ABSTRACT
Flows of water, soil, litter, and anthropogenic materials in and around rivers lead to the mixing of their resident microbial communities and subsequently to a resultant community distinct ...from its precursors. Consideration of these events through a new conceptual lens, namely, community coalescence, could provide a means of integrating physical, environmental, and ecological mechanisms to predict microbial community assembly patterns better in these habitats. Here, we review field studies of microbial communities in riverine habitats where environmental mixing regularly occurs, interpret some of these studies within the community coalescence framework and posit novel hypotheses and insights that may be gained in riverine microbial ecology through the application of this concept. Particularly in the face of a changing climate and rivers under increasing anthropogenic pressures, knowledge about the factors governing microbial community assembly is essential to forecast and/or respond to changes in ecosystem function. Additionally, there is the potential for microbial ecology studies in rivers to become a driver of theory development: riverine systems are ideal for coalescence studies because regular and predictable environmental mixing occurs. Data appropriate for testing community coalescence theory could be collected with minimal alteration to existing study designs.
Abstract
Human activities alter river water quality and quantity, with consequences for the ecosystems of urbanised rivers. Quantifying the role of human-induced drivers in controlling ...spatio-temporal patterns in water quality is critical to develop successful strategies for improving the ecological health of urban rivers. Here, we analyse high-frequency electrical conductivity and temperature data collected from the River Chess in South-East England during a Citizen Science project. Utilizing machine learning, we find that boosted trees outperform GAM and accurately describe water quality dynamics with less than 1% error. SHapley Additive exPlanations reveal the importance of and the (inter)dependencies between the individual variables, such as river level and Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW) outflow. WWTW outflows give rise to diurnal variations in electrical conductivity, which are detectable throughout the year, and to an increase in average water temperature of 1
$$\rm{^o}C$$
o
C
in a 2 km reach downstream of the wastewater treatment works during low flows. Overall, we showcase how high-frequency water quality measurements initiated by a Citizen Science project, together with machine learning techniques, can help untangle key drivers of water quality dynamics in an urbanised chalk stream.
Abstract
Headwater streams are natural sources of methane but are suffering severe anthropogenic disturbance, particularly land use change and climate warming. The widespread intensification of ...agriculture since the 1940s has increased the export of fine sediments from land to streams, but systematic assessment of their effects on stream methane is lacking. Here we show that excess fine sediment delivery is widespread in UK streams (
n
= 236) and, set against a pre-1940s baseline, has markedly increased streambed organic matter (23 to 100 g m
−2
), amplified streambed methane production and ultimately tripled methane emissions (0.2 to 0.7 mmol CH
4
m
−2
d
−1
,
n
= 29). While streambed methane production responds strongly to organic matter, we estimate the effect of the approximate 0.7 °C of warming since the 1940s to be comparatively modest. By separating natural from human enhanced methane emissions we highlight how catchment management targeting the delivery of excess fine sediment could mitigate stream methane emissions by some 70%.
The significance of freshwaters as key players in the global budget of both carbon dioxide and methane has recently been highlighted. In particular, rivers clearly do not act simply as inert conduits ...merely piping carbon from catchment to coast, but, on the whole, their metabolic activity transforms a considerable fraction of the carbon that they convey. In addition, nitrogen is cycled, sometimes in tight unison with carbon, with appreciable amounts being ‘denitrified’ between catchment and coast. However, shortfalls in our knowledge about the significance of exchange and interaction between rivers and their catchments, particularly the significance of interactions mediated through hyporheic sediments, are still apparent. From humble beginnings of quantifying the consumption of oxygen by small samples of gravel, to an integrated measurement of reach scale transformations of carbon and nitrogen, our understanding of the cycling of these two macro elements in rivers has improved markedly in the past few decades. However, recent discoveries of novel metabolic pathways in both the nitrogen and carbon cycle across a spectrum of aquatic ecosystems, highlights the need for new directions and a truly multidisciplinary approach to quantifying the flux of carbon and nitrogen through rivers.
► We consider rivers in a landscape setting and how, through exchange, the cycling of carbon and nitrogen are influenced. ► Respiration in rivers follows temperature, and, with warming, could generate even more CO2 and CH4 per unit carbon carried. ► A new synthesis predicts the global amount of denitrification in rivers as a fraction of the carbon respired (33 Tg N y–1). ► Novel metabolic pathways for the production of N2 gas beyond denitrification are considered. ► Chemosynthetic production by methane oxidation could represent a paradigm shift in how we view production in rivers.
Superstatistics is a general method from nonequilibrium statistical physics which has been applied to a variety of complex systems, ranging from hydrodynamic turbulence to traffic delays and air ...pollution dynamics. Here, we investigate water quality time series (such as dissolved oxygen concentrations and electrical conductivity) as measured in rivers and provide evidence that they exhibit superstatistical behavior. Our main example is time series as recorded in the River Chess in South East England. Specifically, we use seasonal detrending and empirical mode decomposition to separate trends from fluctuations for the measured data. With either detrending method, we observe heavy-tailed fluctuation distributions, which are well described by log-normal superstatistics for dissolved oxygen. Contrarily, we find a double peaked non-standard superstatistics for the electrical conductivity data, which we model using two combined χ2-distributions.
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•Fluctuations of detrended water quality time series follow q-Gaussian distributions•Superstatistical long timescale is extracted from the detrended data•New type of superstatistics observed, which is well fitted by mixture χ2-distributions
Environmental geochemistry; River geochemistry; Statistical physics
We investigated the seasonal dynamics of in-stream metabolism at the reach scale (∼ 150 m) of headwaters across contrasting geological sub-catchments: clay, Greensand, and Chalk of the upper River ...Avon (UK). Benthic metabolic activity was quantified by aquatic eddy co-variance while water column activity was assessed by bottle incubations. Seasonal dynamics across reaches were specific for the three types of geologies. During the spring, all reaches were net autotrophic, with rates of up to 290 mmol C m−2 d−1 in the clay reach. During the remaining seasons, the clay and Greensand reaches were net heterotrophic, with peak oxygen consumption of 206 mmol m−2 d−1 during the autumn, while the Chalk reach was net heterotrophic only in winter. Overall, the water column alone still contributed to ∼ 25% of the annual respiration and primary production in all reaches. Net ecosystem metabolism (NEM) across seasons and reaches followed a general linear relationship with increasing stream light availability. Sub-catchment specific NEM proved to be linearly related to the local hydrological connectivity, quantified as the ratio between base flow and stream discharge, and expressed on a timescale of 9 d on average. This timescale apparently represents the average period of hydrological imprint for carbon turnover within the reaches. Combining a general light response and sub-catchment specific base flow ratio provided a robust functional relationship for predicting NEM at the reach scale. The novel approach proposed in this study can help facilitate spatial and temporal upscaling of riverine metabolism that may be applicable to a broader spectrum of catchments.
We measured the escape of methane‐containing gas bubbles to the water table in two microhabitats (muddy hollows and Sphagnum‐plus‐sedge lawns) in a raised bog in West Wales, typical of many northern ...peatlands. Our study was unusual in its degree of replication (14 gas traps in each microhabitat). Seasonally integrated bubble loss of CH4 to the water table did not differ significantly between microhabitats. After applying an oxidation correction to give CH4 fluxes to the atmosphere, the microhabitats still did not differ. Our results suggest that ebullition is an important mechanism of CH4 loss to the atmosphere, with mean summer rates of 11.7 mg CH4 m−2 d−1 (muddy hollows) and 6.8 mg CH4 m−2 d−1 (Sphagnum‐plus‐sedge lawns). Our data show that the process is spatially and temporally very variable, and that the small sample sizes of many studies (e.g., n = 5) may lead to considerable errors in flux estimation.
Key Points
Ebullition important mechanism of CH4 flux to atmosphere from a northern bogEbullition spatially and temporally very variableNo significant difference in ebullition between two common microhabitats
The hydro-ecological impacts of 40 UK Climate Projections 2018 scenarios on a restored lowland England river floodplain are assessed using a MIKE SHE / MIKE 11 model. Annual precipitation declines ...for 60% of scenarios (range: -26%–21%, with small, <5%, declines for the central probability level). Potential evapotranspiration increases for all probability levels except the most extreme, very unlikely, 10% level (range: -4%–43%, central probability 9%–20%) Mean, peak and low river discharges are reduced for all but the extreme 90% probability level. Reduced frequency of bankfull discharge dominates (at least halved for the central probability level). Floodplain inundation declines for over 97% of 320 scenario-events. Winter water table levels still intercept the surface, while mean and summer low levels are reduced. Declines in mean summer floodplain water table levels for the central probability level (0.22 m and 0.28 m for the 2050s and 2080s, respectively) are twice as large as those in the more dynamic riparian area. Declines reach 0.39 m for some 10% probability level scenarios. Simulated hydrological changes differ subtly from a previous assessment using earlier UK climate projections. A soil aeration stress index demonstrates that, under baseline conditions, prolonged high winter floodplain water tables drive long periods of low root-zone oxygen, in turn favouring vegetation communities adapted to waterlogged conditions. Climate change reduces aeration stress and the extent of appropriate conditions for these plant communities in favour of communities less tolerant of wet conditions.
The role that hydrology plays in governing the interactions between dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen in rivers draining lowland, agricultural landscapes is currently poorly understood. In ...light of the potential changes to the production and delivery of DOC and nitrate to rivers arising from climate change and land use management, there is a pressing need to improve our understanding of hydrological controls on DOC and nitrate dynamics in such catchments. We measured DOC and nitrate concentrations in river water of six reaches of the lowland river Hampshire Avon (Wiltshire, southern UK) in order to quantify the relationship between BFI (BFI) and DOC : nitrate molar ratios across contrasting geologies (Chalk, Greensand, and clay). We found a significant positive relationship between nitrate and BFI (p < 0. 0001), and a significant negative relationship between DOC and BFI (p < 0. 0001), resulting in a non-linear negative correlation between DOC : nitrate molar ratio and BFI. In the Hampshire Avon, headwater reaches which are underlain by clay and characterized by a more flashy hydrological regime are associated with DOC : nitrate ratios > 5 throughout the year, whilst groundwater-dominated reaches underlain by Chalk, with a high BFI have DOC : nitrate ratios in surface waters that are an order of magnitude lower (< 0.5). Our analysis also reveals significant seasonal variations in DOC : nitrate transport and highlights critical periods of nitrate export (e.g. winter in sub-catchments underlain by Chalk and Greensand, and autumn in drained, clay sub-catchments) when DOC : nitrate molar ratios are low, suggesting low potential for in-stream uptake of inorganic forms of nitrogen. Consequently, our study emphasizes the tight relationship between DOC and nitrate availability in agricultural catchments, and further reveals that this relationship is controlled to a great extent by the hydrological setting.
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