Riverine organic matter dynamics in the headwaters of the Yellow River under climate change
- 1China West Normal University (Nanchong, China)
Abstract
Alpine headwater streams play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle and are particularly sensitive to climate change. Riverine organic matter (ROM) mediates the transport and transformation of terrestrial carbon across aquatic systems. However, how ROM responds to climate change in the headwaters of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) remains poorly understood, largely owing to a lack of long-term, high-spatial-resolution in-situ measurements. In this study, we used machine learning models combining satellite data and geographical variables to reconstruct historical variations in Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD Mn , a proxy for ROM) along the Yellow River's Headstream (YRHS), and to predict future changes under typical Shared Socioeconomic Pathways. The results indicate that COD Mn levels in the midstream region of the YRHS, characterized by greater precipitation, higher soil organic matter, and denser vegetation, were relatively high (2.73 ± 1.63 mg L ⁻¹ ) and exhibited an increasing trend (0.58 mg L ⁻¹ ) over the past decade. Driven primarily by increasing precipitation and temperature, COD Mn levels are projected to rise in upstream and downstream areas but decline at midstream sites under SSP126, SSP245, and SSP585 by 2100. The annual export of riverine organic matter from the midstream of the YRHS is expected to remain stable by 2100. Therefore, our findings identify the midstream region of the YRHS as a critical and climate-sensitive region for organic matter dynamics. Though our study provides a comprehensive understanding of how climate change is reshaping riverine organic matter dynamics, substantial uncertainties remain in the future riverine organic matter changes owing to the complex interactions among precipitation, warming, hydrology and their combined effects on carbon cycles in alpine catchments.
Versions
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BibTeX
@article{wang2026riverine,
title = {{Riverine organic matter dynamics in the headwaters of the Yellow River under climate change}},
author = {Xiaoxiao Wang and Jie Wang and Tianqing Ren and Jun Zhou},
journal = {Biogeosciences},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.5194/bg-23-7939-2026},
url = {https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/23/7939/2026/},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Riverine organic matter dynamics in the headwaters of the Yellow River under climate change
AU - Xiaoxiao Wang
AU - Jie Wang
AU - Tianqing Ren
AU - Jun Zhou
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/06
JO - Biogeosciences
DO - 10.5194/bg-23-7939-2026
UR - https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/23/7939/2026/
AB - Alpine headwater streams play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle and are particularly sensitive to climate change. Riverine organic matter (ROM) mediates the transport and transformation of terrestrial carbon across aquatic systems. However, how ROM responds to climate change in the headwaters of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) remains poorly understood, largely owing to a lack of long-term, high-spatial-resolution in-situ measurements. In this study, we used machine learning models combining satellite data and geographical variables to reconstruct historical variations in Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD Mn , a proxy for ROM) along the Yellow River's Headstream (YRHS), and to predict future changes under typical Shared Socioeconomic Pathways. The results indicate that COD Mn levels in the midstream region of the YRHS, characterized by greater precipitation, higher soil organic matter, and denser vegetation, were relatively high (2.73 ± 1.63 mg L ⁻¹ ) and exhibited an increasing trend (0.58 mg L ⁻¹ ) over the past decade. Driven primarily by increasing precipitation and temperature, COD Mn levels are projected to rise in upstream and downstream areas but decline at midstream sites under SSP126, SSP245, and SSP585 by 2100. The annual export of riverine organic matter from the midstream of the YRHS is expected to remain stable by 2100. Therefore, our findings identify the midstream region of the YRHS as a critical and climate-sensitive region for organic matter dynamics. Though our study provides a comprehensive understanding of how climate change is reshaping riverine organic matter dynamics, substantial uncertainties remain in the future riverine organic matter changes owing to the complex interactions among precipitation, warming, hydrology and their combined effects on carbon cycles in alpine catchments.
SN - 1726-4189
ER -