014, vol. 11, pp. 525–537. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-525-2014
5. Ilina S.M., Drozdova O.Y., Lapitskiy S.A., Alekhin Y.V., Demin V.V., Zavgorodnyay Y.A., Shirokova L.S., Viers J., Pokrosky O.S. Size fractionation and optical properties of dissolved organic matter in the continuum soil solution-bog-river and terminal lake of a boreal watershed. Organic Geochemistry, 2014, vol. 66, pp. 14–24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2013.10.008
6. Kirpotin S.N., Antoshkina O.A., Berezin A.E., Elshehawi S., Feurdean A., Lapshina E.D., Pokrovsky O.S., Peregon A.M., Semenova N.M., Tanneberger F., Volkov I.V., Volkova I.I., Joosten H. Great Vasyugan Mire: How the world's largest peatland helps addressing the world's largest problems. Ambio, 2021, Nov., vol. 50 (11), pp. 2038–2049. DOI: 10.1007/s13280-021-01520-2
7. Kharanzhevskaya Y., Maloletko A., Sinyutkina A., Giełczewski M., Kirschey T., Michałowski R., Grygoruk M. Assessing mire-river interaction in a pristine Siberian bog-dominated watershed – case study of a part of the Great Vasyugan Mire, Russia. Journal of Hydrology, 2020, 125315. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.125315
8. Kremenetski K., Velichko A., Borisova O., MacDonald G., Smith L., Frey K., Orlova L. Peatlands of the Western Siberian lowlands: current knowledge on zonation, carbon content and Late Quaternary history. Quaternary Science Reviews, 2003, vol. 22, no. 5–7, pp. 703–723.
9. Karlsson J., Serikova S., Vorobyev S.N., Rocher-Ros G., Denfeld B., Pokrovsky O.S. Carbon emission from Western Siberian inland waters. Nature Communications, 2021, Feb 5; vol. 12 (1):825. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21054-1.10.
10. Kharanzhevskaya Yu.A., Sinyutkina A.A. Investigating the role of bogs in the streamflow formation within the Middle Ob Basin. Geography and Natural Resources, 2017, vol. 38, no. 3, pp. 256–266. DOI: 10.21782/GiPR0206-1619-2017-3(97-109)
11. Savichev O.G. The influence of swamps on hydrochemical runoff in the Middle Ob basin (within the Tomsk region). Bulletin of the Tomsk Polytechnic University. Geo Аssets Engineering, 2005, vol. 308, no. 3, pp. 47–50. (In Russ.)
12. Smith L.C., Macdonald G.M., Velichko A.A., Beilman D.W., Borisova O.K., Frey K.E., Kremenetsky K.V., Sheng Y. Siberian peatlands as a net carbon sink and global methane source since the early Holocene. Science, 2004, vol. 303, pp. 353–356.
13. Serikova S., Pokrovsky O.S., Ala-Aho P. High riverine CO2 emissions at the permafrost boundary of Western Siberia. Nature Geoscience, 2018, no. 11, pp. 825.
14. Krickov I.V., Lim A.G., Korets M., Shirokova L.S., Karlsson J., Pokrovsky O.S. Environmental controllers for carbon emission and concentration patterns in Siberian rivers during different seasons. Science of the Total Environment, 2022, vol. 859, Art no 160202. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160202
15. Vorobyev S.N., Kolesnichenko Y., Krickov I.V., Berezin A.E., Kirpotin S.N., Pokrovsky O. The Great Vasyugan Mire of western Siberia: hydrochemistry and greenhouse gas dynamics of peatland pools of the world’s largest mire. Ecological Indicators, 2025, vol. 170, Art. no. 113054. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.113054
16. Efimov S.P., Efremova T.T., Bloyten B. Biological productivity and carbon pool of phytomass of forest bogs of Western Siberia. Siberian Ecological Journal, 2005, no. 1, pp. 29–44. (In Russ.)
17. Koronatova N.G., Kosykh N.P. Productivity of the tree layer in raised bogs in the taiga zone of Western Siberia. Forestry, 2022, Iss. 4, pp. 432–448. (In Russ.)
18. Pérez-Rodríguez, M., Biester, H. Sensitivity of river catchments to discharge-controlled dissolved carbon export: a study of eight catchments in southern Patagonia. Biogeochemistry, 2022, vol. 160, pp. 177–197. DOI: 10.1007/s10533-022-00947-3
19. Prijac A., Gandois L., Taillardat P., Bourgault M.-A., Riahi K., Ponçot A., Tremblay A., and Garneau M. Hydrological connectivity controls dissolved organic carbon exports in a peatland-dominated boreal catchment stream. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 2023, vol. 27, pp. 3935–3955. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3935-2023
20. Mikhalchuk A., Kharanzhevskaya Y., Burnashova E., Nekhoda E., Gammerschmidt I., Akerman E., Kirpotin S., Nikitkin V., Khovalyg A., Vorobyev S. Soil water regime, air temperature, and precipitation as the main drivers of the future greenhouse gas emissions from West Siberian Peatlands. Water, 2023, vol. 15 (17), 3056. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/w15173056
21. Avneri-Katz S., Young R.B., McKenna A.M., Chen H., Corilo Y.E., Polubesova T. Adsorptive fractionation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) bymineral soil: macroscale approach and molecular insight. Organic Geochemistry, 2017, vol. 103, pp. 113–124. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2016.11.004.[44]
22. Groeneveld M., Catalán N., Attermeyer K., Hawkes J., Einarsdóttir K., Kothawala D., et al. Selective adsorption of terrestrial dissolved organic matter to inorganic surfaces along a boreal inland water continuum. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 2020, vol. 125, e2019JG005236. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JG005236
23. Lim A.G., Loiko S.V., Pokrovsky O.S. Sizable pool of labile organic carbon in peat andmineral soils of permafrost peatlands, Western Siberia. Geoderma, 2022, vol. 409. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2021.1156
24. Savichev O.G., Mazurov A.K. Temporal changes in the chemical composition of waters in the eastern part of the Great Vasyugan Mire (Western Siberia) Bulletin of the Tomsk Polytechnic University. Geo Аssets Engineering, 2018, vol. 329, no. 2, pp. 38–48. (In Russ.)
25. Kharanzhevskaya Y.A., Voistinova E.S., Sinyutkina A.A. Spatial and temporal variations in mire surface water chemistry as a function of geology, atmospheric circulation and zonal features in the south-eastern part of Western Siberia. Science of the Total Environment, 2020, vol. 733, 139343.
26. Inisheva L.I., Yudina N.V., Golovchenko A.V., Savelyeva A.V. Biochemical factors in the formation of the composition of bog waters and the migration of substances in the system of geochemically conjugated landscapes of oligotrophic bogs. Soil Science, 2021, no. 4, pp. 420–428. (In Russ.)
27. Golovatskaya E.A., Dyukarev E.A., Veretennikova E.E., L.G. Nikonova S.V. Smirnov Assessment of the dynamics of the carbon balance in the swamps of the southern taiga subzone of Western Siberia (Tomsk region). Soils and Environment, 2022, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 1–18. (In Russ.) DOI: 10.31251/pos.v5i4.194.
28. Ivanova E.S., Kharanzhevskaya Y.A., Mironov A.A. Lateral distribution and migration of chemical elements in swamp waters within the Bakchar and Iksa river basins (Western Siberia). Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta, Seriya 5: Geografiya, 2017 January, Iss. 4, pp. 55–64. (In Russ.)
29. Veretennikova E.E., Dyukarev E.A. Diurnal variations in methane emissions from West Siberia peatlands in summer. Russian Meteorology and Hydrology, 2017, vol. 42, no. 5, pp. 319–326. DOI: 10.3103/S1068373917050077
30. Golovatskaya E.A., Veretennikova E.E., Dyukarev E.A. Greenhouse gas fluxes and carbon sequestration in the oligotrophic peat soils of southern taiga in Western Siberia. Eurasian Soil Science, 2024, vol. 57, no. 2, pp. 210–219.
31. Savichev O.G., Bazanov V.A., Skugarev A.A. On the influence of swampiness and forestation of catchment areas on the water flow of rivers in the taiga zone of Western Siberia. Vestnik Tomsk State University, 2011, no. 344, pp. 200–203. (In Russ.)
32. Zemtsov A.A. Geography of the Tomsk region. Tomsk, TSU Press, 1988. 246 p. (In Russ.)
33. Liss O.L., Abramova L.I., Berezina N.A. Peatlands of Western Siberia and their conservation value. Tula, Grif and K0 Publ., 2001. 584 p. (In Russ.)
34. Inisheva L.I. Great Vasyugan Mire. Natural conditions, structure and functioning. Tomsk, TSPU Publ., 2011. 158 p.
35. Evseeva N.S., Sinyutkina A.A., Kharanzhevskaya Y.A. Landscapes of mires in Tomsk region. Tomsk, NTL Publ., 2012. 400 p. (In Russ.)
36. Weather forecast according to the weather station Bakchar. (In Russ.) Available at: http://meteo.ru/ (accessed: 1 March 2025).
37. Inisheva L.I., Dementieva T.V., Golovatskaya E.A., Porokhina E.V. Research ground "Vasyuganye". Program of scientific excursion. Tomsk, CNTI Publ., 2003. 88 p. (In Russ.)
38. Kiselev M.V., Vоrоpay N.N., Dyukarev E.A., Kurakоv S.A., Kurakоva P.S., Makeev E.A. Autоmatic meteоrоlоgical measuring systems fоr micrоclimate mоnitоring. IОP Cоnference Series: Earth and Envirоnmental Science, 2018, vol. 190, 012031. DOI: https://dоi.оrg/10.1088/1755-1315/190/1/012031
39. Kurakov S.A. Environmental condition autonomous monitoring system. Sensors and systems, 2012, vol. 4, pp. 29–32. (In Russ.)
40. Peltoniemi K., Strakova P., Fritze H., Iraizoz P.A., Pennanen T., Laiho R. How water-level drawdown modified litter-decomposing fungal and actinobacterial communities in boreal peatlands. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 2012, vol. 51, pp. 20–34.
41. Vanhala P., Karhu K., Tuomi M., Björklöf K., Fritze H., Liski J. Temperature sensitivity of soil organic matter decomposition in southern and northern areas of the boreal forest zone. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 2008, vol. 40, pp. 1758–1764.
42. Golovatskaya E.A., Nikonova L.G. Influence of the level of bog waters on the processes of transformation of sphagnum mosses in the peat soil of oligotrophic bogs. Soil Science, 2017, no. 5, pp. 606–613. (In Russ.)
43. Raudina T.V., Smirnov S.V., Lushchaeva I.V., Istigechev G.I., Kulizhskiy S.P., Golovatskaya E.A., Shirokova L.S., Pokrovsky O.S. Seasonal and spatial variations of dissolved organic matter biodegradation along the aquatic continuum in the Southern Taiga Bog Complex, Western Siberia. Water, 2022, vol. 14, 3969.
44. Raudina T.V., Smirnov S.V., Istigechev G.I., Pokrovsky O.S. Photochemical transformation of dissolved organic matter and behavior of metals in waters of mire landscapes of the southern taiga of Western Siberia. Bulletin of the Tomsk Polytechnic University. Geo Аssets Engineering, 2023, vol. 334, no. 9, pp. 182–193. (In Russ.)
45. Payandi-Rolland D., Shirokova L.S., Tesfa M., Lim A.G., Kuzmina D., Benezeth P., Karlsson J., Giesler R., Pokrovsky O.S. Dissolved organic matter biodegradation along a hydrological continuum in a discontinuous permafrost area: case study of northern Siberia and Sweden. Science of the Total Environment, 2020, vol. 749, 141463.
46. Cory R.M., Kling G.W. Interactions between sunlight and microorganisms influence dissolved organic matter degradation along the aquatic continuum. Limnology and Oceanography Letters, 2018, vol. 3, pp. 102–116.
47. Tank S.E., Fellman J.B., Hood E., Kritzberg E.S. Beyond respiration: Controls on lateral carbon fluxes across the terrestrial-aquatic interface. Limnology and Oceanography Letters, 2018, vol. 3, pp. 76–88.
48. Kawahigashi M., Kaiser K. Dissolved organic matter in small streams along a gradient from discontinuous to continuous permafrost. Global Change Biology, 2004, vol. 10, pp. 1576–1586.
49. Kharanzhevskaya Yu.A. Diurnal and seasonal dynamics of the electrical conductivity of water of the northeastern part of the Great Vasyugan Mire (Western Siberia). IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 2021, vol. 928, Art. no. 012005. DOI: 10.1088/1755-1315/928/1/012005
50. Xu X., Lu K., Wang Z., Wang M., Wang S. Effects of drainage on dissolved organic carbon (DOC) characteristics of surface water from a mountain peatland. Science of the Total Environment, 2021, Oct 1, vol. 789, 147848. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147848.
51. Prokushkin A.S., Panov A.V., Polosukhina D.A., Korets M.A., Prokushkina M.P., Tokareva I.V., Karlsson J. Hydrological runoff of terrigenous carbon and CO2 emissions from the surface of the Yenisei basin watercourses draining the bog complexes of Western Siberia. West Siberian peatlands and the carbon cycle: past and present. Proc. of the Sixth International Field Symposium. Khanty-Mansiysk, June 28 – July 08 2021. Tomsk, Tomsk University Publ. House, 2021. pp. 135–138. (In Russ.)
