Water level fluctuation and sediment–water nutrient exchange in Great Lakes coastal wetlands

Steinman, Alan D.; Ogdahl, Mary E.; Weinert, Maggie E.; Thompson, Kurt; Cooper, Matthew; Uzarski, Donald G

doi:10.1016/j.jglr.2012.09.020

Cited by 56 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 64 publications

(64 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Similar to responses observed in other ecosystems with intermittent hydrology (Ardón, Morse, Montenari, Doyle, & Bernhardt, ; Kinsman‐Costello, O'Brien, & Hamilton, ; Steinman et al., ), rewetting of previously dried sediments promoted elevated nutrient concentrations in the water column above the peat surface, especially in the drought treatment. Owing to seasonal drawdown that commonly occurs during the growing season (Churchill et al., ), water table was below the peat surface in all experimental plots during the growing season prior to our study, but was 15 cm lower in the drought treatment compared to the raised and control treatments.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Legacy effects of drought alters the aquatic food web of a northern boreal peatland

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Compared to other temporary aquatic ecosystems, we know relatively little about how inundation frequency and duration (i.e. hydrologic regime) influences the structure of aquatic communities in northern peatlands. In this study, we examined patterns in nutrient availability and aquatic community structure during a natural flooding event in an Alaskan fen where water‐table position had been manipulated in three large‐scale experimental plots during previous years to simulate both drought (lowered water‐table treatment) and flooding (raised water‐table treatment) conditions relative to a control without manipulation. Although the natural flood disrupted the long‐term experimental manipulation, it provided an opportunity to evaluate how variation in past hydrologic regime influences nutrient dynamics and aquatic food web structure during periods of inundation in a northern boreal peatland. Despite similar water depth among experimental plots during the time of sampling (i.e. water was above the peat surface in all plots), water‐column nutrient concentrations were significantly greater in the drought treatment (where water table had been lowered during the previous growing season) compared to the raised water‐table treatment and the control. Algal production increased with enhanced nutrient availability across all water‐table treatments and was most elevated following the rewetting of dry sediments in the drought treatment. Consumer biomass (heterotrophic bacteria and macroinvertebrates) increased with algal production and was significantly greater in the drought treatment compared to the raised water‐table treatment and the control. Consumer biomass decreased into the second year of constant inundation as algal production was constrained by reduced nutrient availability. Stable isotope analysis (13C and 15N) showed that elevated levels of periphyton (i.e. the intact biofilm) associated with enhanced nutrient availability promoted energy transfer to higher trophic levels (grazers and predators) rather than living or dead mosses or vascular plant material. Consumption of algal material by grazers altered the size and composition of the algal community. The algal community shifted from coccoid (edible) to filamentous (inedible) growth forms with increased grazer abundance in the drought treatment, possibly owing to selective grazing. Conversely, there was a similar proportion of edible and inedible taxa in the control and raised treatments where grazers were lower in abundance. Our results show that the legacy effects of drought can regulate aquatic community structure in northern peatlands. Within a predictive context, our findings suggest that conditions of more variable hydrology expected with climate change (i.e. increased frequency of drought) occurring across northern latitudes will promote energy flow to higher trophic levels by releasing nutrient constraints on microalgae during periods of inundation.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Legacy effects of drought alters the aquatic food web of a northern boreal peatland

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This suggests that changes to the frequency and timing of snowmelt events could substantially change the timing of run‐off into the basin and seasonal lake‐water levels. Such water level changes impact a variety of environmental and ecological factors in the Great Lakes basin including fish habitats, sediment‐water nutrients, aquatic vegetation, and marsh bird breeding abundance (Barry, Bowers, & De Szalay, ; Fracz & Chow‐Fraser, ; Steinman et al, ; Timmermans, Badzinski, & Ingram, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatio‐temporal variability of Great Lakes basin snow cover ablation events

Suriano

Leathers

2017

Hydrological Processes

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the Great Lakes basin of North America, annual run‐off is dominated by snowmelt. This snowmelt‐induced run‐off plays an important role within the hydrologic cycle of the basin, influencing soil moisture availability and driving the seasonal cycle of spring and summer lake levels. Despite this, relatively little is understood about the patterns and trends of snow ablation event frequency and magnitude within the Great Lakes basin. This study uses a gridded dataset of Canadian and United States surface snow depth observations to develop a regional climatology of snow ablation events from 1960 to 2009. An ablation event is defined as an interdiurnal snow depth decrease within an individual grid cell. A clear seasonal cycle in ablation event frequency exists within the basin and peak ablation event probability is latitudinally dependent. Most of the basin experiences peak ablation frequency in March, while the northern and southern regions of the basin experience respective peaks in April and February. An investigation into the interannual frequency of ablation events reveals ablation events significantly decrease within the northeastern and northwestern Lake Superior drainage basins and significantly increase within the eastern Lake Huron and Georgian Bay drainage basins. In the eastern Lake Huron and Georgian Bay drainage basins, larger ablation events are occurring more frequently, and a larger impact to the hydrology can be expected. Trends in ablation events are attributed primarily to changes in snowfall and snow depth across the region.

show abstract

“…In mesocosm experiments, nutrient release rates in dried and rewetted sediment can exceed the release rates under oxygenated submerged conditions for ammonium (Peverly and Kopka 1991;Qiu and McComb 1996;McGowan et al 2005) and soluble reactive phosphorous (Qiu and McComb 1994;Steinman et al 2012). Consequently, the nutrient pulse from reflooded sediments can temporarily increase nitrification (i.e., microbial activity) in aerobic conditions (Qiu and McComb 1996;Baldwin and Mitchell 2000;Corstanje and Reddy 2004).…”

Section: Nutrient Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consequently, the nutrient pulse from reflooded sediments can temporarily increase nitrification (i.e., microbial activity) in aerobic conditions (Qiu and McComb 1996;Baldwin and Mitchell 2000;Corstanje and Reddy 2004). Upon reinundation, sediments located closest to the water-air interface (i.e., driest sediment) show the highest release of nutrients compared to deeper littoral depths (de Vicente et al 2010;Steinman et al 2012). Additionally, phosphorous can increase in both porewater and in the water column (Peverly and Kopka 1991).…”

Section: Nutrient Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, phosphorous can increase in both porewater and in the water column (Peverly and Kopka 1991). The main mechanisms of nutrient release include: (1) a reduced binding capacity of oxidized and desiccated mineral (e.g., iron, calcium, aluminum, manganese) phases (Qiu and McComb 1994;Baldwin 1996;Olilia et al 1997;Watts 2000;Song et al 2007;de Vicente et al 2010;Steinman et al 2012); (2) increased mineralization of organic phosphate and nitrogen (Qiu and McComb 1994;Olilia et al 1997;James et al 2001;Song et al 2007;Steinman et al 2009); (3) and microbial cell lysis (Qui and McComb 1995;Olilia et al 1997;Mitchell and Baldwin 1998;Klotz and Linn 2001;Wilson and Baldwin 2008). Though system specific, these mechanisms of nutrient release depend on factors such as the size of the mineral resource pool (Jensen and Andersen 1992), the composition and desiccation tolerance of the microbial community (Baldwin and Mitchell 2000), the frequency and timing of drawdown and refill (Song et al 2007;Wilson and Baldwin 2008), and the duration of drying (Olila et al 1997).…”

Section: Nutrient Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Ecological impacts of winter water level drawdowns on lake littoral zones: a review

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

with r-selected life history strategies and with functional traits resistant to direct and indirect drawdown effects. Fish assemblages, though less directly affected by winter drawdowns (except where there is critically low dissolved oxygen), experience negative effects via indirect pathways like decreased food resources and spawning habitat. We identify eight general research gaps to guide future research that could improve our understanding about the complex effects of winter drawdowns on littoral zone ecology.

show abstract

Water level fluctuation and sediment–water nutrient exchange in Great Lakes coastal wetlands

Cited by 56 publications

References 64 publications

Legacy effects of drought alters the aquatic food web of a northern boreal peatland

Legacy effects of drought alters the aquatic food web of a northern boreal peatland

Spatio‐temporal variability of Great Lakes basin snow cover ablation events

Ecological impacts of winter water level drawdowns on lake littoral zones: a review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About