Unexpected large evasion fluxes of carbon dioxide from turbulent streams draining the world’s mountains

Inland waters, including streams and rivers, are active components of the global carbon cycle. Despite the large areal extent of the world’s mountains, the role of mountain streams for global carbon fluxes remains elusive. Using recent insights from gas exchange in turbulent streams, we found that areal CO2 evasion fluxes from mountain streams equal or exceed those reported from tropical and boreal streams, typically regarded as hotspots of aquatic carbon fluxes. At the regional scale of the Swiss Alps, we present evidence that emitted CO2 derives from lithogenic and biogenic sources within the catchment and delivered by the groundwater to the streams. At a global scale, we estimate the CO2 evasion from mountain streams to 167 ± 1.5 Tg C yr−1, which is high given their relatively low areal contribution to the global stream and river networks. Our findings shed new light on mountain streams for global carbon fluxes

Hysteresis effects in organic matter turnover in a tropical floodplain during a flood cycle

Tropical inland waters are increasingly recognized for their role in the global carbon cycle, but uncertainty about the effects of such systems on the transported organic matter remains. The seasonal interactions between river, floodplain, and vegetation result in highly dynamic systems, which can exhibit markedly different biogeochemical patterns throughout a flood cycle. In this study, we determined rates and governing processes of organic matter turnover. Multi-probes in the Barotse Plains, a pristine floodplain in the Upper Zambezi River (Zambia), provided a high-resolution data set over the course of a hydrological cycle. The concentrations of oxygen, carbon dioxide, dissolved organic carbon, and suspended particulate matter in the main channel showed clear hysteresis trends with expanding and receding water on the floodplain. Lower oxygen and suspended matter concentrations prevailed at longer travel times of water in the floodplain, while carbon dioxide and dissolved organic carbon concentrations were higher when the water spent more time on the floodplain. Maxima of particulate loads occurred before highest water levels, whereas the maximum in dissolved organic carbon load occurred during the transition of flooding and flood recession. Degradation of terrestrial organic matter occurred mainly on the floodplain at increased floodplain residence times. Our data suggest that floodplains become more intense hotspots at prolonged travel time of the flood pulse over the floodplain.ISSN:0168-2563ISSN:1573-515

Greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4, N2O) in the Congo River are driven by fluvial-wetland connectivity

We carried out ten field expeditions between 2010 and 2015, in the lowland part of the Congo River network, to describe the spatial variations of fluvial dissolved carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) concentrations. We investigated the drivers of the spatial variations of dissolved CO2, CH4 and N2O concentrations by analysing co-variations with several other biogeochemical variables, aquatic metabolic processes (primary production and respiration), catchment characteristics (land cover) and wetland spatial distribution. We test the hypothesis that spatial patterns of CO2, CH4 and N2O are partly due to the connectivity with wetlands, in particular with a giant wetland of flooded forest in the core of the Congo basin, the “Cuvette Centrale Congolaise” (CCC). The integrated CO2 emission from the Congo River network (251±46 TgC yr-1) was more than three times higher than terrestrial net ecosystem exchange (NEE) on the whole catchment. It is unlikely that the fluvial CO2 emissions were sustained by the hydrological carbon export from terra firme soils (typically very small compared to terrestrial NEE), but most likely, they were sustained by wetlands (with a much higher hydrological connectivity with rivers and streams).AFRIVA

Along-stream transport and transformation of dissolved organic matter in a large tropical river

© 2016 Author(s). Large rivers transport considerable amounts of terrestrial dissolved organic matter (DOM) to the ocean. However, downstream gradients and temporal variability in DOM fluxes and characteristics are poorly studied at the scale of large river basins, especially in tropical areas. Here, we report longitudinal patterns in DOM content and composition based on absorbance and fluorescence measurements along the Zambezi River and its main tributary, the Kafue River, during two hydrological seasons. During high-flow periods, a greater proportion of aromatic and humic DOM was mobilized along rivers due to the hydrological connectivity with wetlands, while low-flow periods were characterized by lower DOM content of less aromaticity resulting from loss of connectivity with wetlands, more efficient degradation of terrestrial DOM and enhanced autochthonous productivity. Changes in water residence time due to contrasting water discharge were found to modulate the fate of DOM along the river continuum. Thus, high water discharge promotes the transport of terrestrial DOM downstream relative to its degradation, while low water discharge enhances the degradation of DOM during its transport. The longitudinal evolution of DOM was also strongly impacted by a hydrological buffering effect in large reservoirs in which the seasonal variability of DOM fluxes and composition was strongly reduced.status: publishe

Divergent biophysical controls of aquatic CO2 and CH4 in the World’s two largest rivers

Carbon emissions to the atmosphere from inland waters are globally significant and mainly occur at tropical latitudes. However, processes controlling the intensity of CO2 and CH4 emissions from tropical inland waters remain poorly understood. Here, we report a data-set of concurrent measurements of the partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) and dissolved CH4 concentrations in the Amazon (n = 136) and the Congo (n = 280) Rivers. The pCO2 values in the Amazon mainstem were significantly higher than in the Congo, contrasting with CH4 concentrations that were higher in the Congo than in the Amazon. Large-scale patterns in pCO2 across different lowland tropical basins can be apprehended with a relatively simple statistical model related to the extent of wetlands within the basin, showing that, in addition to non-flooded vegetation, wetlands also contribute to CO2 in river channels. On the other hand, dynamics of dissolved CH4 in river channels are less straightforward to predict, and are related to the way hydrology modulates the connectivity between wetlands and river channels.status: publishe