Heterotrophic metabolism in a forest stream sediment: surface versus subsurface zones

Romaní, Anna M.; Butturini, Andrea; Sabater, Francesc; Sabater, Sergi

doi:10.3354/ame016143

Cited by 47 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Microbial biomass was comparable to reports from previous studies of streambed sediments (6,12,63), and chlorophyll a concentrations were also within ranges previously reported (31,58). These previous studies found environmental and physical factors that correlated with microbial and autotrophic biomass levels.…”

Section: Vol 77 2011 Bedrock Influences Microbial Communities In Stsupporting

confidence: 78%

Direct and Indirect Influence of Parental Bedrock on Streambed Microbial Community Structure in Forested Streams

Mosher

Findlay

2011

Appl Environ Microbiol

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A correlative study was performed to determine if variation in streambed microbial community structure in low-order forested streams can be directly or indirectly linked to the chemical nature of the parental bedrock of the environments through which the streams flow. Total microbial and photosynthetic biomass (phospholipid phosphate [PLP] and chlorophyll a), community structure (phospholipid fatty acid analysis), and physical and chemical parameters were measured in six streams, three located in sandstone and three in limestone regions of the Bankhead National Forest in northern Alabama. Although stream water flowing through the two different bedrock types differed significantly in chemical composition, there were no significant differences in total microbial and photosynthetic biomass in the sediments. In contrast, sedimentary microbial community structure differed between the bedrock types and was significantly correlated with stream water ion concentrations. A pattern of seasonal variation in microbial community structure was also observed. Further statistical analysis indicated dissolved organic matter (DOM) quality, which was previously shown to be influenced by geological variation, correlated with variation in bacterial community structure. These results indicate that the geology of underlying bedrock influences benthic microbial communities directly via changes in water chemistry and also indirectly via stream water DOM quality.Microorganisms are one of the most important groups of living organisms. Their small size, ubiquitous distribution, metabolic diversity, and genetic plasticity cast microorganisms in the role of recycling agents for the biosphere, making life possible for more complex organisms (47). To better understand the ecology of microbial communities, it is important not only to describe the community composition but also to identify biological and/or environmental factors that regulate their diversity (34, 52).Baas-Becking's dictum that "everything is everywhere, but the environment selects" has inspired many studies and debates since its inception and is considered the precursor to the niche concept adopted by macroecologists (10). Microbes were thought to be cosmopolitan due to large population sizes and short generation times, resulting in high dispersal rates (18,22). Many studies in the past were limited by methodological tools to elucidate bacterial species, as most bacteria found in the natural environment have yet to be cultured and functional roles and diversity were largely unknown (56, 64). With the recent advances in non-culture-dependent techniques, there has been an increase of studies that have shown evidence of varying distributions, abundance, and diversity of microorganisms in the natural environment across spatial and environmental scales, including freshwater lakes and rivers (60, 65, 70), streams (28), soils (8,21,51,57), and marine ecosystems (33,54). Yet, it is not clear whether limits in distribution or strong environmental selection lead to the observed patterns....

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Section: Vol 77 2011 Bedrock Influences Microbial Communities In Stsupporting

confidence: 78%

Direct and Indirect Influence of Parental Bedrock on Streambed Microbial Community Structure in Forested Streams

Mosher

Findlay

2011

Appl Environ Microbiol

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“…For example, during the present study, the annual rainfall varied between 855 mm in 1994 and 1660 mm in 1996. Alders (Alnus glutinosa) dominate the riparian vegetation and leaf fall is concentrated into a short period (20-30 days) in October when the particulate organic matter transported in the stream can increase by up to 8-10 mg l -1 (Romaní et al, 1998). The stream channel is 2.5 m wide and is characterised by step-pools with large pebbles and boulders.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The storm flow caused scouring and homogenisation of the hyporheic sediments, reduced the particulate organic matter (POM H ) from 52 to 4.8 mg AFDW g -1 (Fig. 6a) and decreased the hyporheic and benthic microbial activity (Romaní et al, 1998).…”

Section: (2) : Ammoniummentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrogen concentrations in a small Mediterranean stream: 1. Nitrate 2. Ammonium

Butturini

Sabater

2002

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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The importance of storm frequency as well as the groundwater and hyporheic inputs on nitrate (NO 3 -N) and ammonium (NH 4 -N) levels in stream water were studied in a small perennial Mediterranean catchment, Riera Major, in northeast Spain. NO 3 -N concentrations ranged from 0.15 to 1.9 mg l -1 . Discharge explained 47% of the annual NO 3 -N concentration variance, but this percentage increased to 97% when single floods were analysed. The rate of change in nitrate concentration with respect to flow, ∆NO 3 -N/∆Q, ranged widely from 0 to 20 µg NO 3 -N s l -2 . The In contrast, NO 3 -N concentration in hyporheic water was identical to that in stream water. The role of the hyporheic zone as source or sink for ammonium was studied hyporheic was studied comparing its concentrations in stream and hyporheic zone before and after a major storm occurred in October 1994 that removed particulate organic matter stored in sediments. Results showed high ammonium concentrations (75±28 s.d. µg NH 4 -N l -1 ) before the storm flow in the hyporheic zone. After the storm, the ammonium concentration in the hyporheic dropped by 80% (13.6±8 µg NH 4 -N l -1 ) and approached to the level found in stream water (11±8 µg NH 4 -N l -1 ) indicating that indisturbed hyporheic sediments act as a source for ammonium. After the storm, the ammonium concentrations in the stream, hyporheic and groundwater zones were very similar suggesting that stream ammonium concentrations are sustained mainly by input from groundwater. The present study provides evidence that storm flow magnitude is an important source of variability of nitrate concentration and fluxes in Mediterranean streams subjected to an irregular precipitation regime with prolonged dry periods.

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“…On the other hand, hyporheic habitats are important storage zones for organic carbon (Leichtfried 1991, Bretschko & Moser 1993 and are generally characterized by sharp physical and chemical gradients (Hendricks & White 1995, Fraser & Williams 1998, thus enabling a broad spectrum of metabolic pathways to occur within small spatial scales. As a consequence, hyporheic habitats are often hot spots in productivity and diversity of organisms (Pusch et al 1998) and may contribute substantially to the energy flow through the lotic system (Jones & Holmes 1996, Naegeli & Uehlinger 1997, Romaní et al 1998). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mmobilization and bacterial utilization of dissolved organic carbon entering the riparian zone of the alpine Enns River, Austria

Brugger¹,

Wett²,

Kolar³

et al. 2001

Aquat. Microb. Ecol.

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In order to understand the factors controlling the removal of riverine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the riparian zone of an alpine river, concentrations of DOC and dissolved oxygen, as well as bacterial abundance and production, were determined in interstitial waters of an experimental bank filtration site of the Enns River, Austria. Four porewater stations exhibiting differing sedimentologic and hydrologic characteristics were sampled over an annual cycle. We found that concentrations of DOC, oxygen, bacterial biomass and production decreased significantly within the first meter from the sediment-water interface. Differences in the grain size distribution among the sampling stations led to spatial heterogeneity in the permeability of the riparian sediments and in the hydraulic residence time of the infiltrating river water, resulting in specific patterns in DOC immobilization and microbial respiration. Porewater bacterial abundance and production and apparent microbial oxygen consumption were positively correlated with the hydraulic residence time of the infiltrating water. DOC occasionally accumulated in the shallow porewater layers during the winter. During the summer, DOC infiltrating from the river surface potentially explained only 36 ± 25% of the apparent interstitial oxygen consumption. This suggests that particulate organic carbon (POC) contributes substantially to the microbial organic carbon supply in the hyporheic zone. We conclude that the availability of POC rather than DOC infiltration determines hyporheic microbial metabolism. KEY WORDS: Hyporheic bacteria · POC · DOC · Respiration · Sediment · Bank filtration · Enns RiverResale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher

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Heterotrophic metabolism in a forest stream sediment: surface versus subsurface zones

Cited by 47 publications

References 21 publications

Direct and Indirect Influence of Parental Bedrock on Streambed Microbial Community Structure in Forested Streams

Direct and Indirect Influence of Parental Bedrock on Streambed Microbial Community Structure in Forested Streams

Nitrogen concentrations in a small Mediterranean stream: 1. Nitrate 2. Ammonium

mmobilization and bacterial utilization of dissolved organic carbon entering the riparian zone of the alpine Enns River, Austria

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