Investigating Fine Particulate Organic Matter Dynamics in a Nutrient Limited Arctic Stream PDF Download

Author: Genevieve Louise Kysely
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Periphyton
Languages : en
Pages : 80

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Author: William Kevin Pierson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Carbon
Languages : en
Pages : 132

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Author: Catherine Grace Winters
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781369354133
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 204

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Biotic and abiotic factors both play critical roles in the cycling of organic matter and nutrients in aquatic ecosystems. Understanding the relative control of these factors on solute fate and transport in fluvial systems is important for understanding how climatic changes can affect water quality. Many processes that control solute cycling in streams occur at sub-daily scales, making high-frequency, in situ, sub-hourly measurements important for capturing the response of dissolved organic matter and nutrients to changes in the strength of controlling processes. The tightly coupled aquatic and terrestrial environments present in headwater streams make them particularly useful systems for studying high-frequency changes in water chemistry. In this study, we examined the patterns of dissolved organic carbon, nitrate, dissolved oxygen, temperature, dissolved organic matter fluorescence, and stream discharge using in-stream measurements at sub-hourly to monthly time scales to understand the daily and seasonal controls of aquatic organic matter and nutrient processing. We also conducted a laboratory incubation to measure the effects of dissolved organic carbon and nutrient treatments on consumption of carbon and nitrogen in our system. Our main objectives were to identify: 1) the relative controls of diel biotic and abiotic processes on stream dissolved organic carbon and nitrate-N; and 2) the mechanisms controlling rapid autumnal changes in dissolved organic carbon and nitrate-N in stream runoff. We found that hydrology plays a key role in transporting solutes to a forested headwater stream in the Piedmont Region, Maryland; however, once solutes reach the stream biotic controls dominate the stream solute patterns. Biology is an important regulator of diel patterns of streamwater dissolved organic carbon and nitrate concentrations during springtime and autumn leaf fall. Diel cycling is most apparent during the spring prior to leaf out when the water temperature is increasing. Where patterns were evident, nitrate (annual average in second order stream: 17:00) and discharge (17:28) reached their minimums during the afternoon within a few hours of the peaks in dissolved oxygen (13:16), temperature (15:17), dissolved organic carbon (16:06), and dissolved organic matter fluorescence (17:23). Larger amplitudes of dissolved oxygen, nitrate, dissolved organic carbon, and dissolved organic matter fluorescence correspond with larger daily temperature changes. Laboratory incubations showed increased consumption of nitrogen in the presence of labile carbon, but not in the presence of labile carbon plus nutrients, which indicates our system is carbon limited. Autumn dissolved organic carbon and nitrate dynamics also indicate our system is carbon limited. Increased rates of leaf litter fall corresponded with increased consumption of stream nitrate leading to a late October depression, or annual minimum, in nitrate concentration. Storm events accelerated the recovery of stream nitrate to early autumn concentrations as nitrate was mobilized and transported from soils to the stream. Hydrology is important for solute transport to and export from the stream. Autotrophic activity dominates on the daily scale, while heterotrophic activity controls seasonal responses in organic matter and nutrient cycling in this forested watershed. Carbon and nitrogen dynamics have been studied in other forested systems, as well, but the controlling processes vary among these watershed. Our results highlight the importance of understanding controlling processes within specific watersheds when making large scale predictions of the potential export of carbon and nitrogen from forested systems.

Author: Thibault Datry
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0128039043
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 624

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Intermittent Rivers and Ephemeral Streams: Ecology and Management takes an internationally broad approach, seeking to compare and contrast findings across multiple continents, climates, flow regimes, and land uses to provide a complete and integrated perspective on the ecology of these ecosystems. Coupled with this, users will find a discussion of management approaches applicable in different regions that are illustrated with relevant case studies. In a readable and technically accurate style, the book utilizes logically framed chapters authored by experts in the field, allowing managers and policymakers to readily grasp ecological concepts and their application to specific situations. Provides up-to-date reviews of research findings and management strategies using international examples Explores themes and parallels across diverse sub-disciplines in ecology and water resource management utilizing a multidisciplinary and integrative approach Reveals the relevance of this scientific understanding to managers and policymakers

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Author: Matthew Solomon Khosh
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Climate-linked changes in hydrology and biogeochemical processes within Arctic watersheds are likely already affecting fluvial export of waterborne materials, including organic matter (OM) and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN). Our understanding of Arctic watershed OM and DIN export response to climate change is hampered by a lack of contemporary baselines, as well as a dearth of seasonally comprehensive studies. This work focuses on characterizing OM and DIN concentrations and sources in six streams/rivers on the North Slope of Alaska during the entirety of the hydrologic year (May through October) in 2009 and 2010. The highest OM concentrations occurred during spring snowmelt, with results indicating that terrestrial vegetation leachates are the major source of dissolved OM, while particulate OM originates from a degraded soil source. Over the hydrologic year, soils became a progressively increasing source of dissolved OM, while autochthonous production made up a sizeable proportion of particulate OM during base flow conditions. DIN concentrations were low throughout the spring and summer and increased markedly during the late summer and fall. Our findings suggest that penetration of water into thawed mineral soils, and a reduction in nitrogen assimilation relative to remineralization, may increase DIN export from Arctic watersheds during the late summer and fall. Although recent studies of Arctic rivers have emphasized the importance of the spring thaw period on OM export, our understanding of the mechanisms that control water chemistry observations during this time are still lacking. Experimental leaching results, from experiments conducted in 2014, suggest that aboveground plant biomass is a major source of dissolved OM in Arctic catchments during the spring, and that the timing of freezing and drying conditions during the fall may impact dissolved OM leaching dynamics on that same material the following snowmelt. Improved knowledge of OM and DIN temporal trends and the mechanisms that control seasonal concentrations is essential for understanding export dynamics of these water constituents in Arctic river systems. Perhaps more importantly, increased understanding of the seasonal controls on OM and DIN export in Arctic rivers is critical for predicting how these systems will respond under future climate change scenarios.

Author: Kristin Eulene Judd
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 624

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Author: Sandra Joanne Grinter
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Aquatic mammals
Languages : en
Pages : 410

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Author: Sophie Alexandra Higgs
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Contrary to the previous notion that a stream acts primarily as the transporter of materials from land to oceans, research has shown that in-stream processing of organic matter and nutrients is significant and relevant at a global scale. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is the most abundant form of organic carbon in streams and has been demonstrated as an important source of energy supporting stream food webs. Understanding the dynamics of DOC in streams is, therefore, important in determining the contribution of flowing waters to global carbon storage and release. However, DOC exists as many different compounds, varying in source, composition, and quality. The composition of DOC that ends up in streams is partly controlled by the surrounding watershed, and landscape effects on DOC quality and quantity in streams have been observed. In the North American Tallgrass prairie, woody encroachment has led to changes in riparian vegetation, potentially altering the DOC received by the stream, and making it important to understand rates of DOC transformation as landscape alterations continue. The heterogeneity of the DOC pool makes it difficult to fully describe its components and to measure transformation rates. DOC uptake, or biological use, has been estimated through several methods including in-stream additions of various DOC sources and bottle incubations of stream water and sediments. One problem with addition methods for calculating uptake is that the DOC pool is difficult to replicate and additions of simple compounds or organic leachates do not represent total dissolved organic carbon (TDOC) dynamics. Another potential issue is that additions of a labile compound could potentially alter microbial activity through a priming effect and therefore distort ambient DOC uptake estimates. Finally, uptake parameters are mostly calculated assuming benthic uptake while recent studies have shown that planktonic uptake of DOC can also be significant. We conducted this study with these three considerations in mind. In the first chapter, we describe our use of in situ additions of glucose and bur oak leaf leachate in prairie stream reaches and concentrations of specific components to determine uptake dynamics of various specific DOC components, from a simple sugar to more complex plant compounds. We calculated uptake parameters of glucose and two different oak leaf components. We found that using glucose concentrations rather than TDOC concentrations, as has been done in previous studies, to measure uptake parameters resulted in higher uptake rates, indicating the importance of measuring the specific component added. Through leaf leachate additions, we found that an amino acid like component was consistently taken up faster than a humic-like component. The second chapter addresses the questions of uptake location and priming through a series of recirculating chamber incubations. We found that benthic uptake of leaf leachate was more important than that in the water column. Finally, elevated uptake of one leaf leachate component in the presence of glucose indicated a priming effect on microbial DOC uptake.

Author: Audrey Mutschlecner
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Stream chemistry
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Arctic and boreal rivers connect terrestrial, oceanic, and atmospheric carbon (C) pools by transporting and processing dissolved organic matter (DOM). DOM composition influences its susceptibility to decomposition (biolability), which in turn determines whether the associated C is respired, stored, or exported. High-latitude ecosystems are changing rapidly due to processes such as permafrost thaw, shifts in vegetative communities, and increasing discharge, and each of these processes can influence the composition of DOM reaching rivers. The eventual fate of riverine DOM, whether it is mineralized or exported, shifts the balance of global C pools. Therefore, to understand how changes to high-latitude ecosystems influence the global C cycle, we must be able to connect patterns in DOM composition to its biolability and subsequent fate within the C cycle. The objectives of this study were to describe spatial and temporal patterns in DOM composition and biolability, and to determine links between the composition and biolability of DOM. I sampled DOM from streams along an Arctic-boreal gradient in interior Alaska throughout the year. I measured DOM biolability and nutrient limitation of decomposition in laboratory incubations and characterized DOM composition using optical properties and chemical analysis. I found that temporal patterns in DOM composition corresponded to seasonal trends in the hydrology of high-latitude catchments, linking DOM source to shallow, organic-rich flowpaths in spring and deeper groundwater flows in winter. Biolability was low, indicating that the majority of riverine DOM is recalcitrant to biological decomposition. I observed increased biolability in response to phosphorus (P) addition, particularly during spring, indicating that phosphorus limits DOM decomposition. To further examine the mechanisms driving C processing in streams, I also conducted a series of whole-stream experiments to compare the relative influence of molecular composition and nutrient content of DOM. I added leaf leachate to boreal streams and measured C retention, which represents both biological uptake and sorption. The leachates varied by molecular composition, due to differences in tissue chemistry of plant species, and in nutrient content, because the leaves were collected from plots with different fertilization regimes. Retention was greatest for leachates derived from trees that had been fertilized with P, indicating P-limitation of biological uptake of C or preferential sorption of P-containing organic molecules. Although leachates varied in molecular composition as determined by optical properties, these differences did not correspond to a difference in uptake rates by species. These patterns in DOM retention indicate that nutrient content is a greater constraint on C uptake than molecular composition. Together, the two studies suggest that export is the primary fate of ambient DOM in high-latitude streams, but that C processing is highly sensitive to inputs of bioavailable DOM. The coupling between the P and C cycles observed in both studies highlights the potential for nutrient availability to constrain or promote CO2 emissions from C-rich, high-latitude catchments.