Hydrology and Landscape Structure Control Subalpine Catchment Carbon Export

Hydrology and Landscape Structure Control Subalpine Catchment Carbon Export
Author: Vincent Jerald Pacific
Publisher:
Total Pages: 298
Release: 2009
Genre: Carbon
ISBN:

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Carbon export from high elevation ecosystems is a critical component of the global carbon cycle. Ecosystems in northern latitudes have become the focus of much research due to their potential as large sinks of carbon in the atmosphere. However, there exists limited understanding of the controls of carbon export from complex mountain catchments due to strong spatial and temporal hydrologic variability, and large heterogeneity in landscape structure. The research presented in this dissertation investigates the control of hydrology and landscape structure and position on two major avenues of carbon loss from mountain watersheds: soil respiration and stream dissolved organic carbon (DOC) export. Measurements of soil respiration and its biophysical controls (soil water content, soil temperature, vegetation, soil organic matter, and soil physical properties) and stream and groundwater DOC dynamics are presented across three years and multiple riparian-hillslope transitions within a complex subalpine catchment in the northern Rocky Mountains, Montana. Variability in soil respiration was related to hydrologic dynamics through space and time and was strongly influenced by topography and landscape structure. Cumulative soil CO 2 efflux was significantly higher from wet riparian landscape positions compared to drier hillslope locations. Changes in hydrologic regimes (e.g. snowmelt and precipitation timing and magnitude) also impacted soil respiration. From a wet to a dry growing season, there were contrasting and disproportionate changes in cumulative growing season surface CO 2 efflux at wet and dry landscape positions. Stream DOC export was also influenced by landscape structure and hydrologic variability. The mobilization and delivery mechanisms of DOC from the soil to the stream were dependent upon the size of DOC source areas and the degree of hydrologic connectivity between the stream and the riparian and hillslope zones, which varied strongly across the landscape. This dissertation provides fundamental insight into the controls of hydrology and landscape structure on carbon export from complex mountain watersheds. The results of this research have large implications for the carbon source/sink status of high elevation mountain ecosystems, the influence of changing hydrologic regimes on soil respiration, and the use of landscape analysis to determine the locations of large source areas for carbon export.

Modeling the Production and Transport of Dissolved Organic Carbon from Heterogeneous Landscape

Modeling the Production and Transport of Dissolved Organic Carbon from Heterogeneous Landscape
Author: Changjiang Ye
Publisher:
Total Pages: 96
Release: 2013
Genre: Organic compounds
ISBN:

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Variation of dissolved of organic carbon concentration in stream water is a consequence of process changes in the surrounding terrestrial environment. This study will focus on 1) Identify significant environmental factors controlling the spatial and temporal variation of DOC in terrestrial ecosystems of a watershed southeast of Boston, Massachusetts; 2) Model the DOC leaching from different land cover and examine the relationship between leaching flux and in-stream DOC. Our hypothesis is variations of in stream DOC is closely related to watershed properties and environmental factors at annual, seasonal, and daily scales, especially land cover type, watershed size and hydrology. To explore the relationship of hydrology and DOC variation at ungauged sub-basin, we examined the effectiveness of using simulated stream flow from Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to study terrestrial DOC dynamics. Our results demonstrated that streamflow, drainage area, and percent of wetland and forest were particularly strong predictors in watersheds with a large proportion of developed area. The resulting linear model is able to explain about 70.2% (R2=0.702) and 65.1% (R2=0.651) of the variance of in-stream DOC concentrations at seasonal and annual scales respectively. Results also suggest that more frequent DOC sampling is necessary to establish the quantitative relationship between simulated stream flows from the SWAT and in-stream DOC concentrations at daily scale. The physically based ecosystem model developed in this study shows that DOC leaching from various land cover are highly correlated (up to 80%) with in-stream DOC by using ecological process with incorporated different hydrological pathways. It shows that leaching of DOC from soil is a significant contributor to the in-stream DOC. The production of DOC is largely controlled by the vegetation type and soil texture. Considering the hydrologic control on DOC transport with different pathways of water at finer spatial and temporal scale highlights the need to identify the quantitative relationships between water and carbon flux.

Aquatic Ecosystems: Interactivity of Dissolved Organic Matter

Aquatic Ecosystems: Interactivity of Dissolved Organic Matter
Author: Stuart Findlay
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 534
Release: 2003
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 0122563719

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Overviews of the source, supply and variability of DOM, surveys of the processes that mediate inputs to microbial food webs, and syntheses consolidating research findings provide a comprehensive review of what is known of DOM in freshwater. This book will be important to anyone interested in understanding the fundamental factors associated with DOM that control aquatic ecosystems."--BOOK JACKET.

Scale Issues in Hydrological Modelling

Scale Issues in Hydrological Modelling
Author: J. D. Kalma
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 518
Release: 1995-09-11
Genre: Science
ISBN:

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There is a growing need for appropriate models which address the management of land and water resources and ecosystems at large space and time scales. Theories of non-linear hydrological processes must be extrapolated to large-scale, three-dimensional natural systems such as drainage basins, flood plains and wetlands. This book reports on recent progress in research on scale issues in hydrological modelling. It brings together 27 papers from two special issues of the journal Hydrological Processes. The book makes a significant contribution towards developing research strategies for linking model parameterisations across a range of temporal and spatial scales. The papers selected for this book reflect the tremendous advances which have been made in research into scale issues in hydrological modelling during the last ten years.