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Physical and biological controls on trace gas fluxes in semi-arid urban ephemeral waterways

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Abstract

Rapid increases in human population and land transformation in arid and semi-arid regions are altering water, carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles, yet little is known about how urban ephemeral stream channels in these regions affect biogeochemistry and trace gas fluxes. To address these knowledge gaps, we measured carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), and methane (CH4) before and after soil wetting in 16 ephemeral stream channels that vary in soil texture and organic matter in Tucson, AZ. Fluxes of CO2 and N2O immediately following wetting were among the highest ever published (up to 1,588 mg C m−2 h−1 and 3,121 μg N m−2 h−1). Mean post-wetting CO2 and N2O fluxes were significantly higher in the loam and sandy loam channels (286 and 194 mg C m−2 h−1; 168 and 187 μg N m−2 h−1) than in the sand channels (45 mg C m−2 h−1 and 7 μg N m−2 h−1). Factor analyses show that the effect of soil moisture, soil C and soil N on trace gas fluxes varied with soil texture. In the coarser sandy sites, trace gas fluxes were primarily controlled by soil moisture via physical displacement of soil gases and by organic soil C and N limitations on biotic processes. In the finer sandy loam sites trace gas fluxes and N-processing were primarily limited by soil moisture, soil organic C and soil N resources. In the loam sites, finer soil texture and higher soil organic C and N enhance soil moisture retention allowing for more biologically favorable antecedent conditions. Variable redox states appeared to develop in the finer textured soils resulting in wide ranging trace gas flux rates following wetting. These findings indicate that urban ephemeral channels are biogeochemical hotspots that can have a profound impact on urban C and N biogeochemical cycling pathways and subsequently alter the quality of localized water resources.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by National Science Foundation (NSF) DEB 0918373, 1063362. Dr. Kathleen Lohse, now at Idaho State University, was supported by the National Science Foundation under award number EPS-0814387. We would like to thank Dr. Marcel Schaap for his invaluable insight and recommendations in our HYDRUS-1D modeling approach and Dr. Sharon Hall and David Hubber for their assistance with gas sample analyses. We would also like to thanks Allison Peterson, Shane Clark, Becky White, Krystin Riha and Curtis Miles for all of their assistance in the execution of our study. Finally, we’d like to acknowledge the support from the City of Tucson in facilitating the use and access to the study sites.

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  1. Erika L. Gallo & Kathleen A. Lohse

    Present address: Department of Biological Sciences, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID, 83209-8007, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA

    Erika L. Gallo, Thomas Meixner & Paul D. Brooks

  2. School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA

    Kathleen A. Lohse

  3. Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA

    Christopher M. Ferlin

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Gallo, E.L., Lohse, K.A., Ferlin, C.M. et al. Physical and biological controls on trace gas fluxes in semi-arid urban ephemeral waterways. Biogeochemistry 121, 189–207 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-013-9927-0

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