Aquatic-terrestrial linkages control metabolism and carbon dynamics in a mid-sized, urban stream influenced by snowmelt
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- Data Release: USGS data release - Modeled Stream Metabolism in Boulder Creek near Boulder, CO (2016 - 2018)
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Abstract
Freshwater streams can exchange nutrients and carbon with the surrounding terrestrial environment through various mechanisms including physical erosion, flooding, leaf drop, and snowmelt. These aquatic-terrestrial interactions are crucial in carbon mobilization, transformation, ecosystem productivity, and have important implications for the role of freshwater ecosystems in the global carbon budget. We utilized high-frequency oxygen, temperature, and carbon dioxide (CO2) data to infer watershed connectivity in Boulder Creek, a mid-sized (1160 km2) watershed located in Colorado, USA. Daily modeled gross primary production (GPP), ecosystem respiration (ER), net ecosystem production (NEP), and reaeration coefficients (K600) were paired with high-frequency, in-situ dissolved CO2 data to characterize changes in metabolic regime and carbon flux on a stream influenced by seasonal snowmelt. GPP and ER were correlated (ρ = −0.72, p ≪ 0.001) during the non-snowmelt period and NEP was frequently negative. Mean FCO2 during the non-snowmelt period was approximately 302 (±171) mmol C m−2 d−1 and was primarily supported by watershed CO2 inputs. During snowmelt, GPP and ER were not significantly correlated (ρ = −0.22, p = 0.05), and mean NEP was significantly more negative than during non-snowmelt. Watershed connectivity was higher during snowmelt, as evidenced by significantly higher FCO2 (843 ± 338 mmol C m−2 d−1) and greater allochthonous CO2 inputs than during non-snowmelt periods, emphasizing the effects of seasonal differences in aquatic-terrestrial linkages in this stream. We suggest that our understanding of watershed carbon budgets is subject to temporal dynamics which control the degree of connectivity between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
Study Area
Publication type | Article |
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Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
Title | Aquatic-terrestrial linkages control metabolism and carbon dynamics in a mid-sized, urban stream influenced by snowmelt |
Series title | Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences |
DOI | 10.1029/2021JG006296 |
Volume | 126 |
Issue | 9 |
Year Published | 2021 |
Language | English |
Publisher | American Geophysical Union |
Contributing office(s) | WMA - Earth System Processes Division |
Description | e2021JG006296, 16 p. |
Country | United States |
State | Colorado |
City | Boulder |
Other Geospatial | Boulder Creek |
Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |