Dataset Information

Phytoplankton gross primary production increases along cascading impoundments in a temperate, low-discharge river: Insights from high frequency water quality monitoring.

ABSTRACT: Damming alters carbon processing along river continua. Estimating carbon transport along rivers intersected by multiple dams requires an understanding of the effects of cascading impoundments on the riverine metabolism. We analyzed patterns of riverine metabolism and phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll a; Chla) along a 74.4-km river reach intersected by six low-head navigation dams. Calculating gross primary production (GPP) from continuous measurements of dissolved oxygen concentration, we found a maximum increase in the mean GPP by a factor of 3.5 (absolute difference of 0.45?g?C m^-3 d^-1) along the first 26.5?km of the study reach, while Chla increased over the entire reach by a factor of 2.9 (8.7?µg?l^-1). In the intermittently stratified section of the deepest impoundment the mean GPP between the 1 and 4?m water layer differed by a factor of 1.4 (0.31?g?C m^-3 d^-1). Due to the strong increase in GPP, the river featured a wide range of conditions characteristic of low- to medium-production rivers. We suggest that cascading impoundments have the potential to stimulate riverine GPP, and conclude that phytoplankton CO₂ uptake is an important carbon flux in the river Saar, where a considerable amount of organic matter is of autochthonous origin.

SUBMITTER: Engel F

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6491547 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Phytoplankton gross primary production increases along cascading impoundments in a temperate, low-discharge river: Insights from high frequency water quality monitoring.

Engel Fabian F Attermeyer Katrin K Ayala Ana I AI Fischer Helmut H Kirchesch Volker V Pierson Don C DC Weyhenmeyer Gesa A GA

Scientific reports 20190430 1

Damming alters carbon processing along river continua. Estimating carbon transport along rivers intersected by multiple dams requires an understanding of the effects of cascading impoundments on the riverine metabolism. We analyzed patterns of riverine metabolism and phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll a; Chla) along a 74.4-km river reach intersected by six low-head navigation dams. Calculating gross primary production (GPP) from continuous measurements of dissolved oxygen concentration, we found ...[more]

PMID: 31040329

Similar Datasets

Project description:The microbial faecal pollution of rivers has wide-ranging impacts on a variety of human activities that rely on appropriate river water quality. Thus, detailed knowledge of the extent and origin of microbial faecal pollution is crucial for watershed management activities to maintain safe water use. In this study, the microbial faecal pollution levels were monitored by standard faecal indicator bacteria (SFIB) along a 2580 km stretch of the Danube, the world's most international river, as well as the Danube's most important tributaries. To track the origin of faecal pollution, host-associated Bacteroidetes genetic faecal marker qPCR assays for different host groups were applied in concert with SFIB. The spatial resolution analysis was followed by a time resolution analysis of faecal pollution patterns over 1 year at three selected sites. In this way, a comprehensive faecal pollution map of the total length of the Danube was created, combining substantiated information on both the extent and origin of microbial faecal pollution. Within the environmental data matrix for the river, microbial faecal pollution constituted an independent component and did not cluster with any other measured environmental parameters. Generally, midstream samples representatively depicted the microbial pollution levels at the respective river sites. However, at a few, somewhat unexpected sites, high pollution levels occurred in the lateral zones of the river while the midstream zone had good water quality. Human faecal pollution was demonstrated as the primary pollution source along the whole river, while animal faecal pollution was of minor importance. This study demonstrates that the application of host-associated genetic microbial source tracking markers in concert with the traditional concept of microbial faecal pollution monitoring based on SFIB significantly enhances the knowledge of the extent and origin of microbial faecal pollution patterns in large rivers. It constitutes a powerful tool to guide target-oriented water quality management in large river basins.

Project description:Studying the seed trait–stem trait–individual spatial pattern system is helpful for understanding the developmental direction of plant dynamics and populations under grazing disturbance as well as the antagonistic relationship between animals and plants, but few systematic analyses of this spatial pattern system have been carried out. Kobresia humilis is the dominant species in alpine grasslands. We studied K. humilis seed traits and their relationship with K. humilis reproductive individuals, the relationship between reproductive and vegetative stems, and the weights and spatial patterns of reproductive and nonreproductive individuals under four grazing treatments: no grazing (control), light grazing, moderate grazing and heavy grazing. We explored the relationship among seed size and seed number with reproductive stems and vegetative stems along the grazing gradient and assessed the spatial pattern changes between reproductive and nonreproductive individuals. The results showed the following: (1) Seed size increased with increasing grazing intensity, and the coefficient of variation for seed size and seed number in the heavy grazing treatment was greater than 0.6. (2) The structural equation model showed that grazing treatment had a positive effect on seed number, seed size and reproductive stem number and a negative effect on reproductive stem weight. (3) Grazing treatment did not affect the resource allocation to reproductive stems and vegetative stems per unit length of reproductive K. humilis individuals. (4) Compared with the number of reproductive individuals in the no grazing treatment, the number in the heavy grazing treatment decreased significantly, and the negative correlation between reproductive individuals and nonreproductive individuals changed from a full-scale negative correlation to a small-scale negative correlation and a large-scale positive correlation. Our study showed that grazing could activate and change the resource allocation pattern of dominant species in a grassland and have significant positive effects on reproductive stem number, reproductive stem weight, seed number and seed size. Along a grazing intensity gradient, with the increase in distance between reproductive and nonreproductive individuals, the transformation of intraspecific relationships from a negative correlation to a positive correlation is an ecological strategy conducive to population survival.

Dataset Information

Phytoplankton gross primary production increases along cascading impoundments in a temperate, low-discharge river: Insights from high frequency water quality monitoring.

Publications

Phytoplankton gross primary production increases along cascading impoundments in a temperate, low-discharge river: Insights from high frequency water quality monitoring.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets