Peatlands play a significant role in global carbon and nitrogen cycles due to their carbon storage capabilities. However, there are key knowledge gaps in our understanding of how peatland hydrology influences the biogeochemical properties that drive peatland functioning and health. This study examines peatland hydrology and biogeochemical dynamics by exploring the variations in carbon chemistry, total amino acid (‘protein’) content and amino acid composition in the ecohydrologic layers: acrotelm, mesotelm and catotelm. The dynamic movement of the water table recorded half‐hourly over 4 years was used to assist in identifying the boundaries between these layers. Peat amino acids were measured using liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS). Carbon chemistry was analysed by solid state Cross Polarization Magic Angle Spinning (CPMAS) 13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, with the alkyl:O‐alkyl ratio used to quantify the extent of decomposition. Our result revealed a strong positive correlation between the extent of decomposition and total protein content, indicating selective preservation of proteinaceous materials during peat decomposition. Each ecohydrologic layer displayed a distinct amino acid composition and carbon functional group composition. The acrotelm was relatively enriched in seven amino acids and two carbon functional groups. The mesotelm was relatively enriched in four amino acids, while the catotelm was relatively enriched in three amino acids and four carbon functional groups. The variations in amino acid composition reflect differences in microbial function and efficiency, while variations in carbon functional groups provide insights into long‐term carbon sequestration in peatland. Collectively, these results provide more insights into nutrient cycling and changes in organic matter composition during peat decomposition. These findings demonstrate that peatland biogeochemistry is closely linked to ecohydrology and suggest that changes to water table dynamics could affect the ability of peatlands to sequester and store carbon in the future.

中文翻译：

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泥炭地碳化学、氨基酸和蛋白质在生物地球化学不同的生态水文层中的保存


泥炭地因其碳储存能力而在全球碳和氮循环中发挥着重要作用。然而，我们对泥炭地水文学如何影响驱动泥炭地功能和健康的生物地球化学特性的理解存在关键知识差距。本研究通过探索生态水文层（acrotelm、mesotelm 和 catotelm）中碳化学、总氨基酸（“蛋白质”）含量和氨基酸组成的变化来研究泥炭地水文学和生物地球化学动力学。四年来每半小时记录的地下水位动态运动被用来帮助识别这些层之间的边界。使用液相色谱-串联质谱法（LC-MS/MS）测量泥炭氨基酸。通过固态交叉极化魔角旋转 (CPMAS) 13C 核磁共振 (NMR) 光谱分析碳化学，并使用烷基：O-烷基比率来量化分解程度。我们的结果显示分解程度与总蛋白质含量之间存在很强的正相关性，表明泥炭分解过程中蛋白质材料的选择性保存。每个生态水文层都显示出独特的氨基酸组成和碳官能团组成。 acrotelm相对富含七个氨基酸和两个碳官能团。中质膜相对富含四种氨基酸，而中质膜相对富含三种氨基酸和四个碳官能团。氨基酸组成的变化反映了微生物功能和效率的差异，而碳官能团的变化提供了对泥炭地长期碳封存的见解。 总的来说，这些结果为泥炭分解过程中的养分循环和有机质成分的变化提供了更多见解。这些发现表明，泥炭地生物地球化学与生态水文学密切相关，并表明地下水位动态的变化可能会影响泥炭地未来固碳和储存碳的能力。