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Abstract. Temperate grasslands on organic soils are diverse due to edaphic properties but also to regional management practices and this heterogeneity is reflected in the wide range of greenhouse gas (GHG) flux values reported in the literature. In Ireland, most grasslands on organic soils were drained several decades ago and are managed as extensive pastures with little or no fertilisation. This study describes a 2-year study of the net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB) of two such sites. We determined GHG fluxes and waterborne carbon (C) emissions in a nutrient-rich grassland and compared it with values measured from two nutrient-poor organic soils: a deep-drained and a shallow-drained site. Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) fluxes were determined using the chamber technique, and fluvial C fluxes were estimated by combining drainage water concentrations and flows.The nutrient-rich site was an annual source of CO 2 (233 g C m −2 yr −1 ), CH 4 neutral, and a small source of N 2 O (0.16 g N 2 O-N m −2 yr −1 ). Net ecosystem exchange (NEE) at the shallow-drained nutrient-poor site was −89 and −99 g C m −2 yr −1 in Years 1 and 2 respectively, and NEE at the deep-drained nutrient-poor site was 85 and −26 g C m −2 yr −1 respectively. Low CH 4 emissions (1.3 g C m −2 yr −1 ) were recorded at the shallow-drained nutrient-poor site. Fluvial exports from the nutrient-rich site totalled 69.8 g C m −2 yr −1 with 54 % as dissolved organic C. Waterborne C losses from the nutrient-poor site reflected differences in annual runoff totalling 44 g C m −2 yr −1 in Year 1 and 30.8 g C m −2 yr −1 in Year 2.The NECB of the nutrient-rich grassland was 663 g C m −2 yr −1 with biomass exports being the major component accounting for 53 %. The NECB of the nutrient-poor deep-drained site was less than half of the nutrient-rich site (2-year mean 267 g C m −2 yr −1 ). Although NEE at the nutrient-poor shallow-drained site was negative in both years, high biomass export meant it was a net C source (2-year mean NECB 103 g C m −2 yr −1 ). While the impacts of the nutrient and drainage status on NEE, biomass exports and fluvial C losses were confirmed, inter-regional differences in management practice and climate were also significant factors which impacted on the overall NECB of these ecosystems. Contrary to expectation, the NECB of nutrient-poor drained organic soils under grasslands is not necessarily a large C source and this has implications for Ireland's choice of national GHG inventory reporting methodologies. This study can also aid the development of strategies to deliver reduced emissions tailored to local grassland types.

The dissolved organic carbon (DOC) export from land to ocean via rivers is a significant term in the global C cycle, and has been modified in many areas by human activity. DOC exports from large global rivers are fairly well quantified, but those from smaller river systems, including those draining oceanic regions, are generally under-represented in global syntheses. Given that these regions typically have high runoff and high peat cover, they may exert a disproportionate influence on the global land–ocean DOC export. Here we describe a comprehensive new assessment of the annual riverine DOC export to estuaries across the island of Great Britain (GB), which spans the latitude range 50–60° N with strong spatial gradients of topography, soils, rainfall, land use and population density. DOC yields (export per unit area) were positively related to and best predicted by rainfall, peat extent and forest cover, but relatively insensitive to population density or agricultural development. Based on an empirical relationship with land use and rainfall we estimate that the DOC export from the GB land area to the freshwater-seawater interface was 1.15 Tg C year−1 in 2017. The average yield for GB rivers is 5.04 g C m−2 year−1, higher than most of the world’s major rivers, including those of the humid tropics and Arctic, supporting the conclusion that under-representation of smaller river systems draining peat-rich areas could lead to under-estimation of the global land–ocean DOC export. The main anthropogenic factor influencing the spatial distribution of GB DOC exports appears to be upland conifer plantation forestry, which is estimated to have raised the overall DOC export by 0.168 Tg C year−1. This is equivalent to 15% of the estimated current rate of net CO2 uptake by British forests. With the UK and many other countries seeking to expand plantation forest cover for climate change mitigation, this ‘leak in the ecosystem’ should be incorporated in future assessments of the CO2 sequestration potential of forest planting strategies.

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Lowland waters in Northern Ireland experience elevated agricultural phosphorus (P) inputs, and in response a variety of control measures targeting farm nutrient management have been implemented. Their efficacy in lowering nitrogen (N) and P exports and improving water quality is examined in 40 headwater streams from 1990 to 2009, and to 2014 for 24 of these. Over this period manure production in the study catchments declined by 7%, but regional chemical fertilizer inputs declined by 37% for N and 79% for P, and the regional nutrient surplus was lowered by 18% for N and 49% for P. Diminished pollution by organic wastes meant that 85% of streams exhibited chemistry suitable for salmonids in 2009 compared to 40% in 1990. Flow-weighted mean concentrations (FWMCs) of nutrients declined between 1990 and 2009, and their correlations with catchment stocking rates became stronger over time. For catchments with manure inputs <16.6 kg P ha, total P and nitrate FWMCs declined from 123 ± 19 μg P L and 1.92 ± 0.5 mg N L in 1990 at rates of 2.2 ± 0.5 and 30 ± 10 μg L yr, respectively. For catchments with higher manure inputs the respective rates of decline were greater at 5.8 ± 1.0 μg P L yr and 160 ± 20 μg N L yr from 1990 concentrations of 270 ± 25 μg P L and 5.99 ± 0.4 mg N L. Although now lower, P concentrations in the more highly stocked catchments still exceed regional nutrient standards so that the identification of further factors impinging on nutrient losses is critical if such standards are to be achieved.

Land-ocean dissolved organic matter (DOM) transport is a significant and changing term in global biogeochemical cycles which is increasing as a result of human perturbation, including land-use change. Knowledge of the behavior and fate of transported DOM is lacking, particularly in the tropics and subtropics where land-use change is occurring rapidly. We used Parallel Factor (PARAFAC) Analysis to investigate how land-use influenced the composition of the DOM pool along a subtropical land-use gradient (from near-pristine broadleaf forest to agri-urban settings) in Belize, Central America. Three humic-like and two protein-like components were identified, each of which was present across land uses and environments. Land-use mapping identified a strong (R 2 = 0.81) negative correlation between broadleaf forest and agri-urban land. All PARAFAC components were positively associated with agriurban land-use classes (cropland, grassland, and/or urban land), indicating that land-use change from forested to agri-urban exerts influence on the composition of the DOM pool. Humic-like DOM exhibited linear accumulation with distance downstream and behaved conservatively in the coastal zone whilst protein-like DOM exhibited nonlinear accumulation within the main river and nonconservative mixing in coastal waters, indicative of differences in reactivity. We used a hydrodynamic model to explore the potential of conservative humics to reach the region's environmentally and economically valuable coral reefs. We find that offshore corals experience short exposures (10 ± 11 days yr −1 ) to large (∼120%) terrigenous DOM increases, whilst nearshore corals experience prolonged exposure (113 ± 24 days yr −1 ) to relatively small (∼30%) terrigenous DOM increases. Plain Language SummaryThe transport of land-derived dissolved organic matter into the oceans plays a substantial and important role in the global carbon and nutrient cycles. Land-use change can alter the type and amount of material being transported, with widespread implications for downstream ecosystems. This is particularly true in the tropics and subtropics where land-use change is occurring most rapidly, and where research into its effects is often lacking. We investigated whether landuse had an effect on the type and amount of land-derived material found in a subtropical river system that is experiencing a rapid conversion from forest to agricultural and urban land-use. We found that streams draining agricultural and urban land contained more land-derived material than those draining forested land, and that a substantial fraction of this material reached the coastal environment. We estimated the frequency with which this land-derived material reached the region's environmentally and economically valuable coral reefs, and suggest that land-use-derived material reaches nearshore corals often and offshore corals rarely. FELGATE ET AL.

Abstract. Temperate grasslands on organic soils are diverse due to edaphic properties but also to regional management practices and this heterogeneity is reflected in the wide range of greenhouse gas flux values reported in the literature. In Ireland, most grasslands on organic soils were drained several decades ago and are managed as extensive pastures with little or no fertilisation. This study describes a two-year study of the net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB) of two such sites. We determined greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes and waterborne carbon emissions in a nutrient rich grassland and compared it with values measured from two nutrient poor organic soils: a deep drained and a shallow drained site. GHG fluxes (CO2, CH4 and N2O) were determined using the chamber technique, and fluvial C fluxes were estimated by combining drainage water concentrations and flows. The nutrient rich site was an annual source of CO2 (NEE 233 g C m−2yr−1), CH4 neutral, and a small source of nitrous oxide (1.6 kg N2O-N ha−1yr−1). NEE at the shallow drained site was −89 and −99 g C m−2yr−1 in Years 1 and 2 respectively, and NEE at the deep drained site was +85 and −26 g C m−2yr−1 respectively. Low CH4 emissions (1.3 g C m−2yr−1) were recorded at the shallow drained nutrient poor site. Fluvial exports from the nutrient rich site totalled 69.8 g C m−2yr−1 with 54% as dissolved organic C (DOC). Waterborne C losses from the nutrient poor site reflected differences in annual runoff totalling 44 g C m−2yr−1 in Year 1 and 30.8 g C m−2yr−1 in Year 2. The NECB of the nutrient rich grassland was 663 g C m−2yr−1 with biomass exports being the major component accounting for 53%. The NECB of the nutrient poor deep drained site was less than half of the nutrient rich site (2 year mean 267 g C m−2yr−1). Although NEE at the nutrient poor shallow drained site was negative in both years, high biomass export meant it was a net C source (2 year mean NECB 103 g C m−2yr−1). While the impacts of the nutrient and drainage status on NEE, biomass exports and fluvial C losses were confirmed, inter-regional differences in management practice and climate are also significant factors which impact on the overall NECB of these ecosystems. Contrary to expectation, the NECB of nutrient poor drained organic soils under grasslands is not necessarily a large C source and this has implications for Ireland's choice of national GHG inventory reporting methodologies. This study can also aid the development of strategies to deliver reduced emissions tailored to local grassland types.

Accurate knowledge of the spatial extent of seagrass habitats is essential for monitoring and management purposes given their ecological and economic significance. Extent data are typically presented in binary (presence/absence) or arbitrary, semi-quantitative density bands derived from low-resolution satellite imagery, which cannot resolve fine-scale features and intra-habitat variability. Recent advances in consumer-grade unoccupied aerial vehicles (UAVs) have advanced our ability to survey large areas at higher resolution and at lower cost. This has improved the accessibility of mapping technologies to developing coastal nations, where a large proportion of the world’s seagrass habitats are found. Here, we present the application of UAV-gathered imagery to determine seagrass habitat extent and percent of canopy cover. Four contrasting sites were surveyed in the Turneffe Atoll Marine Reserve, Belize, and seagrass canopy cover was ground truthed from in situ quadrats. Orthomosaic images were created for each site from the UAV-gathered imagery. Three modelling techniques were tested to extrapolate the findings from quadrats to spatial information, producing binary (random forest) and canopy cover (random forest regression and beta regression) habitat maps. The most robust model (random forest regression) had an average absolute error of 6.8–11.9% (SE of 8.2–14), building upon previous attempts at mapping seagrass density from satellite imagery, which achieved errors between 15–20% approximately. The resulting maps exhibited great intra-habitat heterogeneity and different levels of patchiness, which were attributed to site energetics and, possibly, species composition. The extra information in the canopy cover maps provides greater detail and information for key management decisions and provides the basis for future spatial studies and monitoring programmes.