Terrestrial Subsidies of Organic Carbon Support Net Ecosystem Production in Temporary Forest Ponds: Evidence from an Ecosystem Experiment

Recent research suggests that secondary production in aquatic systems can be driven by inputs of energy from terrestrial sources. Temporary forest ponds appear to be unproductive ecosystems that are reliant upon allochthonous inputs of energy to support secondary production, but the functioning of these systems has not been well quantified. To assess the metabolic state of this type of ecosystem as well as to quantify the importance of terrestrial subsidies of carbon to ecosystem function, we conducted an experiment in which we manipulated the amount of leaf litter in ponds. Litter was either removed or removed and replaced (that is, control) from the dry basins of ponds immediately after leaf abscission. Once the ponds filled, we monitored net ecosystem production (NEP) on a biweekly basis from 9 April to 27 May 2002. All ponds were consistently net heterotrophic; however, NEP was significantly less negative in removal ponds. Furthermore, removal ponds also had lower levels of respiration (R) and higher dissolved oxygen levels than control ponds. The removal of litter had no effect on gross primary production, indicating that the difference in NEP between treatments was driven by the change in R. Therefore, it appears that terrestrial inputs of organic carbon support heterotrophic respiration in these ponds, and that the endogenous production of carbon is insufficient to support secondary production.