riparian zone
Geochemical Model of Redox Reactions in a Tropical Rain Forest Stream Riparian Zone: DOC Oxidation, Respiration and Denitrification
Tue, 10/11/2011 - 08:47 — leonmiJiménez R.A., Geochemical Model of Redox Reactions in a Tropical Rain Forest Stream Riparian Zone: DOC Oxidation, Respiration and Denitrification. Master's Capstone and Thesis. University of Pennsylvania, 2011.
Abstract:
A geochemical equilibrium model was used to quantify Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) electron donors during aerobic respiration and denitrification in a tropical stream riparian zone of the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. DOC electron donors were measured across three general redox zones (Oxic: slope, Transitional: slope-riparian interface and Anoxic: riparian-floodplain) of the Icacos watershed. Model results suggest that nitrate and oxygen are completely reduced after approximately 10.1 mg/L of DOC have reacted with an initial ground water solution. In order to reach the observed mean oxygen concentration of 3.79 mg/L in the Oxic zone from the modeled equilibrium oxygen concentration of 9.46 mg/L, approximately 5.33 mg/L of DOC need to be oxidized. Additionally, 2.06 mg/L of DOC are oxidized in order to reach the observed mean oxygen concentration of 1.6 mg/L in the Transitional zone. In order to reach the observed mean Anoxic zone oxygen concentration of 1.27 mg/L from the observed mean Transitional zone oxygen concentration, an additional 0.309 mg/L of DOC are oxidized. From modeled equilibrium concentrations of oxygen (9.46 mg/L), approximately 8.8 mg/L of DOC are oxidized by oxygen before nitrate becomes more thermodynamically favorable as the electron acceptor and begins decreasing in concentration. Model simulations suggest that 1.19 mg/L of DOC reduce the observed mean nitrate concentration of 0.47 mg/L found in the Oxic zone to the lowest observed mean nitrate concentration of 0.01mg/L found in the Transitional zone. Differences between the observed DOC concentrations in the field and the modeled DOC concentrations needed to reach zone levels of oxygen and nitrate suggest that field reported values for DOC electron donors could represent residual or unused electron donors. Results also indicate that between 8.68 mg/L and 10.7 mg/L of DOC oxidation, 0.42 mg/L of dissolved N2 are produced, HCO3 increases from 0.33 mg/L to 2.64 mg/L and CO2 concentrations decrease from 13.8 mg/L to 13.7 mg/L before continuing to increase. This pronounced interval of DOC oxidation at which denitrification occurs and beyond which CO2 continues increasing suggests a specific range at which denitrifiers metabolize versus a larger range at which a general heterotrophic population metabolizes.
Litter Dynamics Along Stream, Riparian and Upslope Areas Following Hurricane Hugo, Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico
Fri, 07/22/2011 - 14:13 — ckassLitter Dynamics Along Stream, Riparian and Upslope Areas Following Hurricane Hugo, Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico
K. A. Vogt, D. J. Vogt, P. Boon, A. Covich, F. N. Scatena, H. Asbjornsen, J. L. O'Harra, J. Perez, T. g. Siccama, J. Bloomfield and J. F. Ranciato
Biotropica
Vol. 28, No. 4, Part A. Special Issue: Long Term Responses of Caribbean Ecosystems to Disturbances (Dec., 1996), pp. 458-470
Abstract:
Litterfall (fine and coarse) due to Hurricane Hugo and subsequent fine annual litterfall inputs (1, 2 and 5 yr after Hugo) were determined for two sites (El Verde and Bisley) in the Luquillo Experimental Forest in Puerto Rico. Litter transfers into streams, riparian and upslope areas were determined within each catchment. The recovery rate of aboveground fine litterfall (leaf, fine wood <1 cm diameter, and other miscellaneous inputs) to predisturbance levels were determined 1, 2, and 5 yr after Hurricane Hugo. The amount of total litter transfers and their individual components into the riparian and upslope areas due to Hurricane Hugo varied significantly by catchments within the Luquillo Experimental Forest. At El Verde, 26-39 percent, 31-35 percent, 14-35 percent and 7-12 percent of the total litter transfers were contributed by leaf litter, fine wood, coarse wood and fine roots, respectively. At Bisley, 28-31 percent, 26-29 percent, 33-35 percent and 8-10 percent of the litter transfers were contributed by the same categories. Differential decay rates contributed to the relative importance of fine and coarse litter inputs. The recovery of fine aboveground litterfall to pre-hurricane levels after 5 yr varied by topographic location (streams had the slowest recovery, upslope areas the highest) and catchment (El Verde: 55-77%; Bisley: 39-82% of pre-hurricane values).
Non-Indigenous Bamboo along Headwater Streams of the Luquillo Mountains, Puerto Rico: Leaf Fall, Aquatic Leaf Decay and Patterns of Invasion
Fri, 07/22/2011 - 09:52 — ckassO'CONNOR, PAUL J.; COVICH, ALAN P.; SCATENA, F. N.; LOOPE, LLOYD L. 2000. Non-indigenous bamboo along headwater streams of the Luquillo Mountains, Puerto Rico: leaf fall, aquatic leaf decay and patterns of invasion. Journal of Tropical Ecology 16 :499-516.
Abstract:
The introduction of bamboo to montane rain forests of the Luquillo Mountains, Puerto Rico in the 1930s and 1940s has led to present-day bamboo monocultures in numerous riparian areas. When a non-native species invades a riparian ecosystem, in-stream detritivores can be affected. Bamboo dynamics expected to in¯uence stream communities in the Luquillo Experimental Forest (LEF) were examined. Based on current distributions, bamboo has spread downstream at a rate of 8 m y-1. Mean growth rate of bamboo culms was 15.3 cm d-1. Leaf fall from bamboo stands exceeded that of native mixed-species forest by c. 30% over a 10-mo study. Bamboo leaves (k = -0.021), and leaves from another abundant riparian exotic, Syzygium jambos (Myrtaceae) (k = -0.018), decayed at relatively slow rates when submerged in streams in ®ne-mesh bags which excluded macro-invertebrate leaf processors. In a second study, with leaf processors present, bamboo decay rates remained unchanged (k = -0.021), while decay rates of S. jambos increased (k = -0.037). Elemental losses from bamboo leaves in streams were rapid, further suggesting a change in riparian zone / stream dynamics following bamboo invasion. As non-indigenous bamboos spread along Puerto Rico streams, they are likely to alter aquatic communities dependent on leaf input.
Riparian Nitrogen Dynamics in Two Geomorphologically Distinct Tropical Rain Forest Watersheds: Subsurface Solute Patterns
Fri, 07/22/2011 - 09:42 — ckassRiparian Nitrogen Dynamics in Two Geomorphologically Distinct Tropical Rain Forest Watersheds: Subsurface Solute Patterns
William H. McDowell, William B. Bowden and Clyde E. Asbury
Biogeochemistry
Vol. 18, No. 2 (1992), pp. 53-75
Abstract:
Nitrate, ammonium, dissolved organic N, and dissolved oxygen were measured in stream water and shallow groundwater in the riparian ones of two tropical watersheds with different soils and geomorphology. At both sites, concentrations of dissolved inorganic N (DIN: NH-4+ and NO-3-N) were low in stream water lt 110 mu-g/L). Markedly different patterns in DIN were observed in groundwater collected at the two sites. At the first site (Icacos watershed), DIN in upslope groundwater was dominated by NO-3-N (550 mu-g/L) and oxygen concentrations were high (5.2 mg/l). As groundwater moved through the floodplain and to the stream, DIN shifted to dominance by NH-4+-N (200-700 mu-g/L) and groundwater was often anoxic. At the second site (Bisley watershed), average concentrations of total dissolved nitrogen were considerably lower (300 mu-g/L) than at Icacos (600 mu-g/L), and the dominant form of nitrogen was DON rather than inorganic N. Concentrations of NH-4+ and NO-3- were similar throughout the riparian zone at Bisley, but concentrations of DON declined from upslope wells to stream water. Differences in speciation and concentration of nitrogen in groundwater collected at the two sites appears to be controlled by differences in redox conditions and accessibility of dissolved N to plant roots, which are themselves the result of geomorphological differences between the two watersheds. At the Icacos site, a deep layer of coarse sand conducts subsurface water to the stream below the rooting zone of riparian vegetation and through zones of strong horizontal redox zonation. At the Bisley site, infiltration is impeded by dense clays and saturated flow passes though the variably oxidized rooting zone. At both sites, hydrologic export of nitrogen is controlled by intense biotic activity in the riparian zones. However, geomorphology appears to strongly modify the importance of specific biotic components.
C and N dynamics in the riparian and hyporheic zones of a tropical stream, Luquillo Mountains, Puerto Rico
Thu, 07/21/2011 - 16:03 — ckassC and N Dynamics in the Riparian and Hyporheic Zones of a Tropical Stream, Luquillo Mountains, Puerto Rico
Tamara J. Chestnut and William H. McDowell
Journal of the North American Benthological Society
Vol. 19, No. 2 (Jun., 2000), pp. 199-214
Abstract:
Hydrologic and chemical characteristics were determined for both riparian and hyporheic subsurface flow along a 100-m reach of a sandy-bottom tributary of the Rio Icacos in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. Hydrologic data (vertical hydraulic gradient and hydraulic conductivity of streambed sediments) and the topographic and morphological features of the watershed indicated diffuse inputs of groundwater from the near-stream riparian zone along this site. Cumulative groundwater discharge, determined by tracer dilution techniques, was ∼1.5 L/s or 10% of the total stream discharge. Spatial heterogeneity in hydrologic and chemical properties of riparian and hyporheic sediments was large. Hydraulic conductivity explained much of the variation in NH<sub>4</sub>-N and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations, with highest concentrations in sites having low conductivity. A mass-balance approach was used to examine the influence of the near-stream zone on nutrient transport and retention. Outwelling riparian groundwater had the potential to increase stream N concentrations by up to 84% and DOC concentrations by up to 38% along our 100-m reach. Because stream concentrations were constant downstream despite this input, we conclude that significant N and C retention or loss were occurring in the near-stream zone. Lotic ecosystems and their associated riparian groundwater can have a quantitatively significant impact on the nutrient budgets of tropical headwater catchments.
Riparian Nitrogen Dynamics in Two Geomorphologically Distinct Tropical Rain Forest Watersheds: Nitrous Oxide Fluxes
Thu, 07/21/2011 - 15:49 — ckassRiparian Nitrogen Dynamics in Two Geomorphologically Distinct Tropical Rain Forest Watersheds: Nitrous Oxide Fluxes
William B. Bowden, William H. McDowell, Clyde E. Asbury and Amy M. Finley
Biogeochemistry
Vol. 18, No. 2 (1992), pp. 77-99
Abstract:
Fluxes of N<sub>2</sub>O at the soil surface, dissolved N<sub>2</sub>O in near-surface groundwater, and potential N<sub>2</sub>O production rates were measured across riparian catenas in two rain forest watersheds in Puerto Rico. In the Icacos watershed, mean N<sub>2</sub>O fluxes were highest at topographic breaks in the landscape (∼40-300 μg N<sub>2</sub>O-N m<sup>-2</sup> h<sup>-1</sup>). At other locations in the riparian zone and hillslope, fluxes were lower (≤ 2 μg N<sub>2</sub>O-N m<sup>-2</sup> h<sup>-1</sup>). This pattern of surface N<sub>2</sub>O fluxes was persistent. In the Bisley watershed, mean suface N<sub>2</sub>O fluxes were lower (<40 μg N<sub>2</sub>O-N m<sup>-2</sup> h<sup>-1</sup>) and no identifiable spatial or temporal pattern. Although the spatial patterns and intensities of N<sub>2</sub>O emissions differed between the two watersheds, surface soils from both sites had a high potential to reduce NO<sub>3</sub> to N<sub>2</sub>O (and perhaps N<sub>2</sub>). This potential declined sharply with depth as did soil %C, %N, and potential N-mineralization. Simple controls on denitrification (i.e. aeration, nitrate, and carbon) explained characteristics of potential N<sub>2</sub>O production in surface and deep soils from riparian and upslope locations. In the field, spatial patterns in these controlling variables were defined by geomorphological differences between the two watersheds, which then explained the spatial patterns of observed N<sub>2</sub>O flux.
Selection of riparian buffer zones in humid tropical steeplands
Thu, 07/21/2011 - 15:35 — ckassSCATENA FN (1990) Selection of riparian buffer zones in humid tropical
steeplands. In: RR Ziemer, CL O’Loughlin and LS Hamilton (eds.) Research Needs and Applications to Reduce Erosion and
Sedimentation in Tropical Steeplands: IAHS-AISH Pub. No. 192
328-337.
Abstract:
This paper discusses various aspects of the
design and costs of riparian protection zones in the
humid steeplands of the Luquillo Mountains of Puerto
Rico. This riparian community is dominated by
successional species and can be protected without large
losses in commercial timber. However, the cost of
buffers increases geometrically as smaller order
channels are buffered. Generally the costs associated
with protecting intermittent streams is prohibitive in
this highly dissected terrain. Depending on the design
criteria used, protection zones along perennial streams
can include between 5 and 20% of the commercial basal
area while protecting 9 to 25% of the watersheds area.
