| 1. |
- Tiegs, Scott D., et al.
(författare)
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Global patterns and drivers of ecosystem functioning in rivers and riparian zones
- 2019
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Ingår i: Science Advances. - Washington : American Association of Advancement in Science. - 2375-2548. ; 5:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- River ecosystems receive and process vast quantities of terrestrial organic carbon, the fate of which depends strongly on microbial activity. Variation in and controls of processing rates, however, are poorly characterized at the global scale. In response, we used a peer-sourced research network and a highly standardized carbon processing assay to conduct a global-scale field experiment in greater than 1000 river and riparian sites. We found that Earth's biomes have distinct carbon processing signatures. Slow processing is evident across latitudes, whereas rapid rates are restricted to lower latitudes. Both the mean rate and variability decline with latitude, suggesting temperature constraints toward the poles and greater roles for other environmental drivers (e.g., nutrient loading) toward the equator. These results and data set the stage for unprecedented "next-generation biomonitoring" by establishing baselines to help quantify environmental impacts to the functioning of ecosystems at a global scale.
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| 2. |
- Costello, David M., et al.
(författare)
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Global patterns and controls of nutrient immobilization on decomposing cellulose in riverine ecosystems
- 2022
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Ingår i: Global Biogeochemical Cycles. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0886-6236 .- 1944-9224. ; 36:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Microbes play a critical role in plant litter decomposition and influence the fate of carbon in rivers and riparian zones. When decomposing low-nutrient plant litter, microbes acquire nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from the environment (i.e., nutrient immobilization), and this process is potentially sensitive to nutrient loading and changing climate. Nonetheless, environmental controls on immobilization are poorly understood because rates are also influenced by plant litter chemistry, which is coupled to the same environmental factors. Here we used a standardized, low-nutrient organic matter substrate (cotton strips) to quantify nutrient immobilization at 100 paired stream and riparian sites representing 11 biomes worldwide. Immobilization rates varied by three orders of magnitude, were greater in rivers than riparian zones, and were strongly correlated to decomposition rates. In rivers, P immobilization rates were controlled by surface water phosphate concentrations, but N immobilization rates were not related to inorganic N. The N:P of immobilized nutrients was tightly constrained to a molar ratio of 10:1 despite wide variation in surface water N:P. Immobilization rates were temperature-dependent in riparian zones but not related to temperature in rivers. However, in rivers nutrient supply ultimately controlled whether microbes could achieve the maximum expected decomposition rate at a given temperature. Collectively, we demonstrated that exogenous nutrient supply and immobilization are critical control points for decomposition of organic matter.
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| 3. |
- Gomez-Gener, L., et al.
(författare)
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Global carbon dioxide efflux from rivers enhanced by high nocturnal emissions
- 2021
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Ingår i: Nature Geoscience. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1752-0894 .- 1752-0908. ; 14, s. 289-294
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to the atmosphere from running waters are estimated to be four times greater than the total carbon (C) flux to the oceans. However, these fluxes remain poorly constrained because of substantial spatial and temporal variability in dissolved CO2 concentrations. Using a global compilation of high-frequency CO2 measurements, we demonstrate that nocturnal CO2 emissions are on average 27% (0.9 gC m(-2) d(-1)) greater than those estimated from diurnal concentrations alone. Constraints on light availability due to canopy shading or water colour are the principal controls on observed diel (24 hour) variation, suggesting this nocturnal increase arises from daytime fixation of CO2 by photosynthesis. Because current global estimates of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere from running waters (0.65-1.8 PgC yr(-1)) rely primarily on discrete measurements of dissolved CO2 obtained during the day, they substantially underestimate the magnitude of this flux. Accounting for night-time CO2 emissions may elevate global estimates from running waters to the atmosphere by 0.20-0.55 PgC yr(-1). Failing to account for emission differences between day and night will lead to an underestimate of global CO2 emissions from rivers by up to 0.55 PgC yr(-1), according to analyses of high-frequency CO2 measurements.
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| 4. |
- Burrows, Ryan M., et al.
(författare)
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Interactive effects of light and nutrients on stream algal growth modified by forest management in boreal landscapes
- 2021
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Ingår i: Forest Ecology and Management. - : Elsevier. - 0378-1127 .- 1872-7042. ; 492
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Boreal forests account for 30% of the world's total forest cover and in many places are subject to intensive forest management, which often involves complete removal of overstory vegetation by clear-cutting. However, we still do not fully understand how forest management affects aquatic ecosystems in these landscapes. Here we asked how forest management-induced changes in environmental conditions, such as incident light and nutrient availability, affect benthic algal growth and nutrient limitation in boreal headwater streams of northern Sweden. We answered this question using a combination of correlative and experimental approaches across a range of forested streams spanning a gradient of site (e.g. canopy openness and water chemistry) and catchment-level (e.g. age of forest regrowth) parameters, with variation among the study streams influenced by different forest management histories and underlying natural variation. We found that benthic algal growth in these forested streams was largely driven by local interactions between dissolved inorganic nitrogen (N) availability and incident light reaching benthic surfaces. Greater water temperature and shallower depths were also associated with greater algal growth. Although high dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations often play a role in reducing light availability to autotrophs in boreal aquatic systems, it was not an important predictor of algal growth in small forested streams despite a large DOC concentration gradient (5 – 32 mg/L). Results from experimental nutrient additions supported the role of N as a key limiting nutrient, but also revealed both spatial and seasonal factors that modulate the effects of altered nutrient availability. Overall, our results suggest that differences in how light regimes and nutrient loading respond to forest management generate small-scale variation in the controls over stream primary productivity, which likely shift in relative importance at the time scale of a forest rotation (60 to 100 years).
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| 5. |
- Burrows, Ryan, et al.
(författare)
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Nitrogen limitation of heterotrophic biofilms in boreal streams
- 2015
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Ingår i: Freshwater Biology. - : Wiley. - 0046-5070 .- 1365-2427. ; 60:7, s. 1237-1251
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nutrient limitation of the biofilm is fundamental to stream ecosystem processes, as microbial activity shapes the biological availability and biogeochemical cycling of carbon and nutrients. We used nutrient-diffusing substrata (NDS) to investigate heterotrophic nutrient limitation of microbial respiration (MR) across 20 streams draining boreal landscapes in northern Sweden. We also explored variation in microbial biomass and community structure of biofilms that developed on NDS using phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) biomarkers. Limitation was determined as a significant response of MR and biomass production on cellulose surfaces to enrichment with nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) or N+P, relative to controls. Microbial respiration was N-limited, with an average 3.3-fold increase on N-amended NDS. Nitrogen limitation decreased, and control rates of MR increased, with greater background concentrations of inorganic N across the sites. In contrast to MR, microbial biomass was primarily N-limited but was greatest for the N+P NDS. Accordingly, differences in respiratory versus biomass responses to nutrient addition resulted in significantly greater biomass-specific MR on N-amended NDS compared to all other treatments. In addition, PLFA biomarkers indicated distinct microbial communities on N and N+P NDS compared to controls and/or P NDS. Greater MR and biomass, and the development of distinct microbial communities, when supplied with inorganic N suggest that factors which alter aquatic N loading during autumn may have important implications for ecosystem processes and the biogeochemistry of boreal streams and rivers. Our findings add to a growing body of evidence that the productivity of Fennoscandian boreal landscapes is constrained by N availability.
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| 6. |
- Burrows, Ryan, et al.
(författare)
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Seasonal resource limitation of heterotrophic biofilms in boreal streams
- 2017
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Ingår i: Limnology and Oceanography. - : WILEY-BLACKWELL. - 0024-3590 .- 1939-5590. ; 62:1, s. 164-176
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Unraveling the potentially shifting controls over microbial activity among habitats and across seasonal transitions is critical for understanding how freshwater ecosystems influence broader elemental cycles, and how these systems may respond to global changes. We used nutrient-diffusing substrates to investigate seasonal patterns and constraints on microbial activity of biofilms in streams draining distinct landscape features of the boreal biome (forests, mires, and lakes). Microbial respiration (MR) largely mirrored spatial and temporal variation in water temperature. However, limitation by labile carbon (C) was a constraint to microbial activity during ice-covered periods, when MR of control nutrient-diffusing substrates fell below rates predicted from stream temperature alone. Variation in C limitation among the study streams was reflective of putative organic C availability, with C limitation of biofilms weakest in the dissolved organic C (DOC)-rich, mire-outlet stream and greatest in the relatively DOC-poor, forest stream. Incidences of nutrient limitation were only observed during warmer months. Our study illustrates how variation in processes mediated by heterotrophic biofilms and seasonal shifts in resource limitation can emerge in a stream network draining a heterogeneous landscape. In addition, our results show that, for a large portion of the year, heterotrophic processes in boreal streams can be strongly limited by the availability of labile C, despite high DOC concentrations. Metabolic constraints to dissolved organic matter processing at near-freezing temperatures, coupled with hydrological controls over the delivery of more labile organic resources to streams (e.g., soil freezing and flooding), have potentially strong influences on the productivity of boreal streams.
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| 7. |
- Denfeld, Blaize A., et al.
(författare)
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Carbon Dioxide and Methane Dynamics in a Small Boreal Lake During Winter and Spring Melt Events
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences. - 2169-8953 .- 2169-8961. ; 123:8, s. 2527-2540
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In seasonally ice‐covered lakes, carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) emission at ice‐off can account for a significant fraction of the annual budget. Yet knowledge of the mechanisms controlling below lake‐ice carbon (C) dynamics and subsequent CO2 and CH4 emissions at ice‐off is limited. To understand the control of below ice C dynamics, and C emissions in spring, we measured spatial variation in CO2, CH4, and dissolved inorganic and organic carbon from ice‐on to ice‐off, in a small boreal lake during a winter with sporadic melting events. Winter melt events were associated with decreased surface water DOC in the forest‐dominated basin and increased surface water CH4 in the mire‐dominated basin. At the whole‐lake scale, CH4 accumulated below ice throughout the winter, whereas CO2 accumulation was greatest in early winter. Mass‐balance estimates suggest that, in addition to the CO2 and CH4 accumulated during winter, external inputs of CO2 and CH4 and internal processing during ice‐melt could represent significant sources of C gas emissions during ice‐off. Moreover, internal processing of CO2 and CH4 worked in opposition, with production of CO2 and oxidation of CH4 dominating at ice‐off. These findings have important implications for how small boreal lakes will respond to warmer winters in the future; increased winter melt events will likely increase external inputs below ice and thus alter the extent and timing of CO2 and CH4 emissions to the atmosphere at ice‐off.
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| 8. |
- Denfeld, Blaize A., et al.
(författare)
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Heterogeneous CO2 and CH4 patterns across space and time in a small boreal lake
- 2020
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Ingår i: Inland Waters. - : Taylor & Francis. - 2044-2041 .- 2044-205X. ; 10:3, s. 348-359
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Small boreal lakes emit large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) to the atmosphere. Yet emissions of these greenhouse gases are variable in space and time, in part due to variable within-lake CO2 and CH4 concentrations. To determine the extent and the underlying drivers of this variation, we measured lake water CO2 and CH4 concentrations and estimated associated emissions using spatially discrete water samples collected every 2 weeks from a small boreal lake. On select dates, we also collected groundwater samples from the surrounding catchment. On average, groundwater draining a connected peat mire complex had significantly higher CO2 and CH4 concentrations compared to waters draining forest on mineral soils. However, within the lake, only CH4 concentrations nearshore from the mire complex were significantly elevated. We observed little spatial variability in surface water CO2; however, bottom water CO2 in the pelagic zone was significantly higher than bottom waters at nearshore locations. Overall, temperature, precipitation, and thermal stratification explained temporal patterns of CO2 concentration, whereas hydrology (discharge and precipitation) best predicted the variation in CH4 concentration. Consistent with these different controls, the highest CO2 emission was related to lake turnover at the end of August while the highest CH4 emission was associated with precipitation events at the end of June. These results suggest that annual carbon emissions from small boreal lakes are influenced by temporal variation in weather conditions that regulate thermal stratification and trigger hydrologic land-water connections that supply gases from catchment soils to the lake.
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| 9. |
- Einarsdóttir, Karólina, 1980-, et al.
(författare)
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Particles and Aeration at Mire-Stream Interfaces Cause Selective Removal and Modification of Dissolved Organic Matter
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences. - : American Geophysical Union (AGU). - 2169-8953 .- 2169-8961. ; 125:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Peatlands are dominant sources of dissolved organic matter (DOM) to boreal inland waters and play important roles in the aquatic carbon cycle. Yet before peat-derived DOM enters aquatic networks, it needs to pass through peat-stream interfaces that are often characterized by transitions from anoxic or hypoxic to oxic conditions. Aeration at these interfaces may trigger processes that impact the DOM pool, and its fate downstream. Here we experimentally assessed how the aeration of iron- and organic-rich mire-waters influences biodegradation, particle-formation, and modification of DOM. In addition, we investigated how suspended peat-derived particles from mires may influence these processes. We found that within 5 days of aeration, 20% of the DOM transformed into particulate organic matter (POM). This removal was likely due to combination of mechanisms including coprecipitation with oxidized iron, aggregation, and DOM-adsorption onto peat-derived particles. Peat-derived particles promoted microbial activity, but biodegradation was a minor loss mechanism of DOM removal. Interestingly, microbial respiration accounted for only half of the oxygen loss, suggesting substantial nonrespiratory oxygen consumption. The differences observed in DOM characteristics between anoxic and aerated treatments suggest that hydrophilic, aromatic DOM coprecipitated with iron oxides in aerated samples, and the corresponding C:N analysis of generated POM revealed that these organic species were nitrogen-poor. Meanwhile, POM formed via adsorption onto peat-derived particles generated from nonaromatic DOM and more nitrogen-rich species. Hence, selective removal of DOM, dissolved iron, and thus oxygen may be important and overlooked processes in mire-dominated headwater systems.
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| 10. |
- Jonsson, Micael, et al.
(författare)
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Land use influences macroinvertebrate community composition in boreal headwaters through altered stream conditions
- 2017
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Ingår i: Ambio. - : SPRINGER. - 0044-7447 .- 1654-7209. ; 46:3, s. 311-323
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Land use is known to alter the nature of land-water interactions, but the potential effects of widespread forest management on headwaters in boreal regions remain poorly understood. We evaluated the importance of catchment land use, land cover, and local stream variables for macroinvertebrate community and functional trait diversity in 18 boreal headwater streams. Variation in macroinvertebrate metrics was often best explained by in-stream variables, primarily water chemistry (e.g. pH). However, variation in stream variables was, in turn, significantly associated with catchment-scale forestry land use. More specifically, streams running through catchments that were dominated by young (11-50 years) forests had higher pH, greater organic matter standing stock, higher abundance of aquatic moss, and the highest macroinvertebrate diversity, compared to streams running through recently clear-cut and old forests. This indicates that catchment-scale forest management can modify in-stream habitat conditions with effects on stream macroinvertebrate communities and that characteristics of younger forests may promote conditions that benefit headwater biodiversity.
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