A comparison of methods for measuring primary productivity and community respiration in streams

Bott, Thomas L.; Brock, James T.; Cushing, Colbert E.; Gregory, S.; King, Darrell L.; Petersen, Robert C.

doi:10.1007/bf00018681

Cited by 162 publications

(106 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Benthic: Benthic metabolism was measured using light and dark incubations of benthic sediment in traditional recirculating chambers (sensu Bott et al 1978). Plastic trays (n ϭ three or four per site) were filled with approximately the top 2 cm of benthic sediment and inserted back into the stream bed at least 1 month prior to being used in chamber metabolism measurements.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wholeߚstream metabolism in two montane streams: Contribution of the hyporheic zone

Fellows

Valett

Dahm

2001

Limnology & Oceanography

181

148

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We used whole-stream and benthic chamber methods to measure rates of metabolism and determine the contribution of the hyporheic zone to ecosystem respiration (R) in two streams with differing surface-subsurface exchange characteristics, Rio Calaveras and Gallina Creek, New Mexico. We used the difference between whole-stream and benthic R to calculate the rate of hyporheic zone R and coupled this estimate to an independent measure of hyporheic sediment R to estimate the cross-sectional area of the hyporheic zone (A H ) for two reaches from each stream. Conservative tracer injections and solute transport modeling were used to characterize surface-subsurface hydrologic exchange by determining values of the cross-sectional area of the transient storage zone (A s ). The hyporheic zone contributed a substantial proportion of whole-stream R in all four study reaches, ranging from 40 to 93%. Wholestream R, hyporheic R, and percent contribution of hyporheic R all increased as transient storage increased, with whole-stream and hyporheic R exhibiting significant relationships with A s . All three measures of respiration and values of A H were much greater for both reaches of the stream with greater surface-subsurface exchange. A H is valuable for cross-site comparisons because it accounts for differences in rates of both benthic and hyporheic sediment R and can be used to predict the importance of the hyporheic zone to other stream ecosystem processes.Aquatic ecologists are increasingly aware of the importance of interactions between surface water and groundwater to the functioning of aquatic ecosystems (Boulton et al. 1998;Winter et al. 1998; Jones and Mulholland 2000). The region of mixing between groundwater and stream water (i.e., the hyporheic zone, sensu Orghidan 1959; Triska et al. 1989b) influences ecosystem functioning because its sediments contain metabolically active microbial assemblages (Grimm and Fisher 1984;Pusch and Schwoerbel 1994; Jones et al. 1995b;Naegeli and Uehlinger 1997). Several recent studies have focused on the role of the hyporheic zone in the retention (Speaker et al. 1984; Triska et al. 1989bTriska et al. , 1990Hendricks and White 1991;Triska et al. 1993;Valett et al. 1996) and the transformation (Duff and Triska 1990;Jones et al. 1995a;Holmes et al. 1996) of biologically important solutes. Far less work has focused on the influence of the hyporheic zone on whole ecosystem energetics (but see AcknowledgmentsThe authors thank everyone who helped in the field, particularly Jim Thibault, Michelle Baker, Miranda Dendy, and Lisa Roberts. Rob Runkel, Ken Bencala, Doug Moyer, and John Morrice gave valuable advice on using the OTIS model. Michelle Baker ran the hyporheic sediment incubations for Gallina Creek. Todd Royer provided equipment and helped with benthic chamber metabolism measurements in 1997. Pat Mulholland provided equipment and conducted whole-stream metabolism measurements for the upper reach of Gallina Creek. Jen Tank conducted the solute injection for the upper reach of Gall...

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wholeߚstream metabolism in two montane streams: Contribution of the hyporheic zone

Fellows

Valett

Dahm

2001

Limnology & Oceanography

181

148

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Diurnal measures of DO and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) can be used to obtain estimates of gross primary production (GPP) and 24-hour community respiration (CR-24) (Bott et al 1978) in stream reaches (Bott 1996) and to calculate the net ecosystem production (NEP). A whole-stream approach for measuring GPP includes the contributions of patchily distributed algae, bryophytes, and vascular plants and allows for direct comparisons with other reach-scale measurements (Marzolf et al 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Numerous studies utilizing changes in DO and/or CO 2 to estimate primary production and stream metabolism have been conducted in a variety of environmental settings (Odum 1956;Hall 1972;Bott et al 1978Bott et al , 1985Bott et al , 2006Wiley et al 1990;Marzolf et al 1994;Young and Huryn 1996;Mulholland et al 1997;Biggs et al 1999;Young and Huryn 1999;Hall and Tank 2003;McTammany et al 2003;Houser and Mulholland 2005). Similarly, a small number of studies have analyzed the effect of increasing nitrate concentrations on the efficiency of biotic uptake and denitrification of nitrate, as related to ecosystem photosynthesis and respiration (Peterson et al 2001;Duff et al 2008;Mulholland et al 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relative influence of nutrients and habitat on stream metabolism in agricultural streams

Frankforter

Weyers

Bales

et al. 2009

Environ Monit Assess

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Stream metabolism was measured in 33 streams across a gradient of nutrient concentrations in four agricultural areas of the USA to determine the relative influence of nutrient concentrations and habitat on primary production (GPP) and respiration reach. When data for all study areas were combined, there were no statistically significant relations between gross primary production or community respiration and any of the independent variables. However, significant regression models were developed for three study areas for GPP (r 2 = 0.79-0.91) and CR-24 (r 2 = 0.76-0.77). Various forms of nutrients (total phosphorus and area-weighted total nitrogen loading) were significant for predicting GPP in two study areas, with habitat variables important in seven significant models. Important physical variables included light availability, precipitation, basin area, and in-stream habitat cover. Both benthic and seston chlorophyll were not found to be important explanatory variables in any of the models; however, benthic ash-free dry weight was important in two models for GPP.

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“…For example, dense phytoplankton or macrophytes can reduce light available to benthic algae and limit benthic photosynthesis (Vadeboncoeur et al 2001), whereas high rates of benthic respiration can result from detrital deposition in areas sheltered from wave energy. Closedchamber techniques (Bott et al 1978) are a common method for comparing metabolism rates among microhabitats in (Marzolf et al 1994), the ability to take spatially explicit GPP and R measurements makes the technique useful in cases where metabolism rates are to be compared among microhabitats.We predicted that the integrating influence of hydrologic energy (i.e., waves and currents) on sediment characteristics and vegetation communities would, in turn, influence both GPP and R in Lake Huron coastal wetlands. Wave energy affects shoreline vegetation by uprooting seedlings, damaging mature plants, and eroding fine sediments around roots and rhizomes (Keddy 1982;Riis and Hawes 2003).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, dense phytoplankton or macrophytes can reduce light available to benthic algae and limit benthic photosynthesis (Vadeboncoeur et al 2001), whereas high rates of benthic respiration can result from detrital deposition in areas sheltered from wave energy. Closedchamber techniques (Bott et al 1978) are a common method for comparing metabolism rates among microhabitats in aquatic ecosystems. Although closed chambers have a number of drawbacks, such as the inability to incorporate emergent macrophytes or deep sediments (Marzolf et al 1994), the ability to take spatially explicit GPP and R measurements makes the technique useful in cases where metabolism rates are to be compared among microhabitats.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of geomorphic setting on the metabolism of Lake Huron fringing wetlands

Cooper

Steinman

Uzarski

2013

Limnology & Oceanography

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We measured gross primary productivity (GPP) and respiration (R) seasonally in benthic, water column, and epiphytic microhabitats of Lake Huron fringing wetlands. Spring areal GPP ranged from 33 to 103 mmol O 2 m 22 d 21 , spring R ranged from 16 to 110 mmol O 2 m 22 d 21 , and the water column was the most important microhabitat for both GPP and R on average. Summer GPP ranged from 40 to 131 mmol O 2 m 22 d 21 , R ranged from 25 to 155 mmol O 2 m 22 d 21 , and the water column and benthic microhabitats were equally important for GPP and R. Fall GPP ranged from , 1 to 19 mmol O 2 m 22 d 21 , and R ranged from , 1 to 47 mmol O 2 m 22 d 21 , with the benthic and water column microhabitats being equally important. Net metabolism (the difference between GPP and R) was close to zero at most wetlands, but when macrophyte productivity was accounted for, most wetlands appeared autotrophic. Both GPP and R were highest in deep wetlands protected from hydrologic energy and declined with increasing wave exposure. With increasing exposure, wetlands were restricted to shallower water and benthic GPP and R increased relative to water column GPP and R. This pattern persisted to intermediate levels of exposure, beyond which benthic GPP and R declined as a result of physical disturbance to the sediment. Coastal wetlands are hotspots of productivity in Lake Huron and hydrologic energy is an important driver of total metabolism rates, as well as the distribution of GPP and R among microhabitats.Gross primary productivity (GPP) and respiration (R), collectively referred to as ecosystem metabolism, provide insight into the balance of organic matter production and remineralization in an ecosystem. This balance, or net ecosystem productivity (NEP 5 GPP 2 R), has been used to infer the trophic nature of many aquatic and marine systems, with positive NEP indicating autotrophy and negative NEP indicating heterotrophy (Odum 1956). In lakes, metabolism measurements made in the pelagic zone are often used to characterize the lake as a whole (Cole et al. 2000;Staehr et al. 2010). However, considerable heterogeneity among lake habitats has been observed (Lauster et al. 2006;Van de Bogert et al. 2007). For example, benthic habitats often have much different metabolic conditions than pelagic habitats (Vadeboncoeur et al. 2001(Vadeboncoeur et al. , 2002, and shallow littoral habitats, especially shoreline marshes, can have elevated GPP and R rates relative to deeper pelagic areas (Carter 1988). Despite the recognition that wetlands are important biogeochemical hotspots, there have been markedly few attempts to quantify metabolism or identify its drivers in shoreline wetlands, especially in the Laurentian Great Lakes. This is surprising given that metabolism is an important functional measurement in general (Cole et al. 2000;Staehr et al. 2010) and that wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems globally (Wetzel 2001).Emergent shoreline wetlands support numerous ecosystem services, such as trapping organic matter, nutrients, and sed...

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A comparison of methods for measuring primary productivity and community respiration in streams

Cited by 162 publications

References 19 publications

Wholeߚstream metabolism in two montane streams: Contribution of the hyporheic zone

Wholeߚstream metabolism in two montane streams: Contribution of the hyporheic zone

The relative influence of nutrients and habitat on stream metabolism in agricultural streams

Influence of geomorphic setting on the metabolism of Lake Huron fringing wetlands

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