Lakes are considered the second largest natural source of atmospheric methane (CH4). However, current estimates are still uncertain and do not account for diel variability of CH4 emissions. In this study, we performed high-resolution measurements of CH4 flux from several lakes, using an automated and sensor-based flux measurement approach (in total 4,580 measurements), and demonstrated a clear and consistent diel lake CH4 flux pattern during stratification and mixing periods. The maximum of CH4 flux were always noted between 10:00 and 16:00, whereas lower CH4 fluxes typically occurred during the nighttime (00:00–04:00). Regardless of the lake, CH4 emissions were on an average 2.4 higher during the day compared to the nighttime. Fluxes were higher during daytime on nearly 80% of the days. Accordingly, estimates and extrapolations based on daytime measurements only most likely result in overestimated fluxes, and consideration of diel variability is critical to properly assess the total lake CH4 flux, representing a key component of the global CH4 budget. Hence, based on a combination of our data and additional literature information considering diel variability across latitudes, we discuss ways to derive a diel variability correction factor for previous measurements made during daytime only.

Spectroscopic techniques and extracellular enzyme activity measurements were combined with assessments of bacterial secondary production (BSP) to elucidate flood-pulse-linked differences in carbon (C) sources and related microbial processes in a river-floodplain system near Vienna (Austria). Surface connection with the main channel significantly influenced the quantity and quality of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in floodplain backwaters. The highest values of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and chromophoric DOM (CDOM) were observed during the peak of the flood, when DOC increased from 1.36 to 4.37 mg l−1 and CDOM from 2.94 to 14.32 m−1. The flood introduced DOC which consisted of more allochthonously-derived, aromatic compounds. Bacterial enzymatic activity, as a proxy to track the response to changes in DOM, indicated elevated utilization of imported allochthonous material. Based on the enzyme measurements, new parameters were calculated: metabolic effort and enzymatic indices (EEA 1 and EEA 2). During connection, bacterial glucosidase and protease activity were dominant, whereas during disconnected phases a switch to lignin degradation (phenol oxidase) occurred. The enzymatic activity analysis revealed that flooding mobilized reactive DOM, which then supported bacterial metabolism. No significant differences in overall BSP between the two phases were detected, indicating that heterogeneous sources of C sufficiently support BSP. The study demonstrates that floods are important for delivering DOM, which, despite its allochthonous origin, is reactive and can be effectively utilized by aquatic bacteria in this river-floodplain systems. The presence of active floodplains, characterized by hydrological connectivity with the main channel, creates the opportunity to process allochthonous DOC. This has potential consequences for carbon flux, enhancing C sequestration and mineralization processes in this river-floodplain system.

Headwater streams are tightly connected with the terrestrial milieu from which they receive deliveries of organic matter, often through the hyporheic zone, the transition between groundwater and streamwater. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) from terrestrial sources (that is, allochthonous) enters the hyporheic zone, where it may mix with DOM from in situ production (that is, autochthonous) and where most of the microbial activity takes place. Allochthonous DOM is typically considered resistant to microbial metabolism compared to autochthonous DOM. The composition and functioning of microbial biofilm communities in the hyporheic zone may therefore be controlled by the relative availability of allochthonous and autochthonous DOM, which can have implications for organic matter processing in stream ecosystems. Experimenting with hyporheic biofilms exposed to model allochthonous and autochthonous DOM and using 454 pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA (targeting the "active" community composition) and of the 16S rRNA gene (targeting the "bulk" community composition), we found that allochthonous DOM may drive shifts in community composition whereas autochthonous DOM seems to affect community composition only transiently. Our results suggest that priority effects based on resource-driven stochasticity shape the community composition in the hyporheic zone. Furthermore, measurements of extracellular enzymatic activities suggest that the additions of allochthonous and autochthonous DOM had no clear effect on the function of the hyporheic biofilms, indicative of functional redundancy. Our findings unravel possible microbial mechanisms that underlie the buffering capacity of the hyporheic zone and that may confer stability to stream ecosystems.

This is of the same order of magnitude as the CO 2 emissions from land use change, or the carbon transport from continents to the ocean (Ciais et al., 2013), making CO 2 emissions from lakes important in the global carbon cycle. Lakes are concentrated in boreal regions, which contain roughly 30% of global lakes (Downing et al., 2006;Verpoorter et al., 2014), and together with the arctic region contribute 17% of global lake CO 2 emissions (Aufdenkampe et al., 2011). Potential climate change effects in boreal lakes, including increased runoff (Larsen et al., 2011;Weyhenmeyer et al., 2015) and increased carbon mineralization rates (Bergström Abstract Lakes are generally supersaturated in carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and emitters of CO 2 to the atmosphere. However, estimates of CO 2 flux ( CO 2 E F ) from lakes are seldom based on direct flux measurements and usually do not account for nighttime emissions, yielding risk of biased assessments.Here, we present direct CO 2 E F measurements from automated floating chambers collected every 2-3 hr and spanning 115 24 hr periods in three boreal lakes during summer stratification and before and after autumn mixing in the most eutrophic lake of these. We observed 40%-67% higher mean CO 2 E F in daytime during periods of surface water CO 2 supersaturation in all lakes. Day-night differences in wind speed were correlated with the day-night CO 2 E F differences in the two larger lakes, but in the smallest and most wind-sheltered lake peaks of CO 2 E F coincided with low-winds at night. During stratification in the eutrophic lake, CO 2 was near equilibrium and diel variability of CO 2 E F insignificant, but after autumn mixing CO 2 E F was high with distinct diel variability making this lake a net CO 2 source on an annual basis.We found that extrapolating daytime measurements to 24 hr periods overestimated CO 2 E F by up to 30%, whereas extrapolating measurements from the stratified period to annual rates in the eutrophic lake underestimated CO 2 E F by 86%. This shows the importance of accounting for diel and seasonal variability in lake CO 2 emission estimates.Plain Language Summary Considerable carbon cycling occurs within lakes, and carbon inputs from the catchment can be processed internally, stored in sediment and biomass or transported downstream. Additionally, carbon is exchanged with the atmosphere, resulting in lake uptake or atmospheric emission of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide exchanges from lakes have globally significant implications, but may be highly variable in time in ways that are not yet accounted for in emission estimates. Here, we estimated carbon dioxide exchange during multiple days and nights in three lakes with different nutrient levels during summer and autumn. For the most nutrient rich lake we also covered the period of water column mixing in autumn, which constitutes a critical time for carbon exchange. When carbon dioxide emission exceeded uptake, we found 40%-67% higher average exchange rates during daytime than nighttime. In contrast, the most nutrient...

River-floodplain systems are susceptible to rapid hydrological events. Changing hydrological connectivity of the floodplain generates a broad range of conditions, from lentic to lotic. This creates a mixture of allochthonously and autochthonously derived dissolved organic matter (DOM). Autochthonous DOM, including photosynthetic extracellular release (PER), is an important source supporting bacterial secondary production (BSP). Nonetheless, no details are available regarding microbial extracellular enzymatic activity (EEA) as a response to PER under variable hydrological settings in river-floodplain systems. To investigate the relationship between bacterial and phytoplankton components, we therefore used EEA as a tool to track the microbial response to non-chromophoric, but reactive and ecologically important DOM. The study was conducted in three floodplain subsystems with distinct hydrological regimes (Danube Floodplain National Park, Austria). The focus was on the post-flood period. Enhanced %PER (up to 48% of primary production) in a hydrologically isolated subsystem was strongly correlated with β-glucosidase, which was related to BSP. This shows that—in disconnected floodplain backwaters with high terrestrial input—BSP can also be driven by autochthonous carbon sources (PER). In a semi-isolated section, in the presence of fresh labile material from primary producers, enhanced activity of phenol oxidase was observed. In frequently flooded river-floodplain systems, BSP was mainly driven by enzymatic degradation of particulate primary production. Our research demonstrates that EEA measurements are an excellent tool to describe the coupling between bacteria and phytoplankton, which cannot be deciphered when focusing solely on chromophoric DOM.