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Physico-Chemical Consequences of Water-Level Decreases in Wetlands

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Abstract

Due to global change, many wetlands experience water level decreases and changes in their hydrological functioning, modifying their physico-chemical characteristics. Riverine wetlands are particularly complex within this framework because they are supplied by different water sources. This study assessed how long-term water level decreases in riverine wetlands relate to changes in their physico-chemical characteristics (temperature, oxygen, pH, conductivity and nutrient contents: nitrate, ammonium and phosphate). We hypothesized that 1) water level decreases have no effect on water nutrient contents because of the high water renewal by groundwater supplies, which may leach nutrients released from the sediment after the dewatering phase, and 2) the physico-chemical characteristics of the water would become increasingly similar to those of hillslope groundwater due to the increase in their water supplies in wetlands. We compared the surface water physico-chemical characteristics of nine riverine wetlands with contrasting water level decreases between 1993 and 2011. No increase in water nutrient contents occurred. However, depending on the wetland considered, the physico-chemical changes suggested either 1) increased connectivity with hillslope groundwater, 2) a lower rate of water renewal in wetlands or 3) increased river water supplies, potentially related to river lateral migration toward wetlands.

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Acknowledgments

This work was performed under the aegis of the LTER “Zone Atelier Bassin du Rhône” and was funded by the Wetchange Program (ANR-09-CEP-006-01) of the French National Research Agency (Agence Nationale de la Recherche-ANR).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UMR CNRS 5023 Laboratoire d’Ecologie des Hydrosystèmes Naturels et Anthropisés, Université Lyon 1, ENTPE, Université de Lyon, 43 boulevard du 11 novembre 1918, 69622, Villeurbanne Cedex, France

    Mélissa De Wilde, Sara Puijalon & Felix Vallier

  2. UMR CNRS 6259 Chronoenvironnement, Université de Franche Comté, Campus de la Bouloie, 16, route de Gray, 25000, Besançon Cedex, France

    Gudrun Bornette

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  1. Mélissa De Wilde
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  2. Sara Puijalon
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  3. Felix Vallier
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  4. Gudrun Bornette
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Correspondence to Mélissa De Wilde.

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De Wilde, M., Puijalon, S., Vallier, F. et al. Physico-Chemical Consequences of Water-Level Decreases in Wetlands. Wetlands 35, 683–694 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-015-0658-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-015-0658-y

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