Carbon pools in stream‐riparian corridors: legacy of disturbance along mountain streams of south‐eastern Wyoming

Abstract

Streams and their accompanying riparian environments are intrinsic components of terrestrial carbon cycling. However, they have been understudied in terms of the magnitude of their storage components and the role of disturbance in determining carbon storage capacity. This study presents partial carbon budgets for stream-riparian corridors along six study reaches in mountain headwater streams of southeast Wyoming to evaluate the impact of tie-driving, a historic disturbance legacy, on contemporary carbon storage. Detailed measurements of biomass were collected for in-stream components of carbon including fine and coarse particulate organic matter and in-stream large wood. Biomass was also estimated for riparian components including standing trees (live and dead), regenerating conifers, shrubs and herbaceous vegetation, downed wood, litter, and duff (partially decayed litter). Biomass was converted to carbon for all components and differences in storage were compared between tie-driven and non-driven reaches. Carbon content in riparian soils (to approximately 20 cm) was also measured. Twice the amount of carbon was stored in the riparian areas relative to the streams; most carbon was stored in standing trees (live and dead). While overall carbon storage within the riparian areas and streams were similar between disturbance conditions, the amount of carbon stored in large in-stream wood and downed wood on the floodplain was significantly higher in systems that were not tie-driven. The results of this study indicate that legacies of tie-driving influence carbon storage within the region, while also capturing baseline estimates of carbon storage in the wake of recent bark beetle infestations.

Banking carbon: a review of organic carbon storage and physical factors influencing retention in floodplains and riparian ecosystems

“…Published research has largely focused on temperate regions (Table ; Fig. ), including several studies that examined streams impacted by disturbance (Giese et al ., , Giese et al, ; Fierke and Kauffman, ; Ruffing et al ., in press). Highest values were observed for mesic, old growth, conifer‐dominated riparian forests in the southern Rocky Mountains (Fig.…”

“…). At disturbed temperate sites, alteration or removal of riparian vegetation resulted in notably lower OC pools (Giese et al ., , Giese et al ., ; Fierke and Kauffman, ; Ruffing et al ., in press). Mature temperate hardwood forests include a wide diversity of tree and understory species, yet total OC storage in riparian biomass consistently ranges from ~100 to 300 Mg C ha −1 (Table ).…”

Seasonal Dynamics of Floodplain Forest Understory–Impacts of Degradation, Light Availability and Temperature on Biomass and Species Composition

“…Moreover, it is also driven by the temperature [38]. Previous studies have described understory biomass crop as a whole pool [36,39,40], and only a few of them accounted for proportion of functional groups of plant species, e.g., [37,39,41].…”

“…Our literature review in Web of Science (string "((((("biomass" AND (((understor* OR "herb layer")) OR "herbaceous")) AND ((dynami* OR season*) OR "time seri*"))) AND ((riparian OR riverine) OR floodplain)))" searched 23 May 2018) revealed 111 studies. Some studies revealed interesting information about herbaceous plant decomposition [46] or biomass of non-forest vegetation [47,48] or forest vegetation [40,49]. However, only two studies focused on the seasonal dynamics of herbaceous biomass.…”

Introduction to Special Issue on Carbon and Landscape Dynamics

“…Hu et al () differentiate between the export of fossil and modern POC in the Yellow River, China, and demonstrate how water regulation by dams and sediment storage in reservoirs affect the flux of POC. Examining historical rather than more recent land use, Ruffing et al () investigate the impacts of historical timber harvest and log floating on contemporary carbon storage in mountain streams in Wyoming, USA. They examine the partitioning of carbon among different reservoirs in the river corridor and find that most carbon is stored in live and standing dead trees.…”