Abstract： Organic carbon isotopes in sediments have been frequently used to identify the source of organic matter. Here we present a study of organic δ13C on two sediment profiles influenced by guano from Guangjin and Jinqing islands in the Xisha Archipelago, South China Sea. Organic matter from ornithogenic coral sand sediments has two main sources, guano pellets and plant residues, and their organic δ13C （δ13CoM） are significantly different. Organic carbon δ13Cguano is much higher than δ13Cplant, and δ13CoM of bulk samples is intermediate. Based on a two-end-member mixing model, the proportions of guano- and plant-derived organic matter in the bulk samples were reconstructed quantitatively. The results showed that seabirds began to inhabit the islands around approximately 1200-1400 AD, and that guano pellets have been an important source of soil organic matter since then. With the accumulation of guano-derived nutrients, plants began to develop prosperously on the islands in the last 200 years, which is reflected by the significant increase of plant-derived organic matter in the upper sediment layer. However, guano-derived organic matter decreased greatly in recent decades, indicating a rapid decrease in seabird population. Our results show that organic 6~3C can be effectively used to quantitatively determine different source contributions of OM to bulk ornithogenic coral sand sediments.
We collected two lake sediment cores （MC and DM） from the East Antarctic region for analysis of biogenic silica and other biogeochemical parameters （e.g., organic matter, C, N, S, H）. Based on synthetically comparative research, we focused on the potential application of biogenic silica （BSi） for the reconstruction of paleo-primary productivity in the East Antarctic lakes. Analytical results showed that a large number of diatoms were well preserved in the freshwater lake sediments, and that concentrations of biogenic silica displayed notable fluctuations over different water depths. The content of biogenic silica had a consistent profile over water depth, and this pattern changed with organic matter, reflecting their potential as eco-environmental proxies. Low lev- els of BSi and organic matter indicated reduction of lake algal production, and corresponded to decreased lake primary productivity. Due to the fragile ecosystem state and limited contribution of terrestrinl organic matter in the East Antarctic lakes, the contents of biogenic silica in the lacustrine sediments can sensitively indicate the evolutionary history of paleo-primary productivity. Overall, BSi is an ideal proxy for the reconstruction of past eeo-environmental change recorded in the lacustrine sediments on East Antarctica.
