滨海蓝碳湿地碳汇速率测定方法及中国的研究现状和挑战

滨海盐沼、红树林和海草床蓝碳湿地生态系统具有高效的固碳-储碳能力,准确测定滨海蓝碳湿地生态系统碳汇速率,对于评估滨海湿地碳中和能力、生态恢复新增碳汇规模及碳贸易至关重要。深入思考滨海蓝碳湿地生态系统碳汇定义的内涵,提出狭义碳汇和广义碳汇的概念,介绍沉积物碳累积+植被净初级生产力法以及生态系统碳通量收支法2个目前国际上应用最多的滨海蓝碳湿地碳汇速率测定方法,特别是深入分析作为开放系统的滨海盐沼生态系统和海草床生态系统碳汇速率测定面临的诸多问题与挑战,梳理中国红树林、滨海盐沼和海草床生态系统碳汇速率的测定结果及国家尺度滨海蓝碳湿地生态系统碳汇规模,最后提出中国在滨海蓝碳湿地碳汇速率测定实践中急需加强的基础研究领域,以期为科学地计量中国滨海蓝碳湿地生态系统碳汇速率与碳汇规模提供方法参考和技术支撑。     

Carbon flux between an estuary and the ocean: a case for outwelling

The classical outwelling hypothesis states that small coastal embayments (e.g. estuaries, wetlands) export their excess production to inshore marine waters. In line with this notion, the present study tested whether the Swartkops estuary acts as source or sink for carbon. To this end, concentrations of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and particulate organic carbon (POC) were determined hourly during the first monthly spring and neap tides over one year in the tidal waters entering and leaving the estuary. Each sampling session spanned a full tidal cycle, yielding a total of 936 concentration estimates. Carbon fluxes were calculated by integrating concentrations with water flow rates derived from a hydrodynamic model calibrated for each sampling datum. Over the year, exports to marine waters markedly exceeded imports to the estuary for all carbon species: on the basis of total spring tidal drainage area, 1083 g m^–2 of DIC, 103 g m^–2 of DOC, and 123 g m^–2 of POC left the estuary annually. Total carbon export from the estuary to the ocean amounted to 4755 tonnes, of which 83% was in the inorganic form (DIC). Thus, the bulk of carbon moving in the water column is inorganic - yet, DIC seems to be measured only rarely in most flux studies of this nature. Salt marshes cover extensive areas in this estuary and produce some carbon, particularly DOC, but productivity of the local Spartina species is low (P:B=1.1). Consequently, the bulk of carbon exported from the estuary appears to originate from the highly productive macroinvertebrate and the phytoplankton component and not from the salt marsh plants.     

Contribution of sediment fluxes and transformations to the summer nitrogen budget of an Upper Mississippi River backwater system

Routing nitrate through backwaters of regulated floodplain rivers to increase retention could decrease loading to nitrogen (N)-sensitive coastal regions. Sediment core determinations of N flux were combined with inflow–outflow fluxes to develop mass balance approximations of N uptake and transformations in a flow-controlled backwater of the Upper Mississippi River (USA). Inflow was the dominant nitrate source (>95%) versus nitrification and varied as a function of source water concentration since flow was constant. Nitrate uptake length increased linearly, while uptake velocity decreased linearly, with increasing inflow concentration to 2 mg l⁻¹, indicating limitation of N uptake by loading. N saturation at higher inflow concentration coincided with maximum uptake capacity, 40% uptake efficiency, and an uptake length 2 times greater than the length of the backwater. Nitrate diffusion and denitrification in sediment accounted for 27% of the backwater nitrate retention, indicating that assimilation by other biota or denitrification on other substrates were the dominant uptake mechanisms. Ammonium export from the backwater was driven by diffusive efflux from the sediment. Ammonium increased from near zero at the inflow to a maximum mid-lake, then declined slightly toward the outflow due to uptake during transport. Ammonium export was small compared to nitrate retention. Handling editor: J. Padisak     

The response of a freshwater wetland to long-term ’low level‘ nutrient loads: nutrients and water budget

Boney Marsh is a small constructed freshwater wetland located along thefloodplain of the Kissimmee River in south Florida, USA. River water, withaverage Tot-P concentrations of 0.052 mg l⁻¹, Tot-N of 1.70 mgl⁻¹, and Cl⁻ of 15.95 mg l⁻¹, wasdiverted through the marsh to quantify mass retention and fate.Comprehensive mass balance budgets for Tot-P, Tot-N, and Cl⁻were developed based on input (inflow, precipitation) and output (outflow,evapotranspiration, seepage). Cl⁻, as well asNa⁺, budgets indicated that groundwater accounted forapproximately 7% of the total water budget. Annual mass loadings toBoney Marsh were 0.5, 15.7, and 147.9 g m⁻²year⁻¹ for Tot-P, Tot-N, and Cl⁻, respectively.Mean annual nutrient removal was estimated at 72% for Tot-P and34% for Tot-N, and P-assimilation capacity remained high andunchanged for the period of record. The subtropical marsh system accumulatedTot-P at a much higher rate than Tot-N, with averaged net sedimentationrates of 20.4 and 8.3 year⁻¹, respectively. Boney Marsh netsedimentation coefficients were higher than lakes with similar depths. TheN:P mass ratio in the wetland water column increased during the period ofrecord, and was primarily due to a high P-sedimentation rate and a decliningN-sedimentation rate. The authors use the editor‘s suggestion forabbreviations. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Reverse process of coprecipitation of dissolved organic carbon with Fe(III) precipitates in a lake

Reverse process of the coprecipitation of dissolved organic matter with Fe(III) precipitates in a lake is reported. Water containing a slight amount of dissolved oxygen from the hypolimnion of Lake Onogawa was sealed in glass bottles, and some changes in the constituents with time were followed. The water sample contained 0.1 mg l⁻¹ dissolved oxygen at the beginning of the experiment, which decreased to 0.0 mg l⁻¹ within 24 h. In response to the depletion of dissolved oxygen, there were increases in dissolved Fe from 8.4 to 11.4 mg l⁻¹ and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from 5.1 to 6.9 mg l⁻¹ after 72 h. At the beginning of the experiment, more than 2 mg l⁻¹ of insoluble Fe, which was thought to be Fe(III) precipitates, existed in the water samples. When the water samples became anoxic, the preexisted Fe(III) must have been reduced to soluble Fe(II) over time, resulting in the increase of dissolved Fe. Simultaneous with Fe(III) reduction, coprecipitated DOC with Fe(III) must have been released. The reverse process of the coprecipitation of dissolved organic matter with Fe(III) precipitates found in the present study strongly supports in situ coprecipitation of dissolved organic matter with Fe(III) precipitates. Contribution No. 27 from the Urabandai Limnological Station, Yamagata University.     

The phosphorus economy of a hypertrophic seepage lake in Scania,south Sweden groundwater influence

The phosphorus dynamics and economy of Lake Bysjön, a hypertrophic seepage lake in Scania, southern Sweden, were investigated during 1973–1977. The mean dissolved inorganic phosphorus concentration (1973–1977) was 580 µg · l^–1. There were no correlations between dissolved inorganic P, total organic P, dissolved organic P, particulate P and phytoplankton biomass. Groundwater inflow and lake water outflow through the ground are the most important factors for maintaining a constant water volume. Groundwater seepage is also important for water quality. Groundwater inflow, together with planktonic activity, keeps the P concentration high in the lake water.     

The dilution and loss of wetland function associated with conversion to open water

Some degree of wetland loss characterizes most coastal systems of the United States. This loss is generally reported as a decrease in wetland area, but most coastal land loss entails wetland submergence and conversion to open water. This concurrent increase in the area of aquatic habitat decreases the wetland:open water ratio, effectively diluting the area of remaining wetland relative to the aquatic system. The functional loss of intertidal wetlands to the ecosystem associated with this dilution effect may significantly alter ecological functions dependent on the interactive coupling of wetland and aquatic habitats. The magnitude of functional loss is strongly dependent on the wetland:water ratio of an estuary. In estuaries with open bay-type morphologies, the open water area is already large and functional loss of wetland by additional dilution may be only slightly greater than the areal wetland loss. Where estuaries are wetland-dominated, however, conversion of even a small percentage of wetland to water drastically alters the wetland:water ratio. In these cases, functional losses by dilution are much greater than the rate of areal wetland loss.In the Barataria Basin estuary, Louisiana, between 1967 and 1987, 15.4% of the salt marsh was lost (assuming a loss rate of 0.8% y^–1 of the remaining marsh). We estimated that this 15% loss of salt marsh, by conversion to open water, may have resulted in a 27% reduction in the supply of inorganic nutrients and organic matter to the estuarine water column by the marsh, simply due to the dilution effects of the changed wetland:open water ratio. Functional losses of this magnitude may have serious implications to the estuarine ecosystem where intertidal wetlands support aquatic productivity by exporting nutrients and energy or where intertidal wetlands buffer aquatic eutrophication by importing excess nutrients and organic matter. It is conceivable that an estuary characterized by wetland loss may reach a point where, although some wetland remains, its functional value to the ecosystem is essentially gone.     

Temporal patterns of primary production in a large ultra-oligotrophic Antarctic freshwater lake

A large ultra-oligotrophic Antarctic freshwater lake, Crooked Lake, was investigated between January 1993 and November 1993. The water column supported a small phytoplankton community limited by temperature, nutrient availability and, seasonally, by low photosynthetically active radiation. Chlorophyll a concentrations were consistently low (<1 g l⁻¹) and showed no obvious seasonal patterns. Production rates were low, ranging from non-detectable to 0.56 g C l⁻¹ h⁻¹, with highest rates generally occurring towards the end of the austral winter and in spring. The pattern of carbon fixation indicated that the phytoplankton was adapted to low light levels. Chlorophyll a specific photosynthetic rates (assimilation numbers) ranged from non-detectable to 1.27 gC (g chlorophyll a)⁻¹ h⁻¹. Partitioning of photosynthetic products revealed carbon incorporation principally into storage products such as lipids at high light fluxes with increasing protein synthesis at depth. With little allochthonous input the data suggest that lake dynamics in this Antarctic system are driven by phytoplankton activity. Received: 21 February 1997 / Accepted: 18 May 1997     

Exploration of a Submerged Sinkhole Ecosystem in Lake Huron

Dissolution of the Silurian-Devonian aquifer in the Lake Huron Basin has produced several karst formations in the bedrock (sinkholes), through which groundwater emerges onto the lake floor. During September 2003, we explored a recently discovered submerged sinkhole ecosystem (55 m × 40 m × ∼1 m) located at a depth of 93 m with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) equipped with a conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) system, an acoustic navigational system, a video camera, and a water sampling system. In addition to two morphotypes of benthic mats, a 1–2 m thick visibly cloudy near-bottom nepheloid-like layer (sinkhole plume) with a strong hydrogen sulfide odor prevailed just above the seepage area of clear water. Relative to lake water, water samples collected within the sinkhole plume were characterized by slightly higher (by 4°C) temperatures, very high levels of chloride (up to 175 mg l⁻¹) and conductivity (1,700 μS cm⁻¹), as well as extremely high concentrations of sulfate (1,400 mg l⁻¹), phosphorus (3 mg l⁻¹) and particulate organic matter (400 mg C l⁻¹). Compared to background lake water, sinkhole plume water was characterized by approximately twofold lower C:N ratios and tenfold higher levels of dissolved organic carbon, bacterial biomass as well as heterotrophic bacterial production. Significant uptake of ¹⁴C-bicarbonate in dark incubations provided preliminary evidence for occurrence of chemosynthesis, possibly mediated by specialized Bacteria and Archea present in this submerged sinkhole ecosystem in the Laurentian Great Lakes.     

Phosphorus budgets in Everglades wetland ecosystems: the effects of hydrology and nutrient enrichment

The Florida Everglades is a naturally oligotrophic hydroscape that has experienced large changes in ecosystem structure and function as the result of increased anthropogenic phosphorus (P) loading and hydrologic changes. We present whole-ecosystem models of P cycling for Everglades wetlands with differing hydrology and P enrichment with the goal of synthesizing existing information into ecosystem P budgets. Budgets were developed for deeper water oligotrophic wet prairie/slough (‘Slough’), shallower water oligotrophic Cladium jamaicense (‘Cladium’), partially enriched C. jamaicense/Typha spp. mixture (‘Cladium/Typha’), and enriched Typha spp. (‘Typha’) marshes. The majority of ecosystem P was stored in the soil in all four ecosystem types, with the flocculent detrital organic matter (floc) layer at the bottom of the water column storing the next largest proportion of ecosystem P pools. However, most P cycling involved ecosystem components in the water column (periphyton, floc, and consumers) in deeper water, oligotrophic Slough marsh. Fluxes of P associated with macrophytes were more important in the shallower water, oligotrophic Cladium marsh. The two oligotrophic ecosystem types had similar total ecosystem P stocks and cycling rates, and low rates of P cycling associated with soils. Phosphorus flux rates cannot be estimated for ecosystem components residing in the water column in Cladium/Typha or Typha marshes due to insufficient data. Enrichment caused a large increase in the importance of macrophytes to P cycling in Everglades wetlands. The flux of P from soil to the water column, via roots to live aboveground tissues to macrophyte detritus, increased from 0.03 and 0.2 g P m⁻² yr⁻¹ in oligotrophic Slough and Cladium marsh, respectively, to 1.1 g P m⁻² yr⁻¹ in partially enriched Cladium/Typha, and 1.6 g P m⁻² yr⁻¹ in enriched Typha marsh. This macrophyte translocation P flux represents a large source of internal eutrophication to surface waters in P-enriched areas of the Everglades.     

Long-term GIS-based records of habitat changes in a Lake Erie coastal marsh

Great Lakes wetlands have lost much of their historical extent, structure and function. Their transformation was influenced by a number of factors acting over a period of decades including modifications in the basin's hydrology (watershed drainage, dikes, lake levels), biology (exotic species), geology (sediment transport and composition), and chemistry (water quality). The relative importance of each of these catalysts likely varied from region to region and depended on pre-settlement conditions and natural variability in the marshes, both generally unknown. We applied Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology to a 120-year record (1872–1991) of images of a 2000-ha marsh system along the southwestern shore of Lake Erie, Ohio, USA. Long-term variability in aggregate characteristics of wetland vegetation was linked with environmental changes and human impact in three regions representing (1) a naturally existing open marsh with the lowest relative topograhical elevation, (2) an open marsh with a protected exposure to the lake and higher elevation, and (3) a diked marsh with manipulated water levels. The deep, open marsh lost half of its emergents, and a third of its patchiness and edge habitat in the early 1900s, when severe watershed degradations accompanied relatively low Lake Erie water levels. Nearly all remaining emergents were eliminated between 1940 and 1991 in this open marsh, following progressively higher lake levels. In the protected open marsh, the extent of emergents fluctuated with lake levels until 1977, and declined severely since then during sustained high lake levels. Habitat parameters varied little until recent decades, but declined markedly thereafter. The diked marsh maintained pre-1900 conditions for emergent plants, patchiness, and habitat edge; variability was linked to breached dikes and the presence/absence of marsh management. No landward re-establishment of the entire marsh complex since 1873 was evident on the 10 images studied. We propose the interaction of three forcing functions as the principal mechanism controlling the historical and current distribution of aquatic plants in southwestern Lake Erie marshes. These factors, collectively referred to as the Landward Advance Paradigm (LAP), include (1) the restricted ability of the marshes to advance landward, (2) sustained above-average lake levels, and (3) the presence of carp ( Cyprinus carpio) in wetlands with silt and clay sediments. Management focused on enhancing the role of Lake Erie wetlands should consider these landscape-level alterations and attempt to maximize wetland functions within the context of the LAP.     

Hydrologic,vegetation, and substrate characteristics of floating marshes in sediment-rich wetlands of the Mississippi river delta plain,Louisiana, USA

Floating marshes occur over 70% of the western Terrebonne Basin, Louisiana, USA, freshwater coastal wetlands. They are of several types: A free-floating thick-mat (45–60 cm) marsh dominated by Panicum hemitomon and Sagittaria lancifolia; a thick mat marsh dominated by Panicum hemitomon and Sagittaria lancifolia that floats part of the year, but whose vertical floating range is damped compared to adjacent water; and an irregularly-floating thin mat (< 30 cm) dominated by Eleocharis spp. in the spring and Ludwigia leptocarpa and Bidens laevis in the summer and fall. Floating mats must be almost entirely organic in order to be buoyant enough to float. The western Terrebonne wetlands receive large winter/spring supplies of suspended sediments from the Atchafalaya River. Even though sediment concentrations in the adjacent bayou are as high as 100 mg l^–1, the Panicum hemitomon/Sagittaria lancifolia free-floating marsh probably receives no over-surface sediments since it floats continuously. The bulk density data of the damped-floating marsh, however, suggest some mineral sediment input, probably during winter when this marsh is submerged. These two types of floating marsh could not have developed in the present sediment regime of the Atchafalaya River, but as long as they remain floating can continue to exist. Thin floating mats are found in areas receiving the least sediment (<20 mg 1^–1 suspended sediment concentration in adjacent bayous). This low sediment environment probably made possible their formation within the past 20 years. They may represent a transitional stage in mat succession from (1) existing thick-mat floating marsh to a degrading floating marsh, or (2) a floating marsh developing in shallow open water.Corresponding editor: D. Whigham     

Lead biogeochemistry in a central Ontario Forested watershed

To determine the sources and sinks of atmospherically deposited Pb at a forested watershed (Plastic Lake) in central Ontario, Canada, Pb pools and fluxes through upland, wetland and lake compartments were measured during 2002/2003 and compared with previous measurements taken between 1989 and 1991. In 2002/2003, annual bulk deposition of Pb was 0.49 mg m⁻² compared with 1.90–1.30 mg m⁻² in 1989–1991. Annual Pb concentrations in stream water draining the upland part of the catchment were very low (0.04 μg l⁻¹) and were approximately half those measured in 1989–1991 (0.11–0.08 μg l⁻¹). Leaching losses in stream water were small and mass balance estimates indicate almost complete retention (>95%) of atmospherically deposited Pb in upland soils. In contrast, annual Pb concentrations in stream water draining a wetland were between 0.38 and 0.77 μg l⁻¹, with the highest concentration occurring in 2002/2003 and mass balance calculations indicate that the wetland is a net source of Pb in all measured years. Lead concentrations in the lake outflow were low and the average Pb concentration measured in 2002/2003 (0.09 μg l⁻¹) was approximately half the value recorded in 1989–1991 (0.19 μg l⁻¹ both years). Annual mass balance estimates indicate that the lake retained between 2.47 mg m⁻² (1989/1990) and 1.42 mg m⁻² (2002/2003) and that in 2002/2003 68% of the Pb input to the lake is derived from the terrestrial catchment. These estimates are higher than sediment core records, which indicate around 18 mg m⁻² Pb was retained in sediment during the 1990s. Nevertheless, Pb concentrations decrease with sediment depth and ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb concentrations increase with depth, a pattern also observed in mineral soils that reflects the substantial contribution of anthropogenic Pb to the watershed. Lead isotope data from soil and sediment indicate a recent anthropogenic Pb signal (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb ∼ 1.185) in upper soils and sediments and an older anthropogenic signal (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb ∼ 1.20) in deeper soil and sediment. Lead isotope data in sediment and vegetation indicate that practically all the Pb cycled in the forest at Plastic Lake is anthropogenic in origin.     

Book reviews

Wetlands have been widely applied for water quality amelioration. Enzymatic analysis was applied in a study of decomposition in constructed wetlands. We hypothesise that soil enzyme activities would be lower in wetland sediment than adjacent upland and that the lower soil enzyme activities are partly responsible for the water quality amelioration. Four soil enzyme activities (β-glucosidase, β-N-acetylglucosaminidase, phosphatase, and arylsulfatase) and microbial activity (electron transport system activity) were measured across a transect from a upland soil to a wetland sediment in two constructed wetland sites in the USA. Along with the activities, hydrochemistry was determined in inflow and outflow of the wetlands. In both wetlands, the enzyme activities in the sediments were significantly lower than the adjacent upland soils. For hydrochemistry, significant decreases were observed in phosphate and nitrate concentrations in outflow water compared to inflow water. However, there were no significant changes in other anions (F^-, Cl^-, SO ₄ ^2- . For dissolved organic carbon, it seems that the wetlands would be a source rather than a sink. The results suggest that the enzymatic approach represents a valuable method to assess decomposition processes in wetland sediments, and that characteristically low enzyme activities in the sediments may be important in the water quality amelioration function. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Exotic Spartina alterniflora invasion alters ecosystem–atmosphere exchange of CH4 and N2O and carbon sequestration in a coastal salt marsh in China

Coastal salt marshes are sensitive to global climate change and may play an important role in mitigating global warming. To evaluate the impacts of Spartina alterniflora invasion on global warming potential (GWP) in Chinese coastal areas, we measured CH₄ and N₂O fluxes and soil organic carbon sequestration rates along a transect of coastal wetlands in Jiangsu province, China, including open water; bare tidal flat; and invasive S. alterniflora, native Suaeda salsa, and Phragmites australis marshes. Annual CH₄ emissions were estimated as 2.81, 4.16, 4.88, 10.79, and 16.98 kg CH₄ ha^?1 for open water, bare tidal flat, and P. australis, S. salsa, and S. alterniflora marshes, respectively, indicating that S. alterniflora invasion increased CH₄ emissions by 57–505%. In contrast, negative N₂O fluxes were found to be significantly and negatively correlated (P < 0.001) with net ecosystem CO₂ exchange during the growing season in S. alterniflora and P. australis marshes. Annual N₂O emissions were 0.24, 0.38, and 0.56 kg N₂O ha^?1 in open water, bare tidal flat and S. salsa marsh, respectively, compared with ‐0.51 kg N₂O ha^?1 for S. alterniflora marsh and ?0.25 kg N₂O ha^?1 for P. australis marsh. The carbon sequestration rate of S. alterniflora marsh amounted to 3.16 Mg C ha^?1 yr^?1 in the top 100 cm soil profile, a value that was 2.63‐ to 8.78‐fold higher than in native plant marshes. The estimated GWP was 1.78, ?0.60, ?4.09, and ?1.14 Mg CO₂eq ha^?1 yr^?1 in open water, bare tidal flat, P. australis marsh and S. salsa marsh, respectively, but dropped to ?11.30 Mg CO₂eq ha^?1 yr^?1 in S. alterniflora marsh. Our results indicate that although S. alterniflora invasion stimulates CH₄ emissions, it can efficiently mitigate increases in atmospheric CO₂ and N₂O along the coast of China.     

Short-term response of nutrients,carbon and planktonic microbial communities to floodplain wetland inundation

Environmental flows were released to the Macquarie Marshes (~210,000 ha) in north-west NSW of Australia between October and December 2005, inundating an estimated 24,600 ha of floodplain area. According to the flood pulse concept, the marsh floodplains would have stored large amounts of nutrients and carbon during dry antecedent conditions, which would be released into the overlaying flood water. Field studies were conducted in mid-December 2005 at two sites, one on open floodplain woodland with a sparse canopy of River Red Gum and ground cover dominated by saltbushes and the other on open floodplain with black roly-poly. At each site, nutrients, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), planktonic bacteria and phytoplankton were monitored daily for a 6-day period from the overlaying water of a floodplain inundated by the environmental water release. Those in mesocosms deployed in situ, containing marsh floodplain sediments that had been inundated artificially, were also monitored. The mesocosm results from both the sites showed that release of nitrogen was rapid, attaining mean concentrations of total nitrogen of 3.7–14.8 mg l⁻¹, followed by more gradual increases in total phosphorus (mean concentrations 0.6–0.8 mg l⁻¹) and DOC (26.1–50.2 mg l⁻¹) within the 6-day experiment; planktonic microbial communities developed concomitantly with the increasing concentrations of nutrients and DOC, attaining mean densities of (6.0–6.9) × 10⁶ cells ml⁻¹ of planktonic bacteria and (80.7–81.4) × 10³ cells ml⁻¹ of phytoplankton; and for each site the overall measured condition of the mesocosm tended to approach that of the Marshes, over the course of the 6-day experiment. The present study (both observational and experimental) demonstrates that the floodplain sediments in the Marshes, which have been exposed to dry antecedent conditions, release nutrients and carbon to the overlaying flood water following inundation. These resources are thought to have been stored during the dry antecedent phase in accord with the flood pulse concept. Based on the mesocosm experiment, the released nutrients and carbon are in turn most likely to be used by microbial components, such as bacteria and algae, which develop within days of inundation of the floodplain sediments. Thus, environmental flow release provides potential for floodplains to attain a series of ecological responses including initial release of inorganic nutrients and dissolved organic matter and increase in planktonic bacteria and phytoplankton.     

Carbon and water cycles in tropical papyrus wetlands

Highly productive papyrus (Cyperus papyrus L.) wetlands dominate many permanently flooded areas of tropical East Africa; however, the cycling of carbon and water within these ecosystems is poorly understood. The objective of this study was to utilise Eddy Covariance (EC) techniques to measure the fluxes of carbon dioxide and water vapour between papyrus vegetation and the atmosphere in a wetland located near Jinja, Uganda on the Northern shore of Lake Victoria. Peak, midday rates of photosynthetic CO₂ net assimilation were approximately 40 μmol CO₂ m⁻² s⁻¹, while night time losses through respiration ranged between 10 and 20 μmol CO₂ m⁻² s⁻¹. Numerical integration of the flux data suggests that papyrus wetlands have the potential to sequester approximately 0.48 kg C m⁻² y⁻¹. The average daily water vapour flux from the papyrus vegetation through canopy evapotranspiration was approximately 4.75 kg H₂O m⁻² d⁻¹, which is approximately 25% higher than water loss through evaporation from open water.     

Seasonal nutrient fluxes variability of northern salt marshes: examples from the lower St. Lawrence Estuary

This study presents the tidal exchange of ammonium, nitrite + nitrate, phosphate and silicate between two salt marshes and adjacent estuarine waters. Marsh nutrient fluxes were evaluated for Pointe-au-Père and Pointe-aux-épinettes salt marshes, both located along the south shore of the lower St. Lawrence Estuary in Rimouski area (QC, Canada). Using nutrients field data, high precision bathymetric records and a hydrodynamic numerical model (MIKE21-NHD) forced with predicted tides, nutrients fluxes were estimated through salt marsh outlet cross-sections at four different periods of the year 2004 (March, May, July and November). Calculated marsh nutrient fluxes are discussed in relation with stream inputs, biotic and abiotic marsh processes and the incidence of sea ice cover. In both marshes, the results show the occurrence of year-round and seaward NH₄ ⁺ fluxes and landward NO₂ ⁻ + NO₃ ⁻ fluxes (ranging from 9.06 to 30.48 mg N day⁻¹ m⁻² and from −32.07 to −9.59 mg N day⁻¹ m⁻², respectively) as well as variable PO₄ ³⁻ and Si(OH)₄ fluxes (ranging from −3.73 to 6.34 mg P day⁻¹ m⁻² and from −29.19 to 21.91 mg Si day⁻¹ m⁻², respectively). These results suggest that NO₂ ⁻ + NO₃ ⁻ input to marshes can be a significant source of NH₄ ⁺ through dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA). This NH₄ ⁺, accumulating in marsh sediment rather than being removed through coupled nitrification–denitrification or biological assimilation, is exported toward estuarine waters. From average P and Si tidal fluxes analysis, both salt marshes act as a sink during high productivity period (May and July) and as a source, supplying estuarine water during low productivity period (November and March).     

Integrating aquatic and terrestrial components to construct a complete carbon budget for a north temperate lake district

The development of complete regional carbon (C) budgets for different biomes is an integral step in the effort to predict global response and potential feedbacks to a changing climate regime. Wetland and lake contributions to regional C cycling remain relatively uncertain despite recent research highlighting their importance. Using a combination of field surveys and tower‐based carbon dioxide (CO₂) flux measurements, modeling, and published literature, we constructed a complete C budget for the Northern Highlands Lake District in northern Wisconsin/Michigan, a ～6400 km² region rich in lakes and wetlands. This is one of the first regional C budgets to incorporate aquatic and terrestrial C cycling under the same framework. We divided the landscape into three major compartments (forests, wetlands, and surface waters) and quantified all major C fluxes into and out of those compartments, with a particular focus on atmospheric exchange but also including sedimentation in lakes and hydrologic fluxes. Landscape C storage was dominated by peat‐containing wetlands and lake sediments, which make up only 20% and 13% of the landscape area, respectively, but contain >80% of the total fixed C pool (ca. 400 Tg). We estimated a current regional C accumulation of 1.1±0.1 Tg yr^?1, and the largest regional flux was forest net ecosystem exchange (NEE) into aggrading forests for a total of 1.0±0.1 Tg yr^?1. Mean wetland NEE (0.12±0.06 Tg yr^?1 into wetlands), lake CO₂ emissions and riverine efflux (each ca. 0.03±0.01 Tg yr^?1) were smaller but of consequence to the overall budget. Hydrologic transport from uplands/wetlands to surface waters within the region was an important vector of terrestrial C. Regional C fluxes and pools would be misrepresented without inclusion of surface waters and wetlands, and C budgets in heterogeneous landscapes open opportunities to examine the sensitivities of important fluxes to changes in climate and land use/land cover.     

The Role of Iron and Dissolved Organic Carbon in the Absorption of Ultraviolet Radiation in Humic Lake Water

Absorption of solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) in aquatic ecosystems is primarily controlled by dissolved organic carbon (DOC). The role of iron (Fe) has also been suggested to contribute to UVR attenuation either directly or by interactions with DOC. Here we present findings from three laboratory manipulations of Fe and DOC on changes to the dissolved UVR absorption (a_d,320) in a mid-latitude, dimictic, humic lake. In a laboratory simulation of lake turnover where anoxic, hypolimnetic water was oxygenated a_d,320 significantly increased from 23.3 to 81.7 m⁻¹ (p<0.0001). In a second laboratory experiment, addition of ferrous Fe to deoxygenated lake water increased a_d,320 upon reoxygenation up to a concentration of 1.0 mg l⁻¹ Fe, where a solubility saturation threshold may have been reached. In situ lake experiments were designed to simulate release of UV absorbing substances from anoxic sediments by placing 20-l carboys (open at the bottom, sealed at the top) onto the lake bottom. UV absorption at 320 nm increased over time for samples from within the experimental carboys. Finally, samples from several lake profiles and sediment experiments were analyzed for a_d,320, total Fe, and DOC. UV absorption of dissolved substances at 320 nm and total Fe concentration both increased with depth, however DOC remained relatively constant over depth. Furthermore, total Fe and spectral slope showed tight coupling up to 1 mg l⁻¹ total Fe in our survey analysis. Our results provide evidence for the importance of anoxic sediments as a source of ferrous iron and UV absorbing substances and suggest a role for ferric iron in increasing UVR and PAR absorption in lake water. We suggest that as this ferrous Fe oxidizes, its absorptive properties increase, and it may bind with dissolved organic matter, enabling it to remain in solution and thus increasing the dissolved absorption of lake water for extended periods of time.