Intensified organic carbon dynamics in the ground water of a restored riparian zone

Peter, Simone; Koetzsch, Stefan; Traber, Jacqueline; Bernasconi, Stefano M.; Wehrli, Bernhard; Durisch-Kaiser, Edith

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2427.2012.02821.x

Cited by 21 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…OM in the riparian zone can be derived from both autochthonous sources (e.g., vegetation and soils) and from the river itself (Clinton et al, 2002;Blazejewski et al, 2009;Peter et al, 2012a). The distance that water and carbon moves through soils unsaturated with moisture (e.g., the vadose zone) is an important control on groundwater DOM concentrations, with the lowest DOM concentrations being observed in regions with deep vadose zones.…”

Section: Below-ground Carbon Flow Pathsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Where Carbon Goes When Water Flows: Carbon Cycling across the Aquatic Continuum

et al. 2017

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The purpose of this review is to highlight progress in unraveling carbon cycling dynamics across the continuum of landscapes, inland waters, coastal oceans, and the atmosphere. Earth systems are intimately interconnected, yet most biogeochemical studies focus on specific components in isolation. The movement of water drives the carbon cycle, and, as such, inland waters provide a critical intersection between terrestrial and marine biospheres. Inland, estuarine, and coastal waters are well studied in regions near centers of human population in the Northern hemisphere. However, many of the world's large river systems and their marine receiving waters remain poorly characterized, particularly in the tropics, which contribute to a disproportionately large fraction of the transformation of terrestrial organic matter to carbon dioxide, and the Arctic, where positive feedback mechanisms are likely to amplify global climate change. There are large gaps in current coverage of environmental observations along the aquatic continuum. For example, tidally-influenced reaches of major rivers and near-shore coastal regions around river plumes are often left out of carbon budgets due to a combination of methodological constraints and poor data coverage. We suggest that closing these gaps could potentially alter global estimates of CO 2 outgassing from surface waters to the atmosphere by several-fold. Finally, in order to identify and constrain/embrace uncertainties in global carbon budget estimations it is important that we further adopt statistical and modeling approaches that have become well-established in the fields of oceanography and paleoclimatology, for example.

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Section: Below-ground Carbon Flow Pathsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Where Carbon Goes When Water Flows: Carbon Cycling across the Aquatic Continuum

et al. 2017

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“…In a previous study in 2008 at the same field site, increased microbial enzymatic activity and secondary production were documented in the willow bush zone during flood events (Peter et al, 2012a). Based on those data, respiration rates were determined to be 0.18 µmol C L −1 h −1 in the willow bushes zone during flood events (Del Giorgio and Cole, 1998).…”

Section: Discussion Aerobic Respiration In the Riparian Groundwater Dmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…The riparian groundwater at the restored section of the River Thur exhibits a strong spatial and temporal variability in the transport and transformation of DOC (Peter et al, 2012a). The willow bush zone is known to be a pronounced hot spot for microbial activity fuelled by labile DOC from the overlaying root and soil layer.…”

Section: Discussion Aerobic Respiration In the Riparian Groundwater Dmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flood-Controlled Excess-Air Formation Favors Aerobic Respiration and Limits Denitrification Activity in Riparian Groundwater

Peter

Mächler

Kipfer

et al. 2015

Front. Environ. Sci.

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The saturated riparian zones of rivers act as spatially and temporally variable biogeochemical reactors. This complicates the assessment of biogeochemical transport and transformation processes. During a flood event, excess-air formation, i.e., the inclusion and dissolution of air bubbles into groundwater, can introduce high amounts of dissolved O 2 and thereby affect biogeochemical processes in groundwater. With the help of a field-installed membrane-inlet mass-spectrometer we resolved the effects of flood induced excess-air formation on organic carbon (OC) and nitrogen transformations in groundwater of different riparian zones of a restored section of the River Thur, Switzerland. The results show that the flood event triggered high aerobic respiration activity in the groundwater below a zone densely populated with willow plants. The flood introduced high concentrations of O 2 (230 µmol L −1 ) to the groundwater through the formation of excess air and transported up to ∼400 µmol L −1 OC from the soil/root layer into groundwater during the movement of the water table. A rapid respiration process, quantified via the measurements of O 2 , CO 2 , and noble-gas concentrations, led to fast depletion of the introduced O 2 and OC and to high CO 2 concentration (590 µmol L −1 ) in the groundwater shortly after the flood. The synchronous analysis of different nitrogen species allowed studying the importance of denitrification activity. The results indicate that in the willow zone excess-air formation inhibited denitrification through high O 2 concentration input. Instead, the observed decrease in nitrate concentration (∼50 µmol N L −1 ) may be related to fostered nitrate uptake by plants. In the other riparian zones closer to the river, no significant excess-air formation and corresponding respiration activity was observed. Overall, analyzing the dissolved gases in the groundwater significantly contributed to deciphering biogeochemical processes in the riparian aquifer characterized by pronounced changes in the flow regime and by spatial heterogeneity of the vegetation. Measuring excess-air formation helped identifying and explaining the low denitrification activity in a zone with high OC turnover and to quantify OC sources.

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“…In both systems, we combined geochemical, biochemical and molecular-biological analysis to identify biogeochemical processes as well as the responsible organisms and to determine process rates and element fluxes (Huber et al, 2012b;Peter et al, 2012a;Samaritani et al, 2011;Shrestha et al, 2012Shrestha et al, , 2014. The results are briefly discussed in Sects.…”

Section: Biogeochemistry: Dynamics Of Organic Carbon Nutrients and Pmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because increased morphological variability in the river bed enhances hyporheic exchange, river restoration may increase the self-cleaning capacity of the river (Lefebvre et al, 2004). The discharge-modulated coupling of groundwater to overlaying soils can then form biogeochemical hotspots and hot moments of carbon and nitrogen turnover (e.g., Peter et al, 2012a, b;Shrestha et al, 2012Shrestha et al, , 2014.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphological, hydrological, biogeochemical and ecological changes and challenges in river restoration – the Thur River case study

Schirmer

Luster

Linde

et al. 2014

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. River restoration can enhance river dynamics, environmental heterogeneity and biodiversity, but the underlying processes governing the dynamic changes need to be understood to ensure that restoration projects meet their goals, and adverse effects are prevented. In particular, we need to comprehend how hydromorphological variability quantitatively relates to ecosystem functioning and services, biodiversity as well as ground-and surface water quality in restored river corridors. This involves (i) physical processes and structural properties, determining erosion and sedimentation, as well as solute and heat transport behavior in surface water and within the subsurface; (ii) biogeochemical processes and characteristics, including the turnover of nutrients and natural water constituents; and (iii) ecological processes and indicators related to biodiversity and ecological functioning. All these aspects are interlinked, requiring an interdisciplinary investigation approach. Here, we present an overview of the recently completed RECORD (REstored CORridor Dynamics) project in which we combined physical, chemical, and biological observations with modeling at a restored river corridor of the perialpine Thur River in Switzerland. Our results show that river restoration, beyond inducing morphologic changes that reshape the river bed and banks, triggered complex spatial patterns of bank infiltration, and affected habitat type, biotic communities and biogeochemical processes. We adopted an interdisciplinary approach of monitoring the continuing changes due to restoration measures to address the following questions: How stable is the morphological variability established by restoration? Does morphological variability guarantee an improvement in biodiversity? How does morphological variability affect biogeochemical transformations in the river corridor? What are some potential adverse effects of river restoration? How is river restoration influenced by catchment-scale hydraulics and which feedbacks exist on the large scale? Beyond summarizing the major results of individual studies within the project, we show that these overarching questions could only be addressed in an interdisciplinary framework.

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Intensified organic carbon dynamics in the ground water of a restored riparian zone

Cited by 21 publications

References 60 publications

Where Carbon Goes When Water Flows: Carbon Cycling across the Aquatic Continuum

Where Carbon Goes When Water Flows: Carbon Cycling across the Aquatic Continuum

Flood-Controlled Excess-Air Formation Favors Aerobic Respiration and Limits Denitrification Activity in Riparian Groundwater

Morphological, hydrological, biogeochemical and ecological changes and challenges in river restoration – the Thur River case study

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