12 research outputs found
Simulating rewetting events in intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams: A global analysis of leached nutrients and organic matter
Climate change and human pressures are changing the global distribution and the ex‐
tent of intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES), which comprise half of the
global river network area. IRES are characterized by periods of flow cessation, during
which channel substrates accumulate and undergo physico‐chemical changes (precon‐
ditioning), and periods of flow resumption, when these substrates are rewetted and
release pulses of dissolved nutrients and organic matter (OM). However, there are no
estimates of the amounts and quality of leached substances, nor is there information
on the underlying environmental constraints operating at the global scale. We experi‐
mentally simulated, under standard laboratory conditions, rewetting of leaves, river‐
bed sediments, and epilithic biofilms collected during the dry phase across 205 IRES
from five major climate zones. We determined the amounts and qualitative character‐
istics of the leached nutrients and OM, and estimated their areal fluxes from riverbeds.
In addition, we evaluated the variance in leachate characteristics in relation to selected
environmental variables and substrate characteristics. We found that sediments, due
to their large quantities within riverbeds, contribute most to the overall flux of dis‐
solved substances during rewetting events (56%–98%), and that flux rates distinctly
differ among climate zones. Dissolved organic carbon, phenolics, and nitrate contrib‐
uted most to the areal fluxes. The largest amounts of leached substances were found
in the continental climate zone, coinciding with the lowest potential bioavailability of
the leached OM. The opposite pattern was found in the arid zone. Environmental vari‐
ables expected to be modified under climate change (i.e. potential evapotranspiration,
aridity, dry period duration, land use) were correlated with the amount of leached sub‐
stances, with the strongest relationship found for sediments. These results show that
the role of IRES should be accounted for in global biogeochemical cycles, especially
because prevalence of IRES will increase due to increasing severity of drying event
Towards an improved understanding of biogeochemical processes across surface-groundwater interactions in intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams
Este artículo contiene 17 páginas, 7 figuras, 1 tabla.Surface-groundwater interactions in intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES), waterways which do not
flow year-round, are spatially and temporally dynamic because of alternations between flowing, non-flowing and
dry hydrological states. Interactions between surface and groundwater often create mixing zones with distinct
redox gradients, potentially driving high rates of carbon and nutrient cycling. Yet a complete understanding of
how underlying biogeochemical processes across surface-groundwater flowpaths in IRES differ among various
hydrological states remains elusive. Here, we present a conceptual framework relating spatial and temporal
hydrological variability in surface water-groundwater interactions to biogeochemical processing hotspots in
IRES. We combine a review of theIRES biogeochemistry literature with concepts of IRES hydrogeomorphology to:
(i) outline common distinctions among hydrological states in IRES; (ii) use these distinctions, together with considerations of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles within IRES, to predict the relative potential for
biogeochemical processing across different reach-scale processing zones (flowing water, fragmented pools,
hyporheic zones, groundwater, and emerged sediments); and (iii) explore the potential spatial and temporal
variability of carbon and nutrient biogeochemical processing across entire IRES networks. Our approach estimates the greatest reach-scale potential for biogeochemical processing when IRES reaches are fragmented into
isolated surface water pools, and highlights the potential of relatively understudied processing zones, such as
emerged sediments. Furthermore, biogeochemical processing in fluvial networks dominated by IRES is likely
more temporally than spatially variable. We conclude that biogeochemical research in IRES would benefit from
focusing on interactions between different nutrient cycles, surface-groundwater interactions in non-flowing
states, and consideration of fluvial network architecture. Our conceptual framework outlines opportunities to
advance studies and expand understanding of biogeochemistry in IRES.This study is based upon work from COST Action CA15113 (SMIRES,
Science and Management of Intermittent Rivers and Ephemeral Streams,
www.smires.eu), supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science
and Technology). A.S. was supported by the InterNet Project (Eawag
Discretionary Funds, Ernst Gohner ¨ Foundation and Gelbert Foundation),
S.A. was supported by the Israel Science Foundation (grant 682/17). G.
W. was supported by Klima- and Energiefonds within the ACRP program
(PURIFY - KR17AC0K13643). S.B. was supported by the Spanish Government through “Ramon ´ y Cajal” fellow (RYC-2017-22643). HP.G. was
supported by the Leibniz Foundation via the IGB household. O.S. was
supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG grant SU 405/10-
1). A.W. was additionally supported by Klima- and Energiefonds within
the ACRP program (PURIFY - KR17AC0K13643). V.P. is partially funded
by the Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland) (EPA). U.R. was
supported by a grant from the German Research Foundation (RI 2093/2-
1). S.O. was partially supported by the German Research Foundation
(DFG grant SU 405/10-1). O.T. was partially supported by the National
Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF). D.vS. was supported by a “Serra
Húnter” Fellow. M.I.A. was supported by the “Juan de Cierva” postdoctoral program funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation
and Universities (Ref: IJC2018-036969-I).Peer reviewe
Simulating rewetting events in intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams: A global analysis of leached nutrients and organic matter
Climate change and human pressures are changing the global distribution and the ex‐
tent of intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES), which comprise half of the
global river network area. IRES are characterized by periods of flow cessation, during
which channel substrates accumulate and undergo physico‐chemical changes (precon‐
ditioning), and periods of flow resumption, when these substrates are rewetted and
release pulses of dissolved nutrients and organic matter (OM). However, there are no
estimates of the amounts and quality of leached substances, nor is there information
on the underlying environmental constraints operating at the global scale. We experi‐
mentally simulated, under standard laboratory conditions, rewetting of leaves, river‐
bed sediments, and epilithic biofilms collected during the dry phase across 205 IRES
from five major climate zones. We determined the amounts and qualitative character‐
istics of the leached nutrients and OM, and estimated their areal fluxes from riverbeds.
In addition, we evaluated the variance in leachate characteristics in relation to selected
environmental variables and substrate characteristics. We found that sediments, due
to their large quantities within riverbeds, contribute most to the overall flux of dis‐
solved substances during rewetting events (56%–98%), and that flux rates distinctly
differ among climate zones. Dissolved organic carbon, phenolics, and nitrate contrib‐
uted most to the areal fluxes. The largest amounts of leached substances were found
in the continental climate zone, coinciding with the lowest potential bioavailability of
the leached OM. The opposite pattern was found in the arid zone. Environmental vari‐
ables expected to be modified under climate change (i.e. potential evapotranspiration,
aridity, dry period duration, land use) were correlated with the amount of leached sub‐
stances, with the strongest relationship found for sediments. These results show that
the role of IRES should be accounted for in global biogeochemical cycles, especially
because prevalence of IRES will increase due to increasing severity of drying event