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At least 379 records · Page 21Linked to original sources
USGS2017

Nitrogenase activity by biological soil crusts in cold sagebrush steppe ecosystems

In drylands worldwide, biological soil crusts (BSC) form a thin photosynthetic cover across landscapes, and provide vital benefits in terms of stabilizing soil and fixing nitrogen (N) and carbon (C). Numerous studies have examined the effects of climate and disturbance on BSC functions; however, few have characterized these responses in rolling BSCs typical of northern ecosystems in the Intermountain West, US. With temperature increases and shifts in precipitation projected, it is unclear how BSCs in this region will respond to climate change, and how the response could affect their capacity to perform key ecosystem functions, such as providing ‘new’ N through biological N 2 fixation. To address this important knowledge gap, we examined nitrogenase activity (NA) associated with rolling BSCs along a climatic gradient in southwestern Idaho, US, and quantified how acetylene reduction rates changed as a function of climate, grazing (using exclosures), and shrub-canopy association. Results show that warmer, drier climates at lower elevations hosted greater cover of late successional BSC communities (e.g., mosses and lichens), and higher NA compared with colder, wetter climates at higher elevations. Highest NA (0.5–29.3 µmol C 2 H 4 m −2 h −1 ) occurred during the early summer/spring, when water was more available than in late summer/autumn. Activity was strongly associated with soil characteristics including pH and ammonium concentrations suggesting these characteristics as potentially strong controls on NA in BSCs. The relationship between grazing and NA varied with elevation. Specifically, lower elevation sites had lower NA at grazed locations, whereas higher elevation sites had higher NA with grazing. At both low and high ends of the elevation gradient, shrub-canopy associated BSCs maintained two to three times higher NA compared to BSCs in the interspace among shrubs. Taken together, our findings indicate that the controls and rates of NA in BSCs vary seasonally and strongly with climate in the Intermountain West, and that drier springs are likely to influence rates of NA more than warmer summers.

Idaho↗
USGS2017

The concurrent use of novel soil surface microclimate measurements to evaluate CO2 pulses in biocrusted interspaces in a cool desert ecosystem

Carbon cycling associated with biological soil crusts, which occupy interspaces between vascular plants in drylands globally, may be an important part of the coupled climate-carbon cycle of the Earth system. A major challenge to understanding CO 2 fluxes in these systems is that much of the biotic and biogeochemical activity occurs in the upper few mm of the soil surface layer (i.e., the ‘mantle of fertility’), which exhibits highly dynamic and difficult to measure temperature and moisture fluctuations. Here, we report a multi-sensor approach to simultaneously measuring temperature and moisture of this biocrust surface layer (0–2 mm), and the deeper soil profile, concurrent with automated measurement of surface soil CO 2 effluxes. Our results illuminate robust relationships between biocrust water content and field CO 2 pulses that have previously been difficult to detect and explain. All observed CO 2 pulses over the measurement period corresponded to surface wetting events, including when the wetting events did not penetrate into the soil below the biocrust layer (0–2 mm). The variability of temperature and moisture of the biocrust surface layer was much greater than even in the 0–5 cm layer of the soil beneath the biocrust, or deeper in the soil profile. We therefore suggest that coupling surface measurements of biocrust moisture and temperature to automated CO 2 flux measurements may greatly improve our understanding of the climatic sensitivity of carbon cycling in biocrusted interspaces in our study region, and that this method may be globally relevant and applicable.

Biogeochemistry↗
USGS2018

Beyond clay: Towards an improved set of variables for predicting soil organic matter content

Improved quantification of the factors controlling soil organic matter (SOM) stabilization at continental to global scales is needed to inform projections of the largest actively cycling terrestrial carbon pool on Earth, and its response to environmental change. Biogeochemical models rely almost exclusively on clay content to modify rates of SOM turnover and fluxes of climate-active CO 2 to the atmosphere. Emerging conceptual understanding, however, suggests other soil physicochemical properties may predict SOM stabilization better than clay content. We addressed this discrepancy by synthesizing data from over 5,500 soil profiles spanning continental scale environmental gradients. Here, we demonstrate that other physicochemical parameters are much stronger predictors of SOM content, with clay content having relatively little explanatory power. We show that exchangeable calcium strongly predicted SOM content in water-limited, alkaline soils, whereas with increasing moisture availability and acidity, iron- and aluminum-oxyhydroxides emerged as better predictors, demonstrating that the relative importance of SOM stabilization mechanisms scales with climate and acidity. These results highlight the urgent need to modify biogeochemical models to better reflect the role of soil physicochemical properties in SOM cycling.

Biogeochemistry↗
USGS2018

Improving understanding of soil organic matter dynamics by triangulating theories, measurements, and models

Soil organic matter (SOM) turnover increasingly is conceptualized as a tension between accessibility to microorganisms and protection from decomposition via physical and chemical association with minerals in emerging soil biogeochemical theory. Yet, these components are missing from the original mathematical models of belowground carbon dynamics and remain underrepresented in more recent compartmental models that separate SOM into discrete pools with differing turnover times. Thus, a gap currently exists between the emergent understanding of SOM dynamics and our ability to improve terrestrial biogeochemical projections that rely on the existing models. In this opinion paper, we portray the SOM paradigm as a triangle composed of three nodes: conceptual theory, analytical measurement, and numerical models. In successful approaches, we contend that the nodes are connected—models capture the essential features of dominant theories while measurement tools generate data adequate to parameterize and evaluate the models—and balanced—models can inspire new theories via emergent behaviors, pushing empiricists to come up with new measurements. Many exciting advances recently pushed the boundaries on one or more nodes. However, newly integrated triangles have yet to coalesce. We conclude that our ability to incorporate mechanisms of microbial decomposition and physicochemical protection into predictions of SOM change is limited by current disconnections and imbalances among theory, measurement, and modeling. Opportunities to reintegrate the three components of the SOM paradigm exist by carefully considering their linkages and feedbacks at specific scales of observation.

Biogeochemistry↗
USGS2018

Before the storm: Antecedent conditions as regulators of hydrologic and biogeochemical response to extreme climate events

While the influence of antecedent conditions on watershed function is widely recognized under typical hydrologic regimes, gaps remain in the context of extreme climate events (ECEs). ECEs are those events that far exceed seasonal norms of intensity, duration, or impact upon the physical environment or ecosystem. In this synthesis, we discuss the role of source availability and hydrologic connectivity on antecedent conditions and propose a conceptual framework to characterize system response to ECEs at the watershed scale. We present four case studies in detail that span a range of types of antecedent conditions and type of ECE to highlight important controls and feedbacks. Because ECEs have the potential to export large amounts of water and materials, their occurrence in sequence can disproportionately amplify the response. In fact, multiple events may not be considered extreme in isolation, but when they occur in close sequence they may lead to extreme responses in terms of both supply and transport capacity. Therefore, to advance our understanding of these complexities, we need continued development of a mechanistic understanding of how antecedent conditions set the stage for ECE response across multiple regions and climates, particularly since monitoring of these rare events is costly and difficult to obtain. Through focused monitoring of critical ecosystems during rare events we will also be able to extend and validate modeling studies. Cross-regional comparisons are also needed to define characteristics of resilient systems. These monitoring, modeling, and synthesis efforts are more critical than ever in light of changing climate regimes, intensification of human modifications of the landscape, and the disproportionate impact of ECEs in highly populated regions.

Biogeochemistry↗
USGS2018

River network saturation concept: factors influencing the balance of biogeochemical supply and demand of river networks

River networks modify material transfer from land to ocean. Understanding the factors regulating this function for different gaseous, dissolved, and particulate constituents is critical to quantify the local and global effects of climate and land use change. We propose the River Network Saturation (RNS) concept as a generalization of how river network regulation of material fluxes declines with increasing flows due to imbalances between supply and demand at network scales. River networks have a tendency to become saturated (supply ≫ demand) under higher flow conditions because supplies increase faster than sink processes. However, the flow thresholds under which saturation occurs depends on a variety of factors, including the inherent process rate for a given constituent and the abundance of lentic waters such as lakes, ponds, reservoirs, and fluvial wetlands within the river network. As supply increases, saturation at network scales is initially limited by previously unmet demand in downstream aquatic ecosystems. The RNS concept describes a general tendency of river network function that can be used to compare the fate of different constituents among river networks. New approaches using nested in situ high-frequency sensors and spatially extensive synoptic techniques offer the potential to test the RNS concept in different settings. Better understanding of when and where river networks saturate for different constituents will allow for the extrapolation of aquatic function to broader spatial scales and therefore provide information on the influence of river function on continental element cycles and help identify policy priorities.

Biogeochemistry↗
USGS2018

Watershed ‘chemical cocktails’: forming novel elemental combinations in Anthropocene fresh waters

In the Anthropocene, watershed chemical transport is increasingly dominated by novel combinations of elements, which are hydrologically linked together as ‘chemical cocktails.’ Chemical cocktails are novel because human activities greatly enhance elemental concentrations and their probability for biogeochemical interactions and shared transport along hydrologic flowpaths. A new chemical cocktail approach advances our ability to: trace contaminant mixtures in watersheds, develop chemical proxies with high-resolution sensor data, and manage multiple water quality problems. We explore the following questions: (1) Can we classify elemental transport in watersheds as chemical cocktails using a new approach? (2) What is the role of climate and land use in enhancing the formation and transport of chemical cocktails in watersheds? To address these questions, we first analyze trends in concentrations of carbon, nutrients, metals, and salts in fresh waters over 100 years. Next, we explore how climate and land use enhance the probability of formation of chemical cocktails of carbon, nutrients, metals, and salts. Ultimately, we classify transport of chemical cocktails based on solubility, mobility, reactivity, and dominant phases: (1) sieved chemical cocktails (e.g., particulate forms of nutrients, metals and organic matter); (2) filtered chemical cocktails (e.g., dissolved organic matter and associated metal complexes); (3) chromatographic chemical cocktails (e.g., ions eluted from soil exchange sites); and (4) reactive chemical cocktails (e.g., limiting nutrients and redox sensitive elements). Typically, contaminants are regulated and managed one element at a time, even though combinations of elements interact to influence many water quality problems such as toxicity to life, eutrophication, infrastructure corrosion, and water treatment. A chemical cocktail approach significantly expands evaluations of water quality signatures and impacts beyond single elements to mixtures. High-frequency sensor data (pH, specific conductance, turbidity, etc.) can serve as proxies for chemical cocktails and improve real-time analyses of water quality violations, identify regulatory needs, and track water quality recovery following storms and extreme climate events. Ultimately, a watershed chemical cocktail approach is necessary for effectively co-managing groups of contaminants and provides a more holistic approach for studying, monitoring, and managing water quality in the Anthropocene.

Biogeochemistry↗
USGS2018

Water column nutrient processing rates in rivermouths of Green Bay (Lake Michigan)

Understanding the quantity and form of nutrient loads to large lakes is necessary to understand controls over primary production, phytoplankton community composition and the production of phytotoxins. Nutrient loading estimates to large lakes are primarily made at stream gages that are deliberately placed outside the direct influence of lake processes, but these estimates cannot take into account processes that occur in the biologically active river-to-lake transition zone. These transition zones (rivermouths) sometimes alter nutrient concentrations and ratios substantially, but few studies have directly measured processing rates of nutrients within rivermouths. From April through September 2016, we conducted 23 water column incubation experiments to measure nutrient loss rates in four rivermouths. First order loss rates ( K ) for inorganic nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) indicated greater loss in light than in dark treatments, suggesting primary production increases N and P removal. Variability in K was high across both time and space, and the measured environmental parameters did not appear to be strongly associated with this variation in K for most N and P forms. If the measured K values and water residence times are accurate, then between 0 and 99% of the inorganic P and nitrates entering the rivermouth would be lost (i.e., converted to organic or particulate P). In late summer, Fox River discharge is low and residence times are usually long, which allow for much higher proportional nutrient removal in the water column. Water column processing appears to be capable of transforming large quantities of dissolved N and P to particulate forms and thus altering its transport and presumably its bioavailability.

Green Bay, Lake Michigan↗
USGS2019

Shining light on the storm: In-stream optics reveal hysteresis of dissolved organic matter character

The quantity and character of dissolved organic matter (DOM) can change rapidly during storm events, affecting key biogeochemical processes, carbon bioavailability, metal pollutant transport, and disinfection byproduct formation during drinking water treatment. We used in situ ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometers to concurrently measure dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration and spectral slope ratio, a proxy for DOM molecular weight. Measurements were made at 15-minute intervals over three years in three streams draining primarily agricultural, urban, and forested watersheds. We describe storm event dynamics by calculating hysteresis indices for DOC concentration and spectral slope ratio for 220 storms and present a novel analytical framework that can be used to interpret these metrics together. DOC concentration and spectral slope ratio differed significantly among sites, and individual storm DOM dynamics were remarkably variable at each site and among the three sites. Distinct patterns emerged for storm DOM dynamics depending on land use/land cover (LULC) of each watershed. In agricultural and forested streams, DOC concentration increased after the time of peak discharge, and spectral slope ratio dynamics indicate that this delayed flux was of relatively higher molecular weight material compared to the beginning of each storm. In contrast, DOM character during storms at the urban stream generally shifted to lower molecular weight while DOC concentration increased on the falling limb, indicating either the introduction of lower molecular weight DOM, the exhaustion of a higher molecular weight DOM sources, or a combination of these factors. We show that the combination of high-frequency DOM character and quantity metrics have the potential to provide new insight into short-timescale DOM dynamics and can reveal previously unknown effects of LULC on the chemical nature, source, and timing of DOM export during storms.

Vermont↗
USGS2019

Denitrification in the river network of a mixed land use watershed: Unpacking the complexities

River networks have the potential to permanently remove nitrogen through denitrification. Few studies have measured denitrification rates within an entire river network or assessed how land use affect rates at larger spatial scales. We sampled 108 sites throughout the network of the Fox River watershed, Wisconsin, to determine if land use influence sediment denitrification rates, and to identify zones of elevated sediment denitrification rates (hot spots) within the river network. Partial least squares regression models identified variables from four levels of organization (river bed sediment, water column, riparian zone, and watershed) that best predicted denitrification rates throughout the river network. Nitrate availability was the most important predictor of denitrification rates, while land cover was not always a good predictor of local-scale nitrate concentrations. Thus, land cover and denitrification rate were not strongly related across the Fox River watershed. A direct relationship between denitrification rate and watershed land cover occurred only in the Wolf River sub-watershed, the least anthropogenically disturbed of the sub-watersheds. Denitrification hot spots were located throughout the river network, regardless of watershed land use, with hot spot location being determined primarily by nitrate availability. In the Fox River watershed, when nitrate was abundant, river bed sediment character influenced denitrification rate, with higher denitrification rates at sites with fine, organic sediments. These findings suggest that denitrification occurring throughout an entire river network, from headwater streams to larger rivers, can help reduce nitrogen loads to downstream water bodies.

Wisconsin↗
USGS2019

Influence of land use and hydrologic variability on seasonal dissolved organic carbon and nitrate export: Insights from a multi-year regional analysis for the northeastern USA

Land use/land cover (LULC) change has significant impacts on nutrient loading to aquatic systems and has been linked to deteriorating water quality globally. While many relationships between LULC and nutrient loading have been identified, characterization of the interaction between LULC, climate (specifically variable hydrologic forcing) and solute export across seasonal and interannual time scales is needed to understand the processes that determine nutrient loading and responses to change. Recent advances in high-frequency water quality sensors provide opportunities to assess these interannual relationships with sufficiently high temporal resolution to capture the unpredictable, short-term storm events that likely drive important export mechanisms for dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrate (NO 3 − –N). We deployed a network of in situ sensors in forested, agricultural, and urban watersheds across the northeastern United States. Using 2 years of high-frequency sensor data, we provide a regional assessment of how LULC and hydrologic variability affected the timing and magnitude of dissolved organic carbon and nitrate export, and the status of watershed fluxes as either supply or transport controlled. Analysis of annual export dynamics revealed systematic differences in the timing and magnitude of DOC and NO 3 − –N delivery among different LULC classes, with distinct regional similarities in the timing of DOC and NO 3 − –N fluxes from forested and urban watersheds. Conversely, export dynamics at agricultural sites appeared to be highly site-specific, likely driven by local agricultural practices and regulations. Furthermore, the magnitude of solute fluxes across watersheds responded strongly to interannual variability in rainfall, suggesting a high degree of hydrologic control over nutrient loading across the region. Thus, there is strong potential for climate-driven changes in regional hydrologic cycles to drive variation in the magnitude of downstream nutrient fluxes, particularly in watersheds where solute supply and/or transport has been modified.

Delaware, Rhode Island, Vermont↗
USGS2019

Constraining dissolved organic matter sources and temporal variability in a model sub-Arctic lake

Circumpolar lakes comprise ~ 1.4 million km 2 of arctic and subarctic landscapes and are vulnerable to change in vegetation, permafrost distribution, and hydrological conditions in response to climate warming. However, the composition and cycling of dissolved organic matter (DOM) is poorly understood for these lakes because most are remote and unstudied. The goal of this study was to assess timescale and source controls on DOM composition in Canvasback Lake, a shallow, sub-Arctic lake in interior Alaska with similar hydrologic and geomorphic characteristics to about a quarter of circumpolar lake ecosystems. Lake dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration varied by as much as 16% from the mean (3.34 mg L −1 change) through diel cycles in spring 2016 to fall 2017 and was accompanied by minor changes in DOM composition. At the seasonal scale, DOC concentration increased from spring through fall to very high concentrations under ice in winter. Decreases in both condensed aromatic and polyphenolic compound classes and lignin carbon-normalized yield, plus increased relative abundance of aliphatic compounds, suggests that DOM composition shifts from a pulse of allochthonous DOM in the spring to more autochthonous under-ice. These changes highlight the seasonally-dynamic nature of DOM in circumpolar lakes that are poorly captured by single-visit lake surveys and underscores the need to measure DOM properties and fate consistently across multiple timescales (i.e. seasonally) to better constrain the role of DOM in lake processes. To further assess DOM sources, a suite of endmember leachates were compared to bulk lake DOM, indicating solely allochthonous inputs are not well reflected in lake DOM, highlighting the role of degradation processes or mixing with autochthonous sources. Thus, Canvasback Lake appears less well connected to terrestrial inputs compared to past studies of northern high-latitude lakes and does not behave as previous boreal lake models suggest.

Alaska↗
USGS2020

Phosphorus, nitrogen and dissolved organic carbon fluxes from sediments in freshwater rivermouths entering Green Bay (Lake Michigan; USA)

Transitional areas between ecosystem types are often active biogeochemically due to resource limitation changes. Lotic-to-lentic transitions in freshwaters appear active biogeochemically, but few studies have directly measured nutrient processing rates to assess whether processing within the rivermouth is important for load estimates or the local communities. We measured oxic fluxes of inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from sediments in two rivermouths of Green Bay (Lake Michigan, USA). Soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) flux was positive in most cases (overall mean 1.74 mg SRP m − 2 day − 1 ), as was ammonium (NH 4 ) flux (40.6 mg NH 4 m − 2 day − 1 ). Partial least square regression (PLSR) indicated a latent variable associated with both sediment [loosely bound phosphorus (P), iron bound P, organic content] and water column properties [temperature, DOC:dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and DOC:SRP ratios (negatively)] that was moderately associated with variation in SRP flux. PLSR analysis also indicated several sediment characteristics were moderately related to NH 4 flux, especially organic content, density (negative), and porosity. Flux of nitrates/nitrites (NO X ) and DOC were positively associated with the water column concentrations of NO X and DOC and qualitative estimates of the labile, non-humic types of DOC. In early summer, water column NO X and DOC concentrations were high and labile DOC may have fueled denitrification, resulting in net flux into sediments of both NO X and DOC. By late summer, water column NO X and DOC were very low and both these constituents were fluxing out of sediments into the water column. Based on our estimates for the entire period from April through September, rivermouth sediments were a net source of SRP and DIN, with a DIN:SRP ratio of ~ 44 and a NH 4 :NO X > 1. We estimated that the sediments in the Fox rivermouth probably contributed a small proportion of the total Fox River load during the growing season 2016 (< 5%), but at times may have contributed as much as 14% of the daily load. Despite the small size of the Fox rivermouth (< 0.5% of the watershed area), these results indicate that at times sediments can contribute substantially to the overall delivery of nitrogen and phosphorus to the nearshore zone.

Wisconsin↗
USGS2020

Experimental shifts of hydrologic residence time in a sandy urban stream sediment-water interface alter nitrate removal and nitrous oxide fluxes

The sediment–water interfaces (SWI) of streams serve as important biogeochemical hotspots in watersheds and contribute to whole-catchment reactive nitrogen budgets and water-quality conditions. Recently, the SWI has been identified as an important source of nitrous oxide (N 2 O) produced in streams, with SWI residence time among the principal controls on its production. Here, we conducted a series of controlled manipulations of SWI exchange in an urban stream that has high dissolved N 2 O concentrations and where we concurrently evaluated less-mobile porosity dynamics. Our experiments took place within isolated portions of two sediment types: a coarse sandy stream bed resulting from excess road-sand application in the watershed, and a coarse sand mixed with clay and organic particles. In these manipulation experiments we systematically varied SWI vertical-flux rates and residence times to evaluate their effect on the fate of nitrate and production rates of N 2 O. Our experiments demonstrate that the fate and transport of nitrate and N 2 O production are influenced by hydrologic flux rates through SWI sediments and associated residence times. Specifically, we show that manipulations of hydrologic flux systematically shifted the depth of the bulk oxic–anoxic interface in the sediments, and that nitrate removal increased with residence time. Our results also support the emerging hypothesis of a ‘Goldilocks’ timescale for the production of nitrous oxide, when transport and reaction timescales favor incomplete denitrification. Areal N 2 O production rates were up to threefold higher during an intermediate residence-time experiment, compared to shorter or longer residence times. In our companion study we documented that the studied sediments were dominated by a long-residence-time less-mobile porosity domain, which could explain why we observed N 2 O production even in bulk-oxic sediments. Overall, we have experimentally demonstrated that changes to SWI hydrologic residence times and SWI substrate associated with urbanization can change the biogeochemical function of the river corridor.

Massachusetts↗
USGS2020

Decadal-scale decoupling of soil phosphorus and molybdenum cycles by temperate nitrogen-fixing trees

Symbiotic nitrogen- (N) fixing trees can influence multiple biogeochemical cycles by fixing atmospheric N, which drives net primary productivity and soil carbon (C) and N accumulation, as well as by mobilizing soil phosphorus (P) and other nutrients to support growth and metabolism. The soil micronutrient molybdenum (Mo) is essential to N-fixation, yet surprisingly little is known of whether N-fixing trees alter soil Mo cycling, and if changes to soil Mo are coupled to soil C, N, and P. We compared how symbiotic N-fixing red alder and non-N-fixing Douglas-fir trees modified surface soil C, N, P, and Mo across variation in climate and other site factors in the Pacific Northwest. We found that after two decades, N-fixing trees drove coupled increases in surface soil C, N, total P, and organic P. Consistent with contributions of N-fixing trees to soil organic matter, increased soil C and N were accompanied by lower δ13C in all sites, and lower δ15N in sites where non-fixer plots exhibited elevated soil δ15N. However, N-fixing trees did not affect surface soil Mo concentrations or fractions, suggesting that different factors control the cycling of P versus Mo over decadal timescales. Random forest analysis revealed that surface soil P was most strongly influenced by factors related to soil C accumulation, whereas surface soil Mo was related primarily to environmental factors, including potential differences in atmospheric Mo deposition across sites. Ratios of surface soil P:Mo were higher in extractable pools than in total soil digests, reinforcing the idea of stronger biotic cycling of P than Mo. Overall, our multi-site, multi-decadal field study found surprisingly small effects of N-fixing trees on soil Mo, despite rapid increases in soil organic C, N, and P. We hypothesize that, rather than direct effects of N-fixing vegetation, abiotic or indirect biotic factors such as soil sorption of atmospheric Mo inputs can link C–N–P–Mo cycles in terrestrial ecosystems on longer timescales.

British Columbia, Washington↗
USGS2021

A combined microbial and ecosystem metric of carbon retention efficiency explains land cover-dependent soil microbial biodiversity–ecosystem function relationships

While soil organic carbon (C) is the foundation of productive and healthy ecosystems, the impact of the ecology of microorganisms on C-cycling remains unknown. We manipulated the diversity, applied here as species richness, of the microbial community present in similar soils on two contrasting land-covers—an adjacent pasture and forest—and observed the transformations of plant detritus and soil organic matter (SOM) using stable isotope ( 13 C) tracing coupled with a novel nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiment. The amount of detritus-C degraded was not affected by the microbial diversity (p > 0.05), however the fate of detritus- and SOM-C across the diversity gradient was complex and land cover-dependent. For example, in the pasture soil, higher diversity led to lower CO 2 production (p = 0.001), a trend driven solely by SOM-C mineralization. There was no relationship between diversity and detritus-C mineralization or production of new mineral-associations after one year (p > 0.05). In contrast, in the forest soil higher diversity resulted in increased detritus-C (p = 0.01) and SOM-C (p = 0.0008) mineralization and decreased mineral-associated organic matter formation (p = 0.02). In both land cover types, retention efficiency—a measure that integrates both microbial physiology and the ability of the ecosystem to retain C—explained C loss and transformation trends. Overall, this demonstrates that the trajectory of C gained and lost is altered by land management-induced changes to microbial communities, soil structure, and chemical characteristics underlying SOM persistence.

Biogeochemistry Letters↗
USGS2021

Benthic and planktonic inorganic nutrient processing rates at the interface between a river and lake

The interface between lotic and lentic ecosystems is often a zone of intense metabolic activity, as primary production in streams and rivers can be light limited whereas nutrients often limit primary production in lake ecosystems. Our objective was to model the influence that rivermouths (the lotic-lentic interface) could have on the loads of soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (N) passing from the tributary to the nearshore zone of a lake. To achieve this objective, we modeled the combined role of water column nutrient transformation rates with sediment nutrient flux rates. For sensitivity analysis, we picked plausible parameter ranges based on values previously measured in the Fox rivermouth (a tributary to Lake Michigan). Sensitivity analysis of the model demonstrated that overall the importance of water column processing rates increases with increasing nutrient concentration and discharge. We then applied the model to the Fox rivermouth, simulating the change in nutrients on four dates where all of the necessary parameters had been estimated. This modeling suggests that the Fox rivermouth is often a net sink for SRP and source for ammonia (NH 4 ), with water column processing driving SRP removal and both water column and sediment flux driving NH 4 dynamics. Removal of SRP in the water column means conversion to particulate and/or organic P, and those P pools are generally considered to be less bioavailable than SRP, so it may be that rivermouths disconnect upstream sources of nutrients from nearshore food webs. These results demonstrate that the interface zone between lotic and lentic systems has the potential to substantially alter the load and character of nutrients as river waters pass through rivermouths to adjacent nearshore areas.

Biogeochemistry↗
USGS2021

Anthropogenic landcover impacts fluvial dissolved organic matter composition in the Upper Mississippi River Basin

Landcover changes have altered the natural carbon cycle; however, most landcover studies focus on either forest conversion to agriculture or urban, rarely both. We present differences in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations and dissolved organic matter (DOM) molecular composition within Upper Mississippi River Basin low order streams and rivers draining one of three dominant landcovers (forest, agriculture, and urban). Streams draining forest and urban landcovers have greater DOC concentrations, likely driven by differences in carbon sourcing, microbial processing, and soil disturbance. Using Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry, 24% of assigned molecular formulae are common across all landcovers. Relative abundances of N-,S- heteroatomic formulae (CHON, CHOS, CHONS) are higher for agricultural and urban streams, with agricultural stream DOM having more N-containing formulae compared to urban stream DOM, which has more S-containing formulae. Higher N-,S- heteroatomic formulae abundance, along with enrichment in aliphatic, N-aliphatic, and highly unsaturated and phenolic (low O/C) compound categories within agricultural and urban stream DOM are likely to result from increased anthropogenic inputs, autochthonous production, and microbial processing associated with agricultural and urban impacts. Reduced N-,S- heteroatomic formulae abundances in forested stream DOM, along with enrichments in condensed aromatics, polyphenolics, and highly unsaturated phenolic (high O/C) compound categories, likely reflect greater contributions from surrounding organic-rich forest soil and vegetation. Overall, landcover change from forested to agriculture lowers DOC concentrations and changes from forested to agriculture or urban increases autochthonous, and presumably more biolabile, DOM contributions with ramifications for stream biogeochemical cycling.

Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin↗