Skip to main content
Log in

Hydrologic Drivers and Seasonality of Dissolved Organic Carbon Concentration, Nitrogen Content, Bioavailability, and Export in a Forested New England Stream

  • Published:
Ecosystems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We present the results of a full year of high-resolution monitoring of hydrologic event-driven export of stream dissolved organic matter (DOM) from the forested Bigelow Brook watershed in Harvard Forest, Massachusetts, USA. A combination of in situ fluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOM) measurement, grab samples, and bioassays was utilized. FDOM was identified as a strong indicator of concentration for dissolved organic carbon (DOC, r 2 = 0.96), dissolved organic nitrogen (DON, r 2 = 0.81), and bioavailable DOC (BDOC, r 2 = 0.81). Relationships between FDOM and concentration were utilized to improve characterization of patterns of hydrological event-driven export and the quantification of annual export. This characterization was possible because DOM composition remained relatively consistent seasonally; however, a subtle shift to increased fluorescence per unit absorbance was observed for summer and fall seasons and percent BDOC did increase slightly with increasing concentrations. The majority of export occurred during pulsed hydrological events, so the greatest impact of bioavailable exports may be on downstream aquatic ecosystems. Export from individual events was highly seasonal in nature with the highest flow weighted mean concentrations (DOCFW) being observed in late summer and fall months, but the highest total export being observed for larger winter storms. Seasonal trends in DOC export coincide with weather driven changes in surface and subsurface flow paths, potential for depletion and rebuilding of a flushable soil organic matter pool, and the availability of terrestrial carbon sources such as leaf litter. Our approach and findings demonstrate the utility of high frequency FDOM measurement to improve estimates of intra-annual temporal trends of DOM export.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aitkenhead-Peterson JA, McDowell WH, Neff JC. 2003. Sources, production, and regulation of allochthonous dissolved organic matter inputs to surface waters. In: Findlay S, Sinsabaugh RL, Eds. Aquatic ecosystems: interactivity of dissolved organic matter. Burlington: Academic Press. p. 25–70.

  • Baker DB, Richards RP, Loftus TT, Kramer JW. 2004. A new flahsiness index: characteristics and applications to midwestern rivers and streams. J Am Water Resour Assoc 40:503–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barford CC, Wofsy SC, Goulden ML, Munger JW, Pyle EH, Urbanski SP, Hutyra L, Saleska SR, Fitzjarrald D, Moore K. 2001. Factors controlling long- and short-term sequestration of atmospheric CO2 in a mid-latitude forest. Science 294:1688–91.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Battin TJ, Kaplan LA, Findlay S, Hopkinson CS, Marti E, Packman AI, Newbold JD, Sabater F. 2008. Biophysical controls on organic carbon fluxes in fluvial networks. Nat Geosci 1:95–100.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Boyer EW, Hornberger GM, Bencala KE, McKnight D. 1996. Overview of a simple model describing variation of dissolved organic carbon in an upland catchment. Ecol Model 86:183–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brookshire ENJ, Valett HM, Thomas SA, Webster JR. 2005. Coupled cycling if dissolved organic nitrogen and carbon in a forest stream. Ecology 86:2487–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buffam I, Galloway JN, Blum LK, McGlathery KJ. 2001. A stormflow/baseflow comparison of dissolved organic matter concentrations and bioavailability in an Appalachian stream. Biogeochemistry 53:269–306.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Butman D, Raymond PA. 2011. Significant efflux of carbon dioxide from streams and rivers in the United States. Nat Geosci 4:839–42.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Butturini A, Sabater F. 2000. Seasonal variability of dissolved organic carbon in a Mediterranean stream. Biogeochemistry 51:303–21.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cole JJ, Prairie YT, Caraco NF, McDowell WH, Tranvik LJ, Striegl RG, Duarte CM, Kortelainen P, Downing JA, Middelburg JJ, Melack J. 2007. Plumbing the global carbon cycle: integrating inland waters into the terrestrial carbon budget. Ecosystems 10:171–84.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Currie W, Aber J, McDowell W, Boone R, Magill A. 1996. Vertical transport of dissolved organic C and N under long-term N amendments in pine and hardwood forests. Biogeochemistry 35:471–505.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dalzell BJ, Filley TR, Harbor JM. 2007. The role of hydrology in annual organic carbon loads and terrestrial organic matter export from a midwestern agricultural watershed. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 71:1448–62.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Downing BD, Pellerin BA, Bergamaschi BA, Saraceno JF, Kraus TEC. 2012. Seeing the light: the effects of particles, dissolved materials, and temperature on in situ measurements of DOM fluorescence in rivers and streams. Limnol Oceanogr Methods 10:767–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fellman JB, D’Amore DV, Hood E, Boone RD. 2008. Fluorescence characteristics and biodegradability of dissolved organic matter in forest and wetland soils from coastal temperate watersheds in southeast Alaska. Biogeochemistry 88:169–84.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fellman JB, Hood E, Edwards RT, D’Amore DV. 2009. Changes in the concentration, biodegradability, and fluorescent properties of dissolved organic matter during stormflows in coastal temperate watersheds. J Geophys Res 114:G01021.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foster DR. 1992. Land-use history (1730–1990) and vegetation dynamics in central New England, USA. J Ecol 80:753–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gielen B, Neirynck J, Luyssaert S, Janssens IA. 2011. The importance of dissolved organic carbon fluxes for the carbon balance of a temperate Scots pine forest. Agric For Meteorol 151:270–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hadley JL, Kuzeja PS, Daley MJ, Phillips NG, Mulcahy T, Singh S. 2008. Water use and carbon exchange of red oak- and eastern hemlock-dominated forests in the northeastern USA: implications for ecosystem-level effects of hemlock woolly adelgid. Tree Physiol 28:615–27.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Harvard Forest. 2011. Physiological and biological characteristics of Harvard Forest. Petersham: Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayden BP, Hayden NR. 2003. Decadal and century-long changes in storminess at long-term ecological research sites. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hedin LO, Armesto JJ, Johnson AH. 1995. Patterns of nutrient loss from unpolluted, old-growth temperate forests: evaluation of biogeochemical theory. Ecology 76:493–509.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hood E, Gooseff MN, Johnson SL. 2006. Changes in the character of stream water dissolved organic carbon during flushing in three small watersheds, Oregon. J Geophys Res 111:G01007.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hope D, Billett MF, Cresser MS. 1994. A review of the export of carbon in river water: fluxes and processes. Environ Pollut 84:301–24.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Inamdar S, Singh S, Dutta S, Levia D, Mitchell M, Scott D, Bais H, McHale P. 2011. Fluorescence characteristics and sources of dissolved organic matter for stream water during storm events in a forested mid-Atlantic watershed. J Geophys Res 116:G03043.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Inamdar SP, Mitchell MJ. 2007. Storm event exports of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) across multiple catchments in a glaciated forested watershed. J Geophys Res 112:G02014.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan LA, Bott TL, Jackson JK, Newbold JD, Sweeney BW. 2008. Protecting headwaters: The scientific basis for safeguarding stream and river ecosystems. Avondale: Stround Water Research Centre.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kindler R, Siemens J, Kaiser K, Walmsley DC, Bernhofer C, Buchmann N, Cellier P, Eugster W, Gleixner G, Grunwald T, Heim A, Ibrom A, Jones SK, Jones M, Klumpp K, Kutsch W, Larsen KS, Lehuger S, Loubet B, McKenzie R, Moors E, Osborne B, Pilegaard K, Rebmann C, Saunders M, Schmidt MWI, Schrumpf M, Seyfferth J, Skiba U, Soussana JF, Sutton MA, Tefs C, Vowinckel B, Zeeman MJ, Kaupenjohann M. 2010. Dissolved carbon leaching from soil is a crucial component of the net ecosystem carbon balance. Glob Change Biol 17:1167–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lawaetz AJ, Stedmon CA. 2009. Fluorescence intensity calibration using the raman scatter peak of water. Appl Spectrosc 63:936–40.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Leopold LB, Wolman MG, Miller JP. 1964. Fluvial processes in geomorphology. San Francisco: W.H Freeman and Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lowe WH, Likens GE. 2005. Moving headwater streams to the head of the class. Bioscience 55:196–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McClain ME, Boyer EW, Dent CL, Gergel SE, Grimm NB, Groffman PM, Hart SC, Harvey JW, Johnston CA, Mayorga E, McDowell WH, Pinay G. 2003. Biogeochemical hot spots and hot moments at the interface of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Ecosystems 6:301–12.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Melillo JM. 1981. Nitrogen cycling in deciduous forests. In: Clark FE, Rosswal T, Eds. Nitrogen cycling in terrestrial ecosystems: processes, ecosystem strategies, and management impacts. Stockholm: Ecological Bulletin. p 427–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mulholland PJ. 2003. Large-scale patterns in dissolved organic carbon concentration, flux, and sources. In: Stuart F, Robert LS, Eds. Aquatic ecosystems: interactivity of dissolved organic matter. Burlington: Academic Press. p. 139–59.

  • Nadelhoffer KJ, Downs MR, Fry B. 1999. Sinks for 15N-enriched additions to an oak forest and a red pine plantation. Ecol Appl 9:72–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neff JC, Chapin FSI, Vitousek PM. 2003. Breaks in the cycle: dissolved organic nitrogen in terrestrial ecosystems. Front Ecol Environ 1:205–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palmer TN, Raisanen J. 2002. Quantifying the risk of extreme seasonal precipitation events in a changing climate. Nature 415:512–14.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pellerin B, Saraceno J, Shanley J, Sebestyen S, Aiken G, Wollheim W, Bergamaschi B. 2012. Taking the pulse of snowmelt: in situ sensors reveal seasonal, event and diurnal patterns of nitrate and dissolved organic matter variability in an upland forest stream. Biogeochemistry 108:183–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qualls RG, Haines BL. 1991. Geochemistry of dissolved organic nutrients in water percolating through a forest ecosystem. Soil Sci Soc Am J 55:1112–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raymond P, Saiers J. 2010. Event controlled DOC export from forested watersheds. Biogeochemistry 100:197–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schindler JE, Krabbenhoft DP. 1998. The hyporheic zone as a source of dissolved organic carbon and carbon gases to a temperate forested stream. Biogeochemistry 43:157–74.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schwesig D, Kalbitz K, Matzner E. 2003. Mineralization of dissolved organic carbon in mineral soil solution of two forest soils. J Plant Nutr Soil Sci 166:585–93.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sebestyen SD, Boyer EW, Shanley JB. 2009. Responses of stream nitrate and DOC loadings to hydrological forcing and climate change in an upland forest of the northeastern United States. J Geophys Res 114:G02002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shibata H, Hiura T, Tanaka Y, Takagi K, Koike T. 2005. Carbon cycling and budget in a forested basin of southwestern Hokkaido, northern Japan. Ecol Res 20:325–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sloto RA, Crouse MY. 1996. HYSEP: a computer program for streamflow hydrography separation analysis. Water-resource investigations 96-4040. USGS, Lemonyne.

  • Stewart AJ, Wetzel RG. 1980. Fluorescence: absorbance ratios-a molecular-weight tracer of dissolved organic matter. Limnol Oceanogr 25:559–64.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vidon P, Wagner LE, Soyeux E. 2008. Changes in the character of DOC in streams during storms in two Midwestern watersheds with contrasting land uses. Biogeochemistry 88:257–70.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Westphal M, Field SA, Tyre AJ, Paton D, Possingham HP. 2003. Effects of landscape pattern on bird species distribution in the Mt. Lofty Ranges, South Australia. Landsc Ecol 18:413–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiegner TN, Seitzinger SP, Glibert PM, Bronk DA. 2006. Bioavailability of dissolved organic nitrogen and carbon from nine rivers in the eastern United States. Aquat Microb Ecol 43:277–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Willacker JJ, Sobczak WV, Colburn EA. 2009. Stream macroinvertebrate communities in paired hemlock and deciduous watersheds. Northeast Nat 16:101–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Harvard Forest staff, particularly Mark Vanscoy and Emery Boose aided in the installation and transport of field equipment and in providing hydrological and meteorological data. Helpful discussions occurred with Na Xu during the development of methods for FDOM temperature correction. Caroline Dewing and Brittni Devlin provided technical assistance during the processing of water samples. We are also grateful to the constructive comments made by two anonymous reviewers and the Associate Editor. This research was supported through a Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies Environmental Fellowship awarded to H.F. Wilson, and a grant to J. Saiers from the Hydrological Sciences Program of the National Science Foundation (EAR-114478). This study was also supported by LTER IV: Integrated Studies of the Drivers, Dynamics, and Consequences of Landscape Change in New England—DEB-0620443.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Henry F. Wilson.

Additional information

Author contributions

HFW conceived of or designed study, performed research, analyzed data, contributed new methods or models, and wrote the paper; JES and PAR conceived of or designed study, and wrote the paper; and WVS conceived of or designed study, performed research, and wrote the paper.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOC 707 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wilson, H.F., Saiers, J.E., Raymond, P.A. et al. Hydrologic Drivers and Seasonality of Dissolved Organic Carbon Concentration, Nitrogen Content, Bioavailability, and Export in a Forested New England Stream. Ecosystems 16, 604–616 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-013-9635-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-013-9635-6

Keywords

Navigation