Structural complexity influences the ecosystem engineering effects of instream large wood

Large wood (LW) is an ecosystem engineer and keystone structure in river ecosystems, influencing a range of hydromorphological and ecological processes and contributing to habitat heterogeneity and ecosystem condition. LW is increasingly being used in catchment restoration, but restored LW jams have been observed to differ in physical structure to naturally occurring jams, with potential implications for restoration outcomes. This article examines the structural complexity and ecosystem engineering effects of LW jams at four sites with varying management intensity incorporating natural and restored wood. Our results reveal: (i) structural complexity and volume of jams was highest in the site with natural jams and low intensity riparian management, and lowest in the suburban site with simple restored jams; and (ii) that structural complexity influences the ecosystem engineering role of LW, with more complex jams generating the greatest effects on flow hydraulics (flow concentration, into bed flows) and sediment characteristics (D50, organic content, fine sediment retention) and the simplest flow deflector-style restored jams having the least pronounced effects. We present a conceptual model describing a continuum of increasing jam structural complexity and associated hydromorphological effects that can be used as a basis for positioning and evaluating other sites along the management intensity spectrum to help inform restoration design and best practice

Instream Large Wood: Denitrification Hotspots with Low N 2

We examined the effect of instream large wood on denitrification capacity in two contrasting, lower order streams - one that drains an agricultural watershed with no riparian forest and minimal stores of instream large wood and another that drains a forested watershed with an extensive riparian forest and abundant instream large wood. We incubated two types of wood substrates (fresh wood blocks and extant streambed wood) and an artificial stone substrate for nine weeks in each stream. After in situ incubation, we collected the substrates and their attached biofilms and established laboratory-based mesocosm assays with stream water amended with 15N-labeled nitrate-N. Wood substrates at the forested site had significantly higher denitrification than wood substrates from the agricultural site and artificial stone substrates from either site. Nitrate-N removal rates were markedly higher on woody substrates compared to artificial stones at both sites. Nitrate-N removal rates were significantly correlated with biofilm biomass. Denitrification capacity accounted for only a portion of nitrate-N removal observed within the mesocosms in both the wood controls and instream substrates. N2 accounted for 99.7% of total denitrification. Restoration practices that generate large wood in streams should be encouraged for N removal and do not appear to generate high risks of instream N2O generation. © 2014 American Water Resources Association