Light and flow regimes regulate the metabolism of rivers

Emily S. Bernhardt; Phil Savoy; Michael J. Vlah; Alison P. Appling; Lauren E. Koenig; Robert O. Hall; Maite Arroita; Joanna R. Blaszczak; Alice M. Carter; Matt Cohen; Judson W. Harvey; James B. Heffernan; Ashley M. Helton; Jacob D. Hosen; Lily Kirk; William H. McDowell; Emily H. Stanley; Charles B. Yackulic; Nancy B. Grimm

doi:10.1073/pnas.2121976119

Light and flow regimes regulate the metabolism of rivers

Emily S. Bernhardt, Phil Savoy, Michael J. Vlah, Alison P. Appling, Lauren E. Koenig, Robert O. Hall, Maite Arroita, Joanna R. Blaszczak, Alice M. Carter, Matt Cohen, Judson W. Harvey, James B. Heffernan, Ashley M. Helton, Jacob D. Hosen, Lily Kirk, William H. McDowell, Emily H. Stanley, Charles B. Yackulic, Nancy B. Grimm

Flathead Lake Biological Station

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

142 Scopus citations

Abstract

Mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation drive much of the variation in productivity across Earth's terrestrial ecosystems but do not explain variation in gross primary productivity (GPP) or ecosystem respiration (ER) in flowing waters. We document substantial variation in the magnitude and seasonality of GPP and ER across 222 US rivers. In contrast to their terrestrial counterparts, most river ecosystems respire far more carbon than they fix and have less pronounced and consistent seasonality in their metabolic rates. We find that variation in annual solar energy inputs and stability of flows are the primary drivers of GPP and ER across rivers. A classification schema based on these drivers advances river science and informs management.

Original language	English
Article number	e2121976119
Journal	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume	119
Issue number	8
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2121976119
State	Published - Feb 22 2022

Funding

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. We thank Ted Stets, Jordan Read, Tom Battin, Sophia Bonjour, Marina Palta, and members of the Duke River Center for their help in developing these ideas. This work was supported by grants from the NSF 1442439 (to E.S.B. and J.W.H.), 1834679 (to R.O.H.), 1442451 (to R.O.H.), 2019528 (to R.O.H. and J.R.B.), 1442140 (to M.C.), 1442451 (to A.M.H.), 1442467 (to E.H.S.), 1442522 (to N.B.G.), 1624807 (to N.B.G.), and US Geological Survey funding for the working group was supported by the John Wesley Power Center for Analysis and Synthesis. Phil Savoy contributed as a postdoctoral associate at Duke University and as a postdoctoral associate (contractor) at the US Geological Survey.

Funder number
1442467, 1442522, 1834679, 1624807, 2019528, 1442140, 1442451

Keywords

Flow regimes
Light regimes
Metabolism
River ecosystems

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1073/pnas.2121976119

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Bernhardt, E. S., Savoy, P., Vlah, M. J., Appling, A. P., Koenig, L. E., Hall, R. O., Arroita, M., Blaszczak, J. R., Carter, A. M., Cohen, M., Harvey, J. W., Heffernan, J. B., Helton, A. M., Hosen, J. D., Kirk, L., McDowell, W. H., Stanley, E. H., Yackulic, C. B., & Grimm, N. B. (2022). Light and flow regimes regulate the metabolism of rivers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 119(8), Article e2121976119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2121976119

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title = "Light and flow regimes regulate the metabolism of rivers",

abstract = "Mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation drive much of the variation in productivity across Earth's terrestrial ecosystems but do not explain variation in gross primary productivity (GPP) or ecosystem respiration (ER) in flowing waters. We document substantial variation in the magnitude and seasonality of GPP and ER across 222 US rivers. In contrast to their terrestrial counterparts, most river ecosystems respire far more carbon than they fix and have less pronounced and consistent seasonality in their metabolic rates. We find that variation in annual solar energy inputs and stability of flows are the primary drivers of GPP and ER across rivers. A classification schema based on these drivers advances river science and informs management.",

keywords = "Flow regimes, Light regimes, Metabolism, River ecosystems",

author = "Bernhardt, \{Emily S.\} and Phil Savoy and Vlah, \{Michael J.\} and Appling, \{Alison P.\} and Koenig, \{Lauren E.\} and Hall, \{Robert O.\} and Maite Arroita and Blaszczak, \{Joanna R.\} and Carter, \{Alice M.\} and Matt Cohen and Harvey, \{Judson W.\} and Heffernan, \{James B.\} and Helton, \{Ashley M.\} and Hosen, \{Jacob D.\} and Lily Kirk and McDowell, \{William H.\} and Stanley, \{Emily H.\} and Yackulic, \{Charles B.\} and Grimm, \{Nancy B.\}",

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doi = "10.1073/pnas.2121976119",

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Bernhardt, ES, Savoy, P, Vlah, MJ, Appling, AP, Koenig, LE, Hall, RO, Arroita, M, Blaszczak, JR, Carter, AM, Cohen, M, Harvey, JW, Heffernan, JB, Helton, AM, Hosen, JD, Kirk, L, McDowell, WH, Stanley, EH, Yackulic, CB & Grimm, NB 2022, 'Light and flow regimes regulate the metabolism of rivers', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 119, no. 8, e2121976119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2121976119

TY - JOUR

T1 - Light and flow regimes regulate the metabolism of rivers

AU - Bernhardt, Emily S.

AU - Savoy, Phil

AU - Vlah, Michael J.

AU - Appling, Alison P.

AU - Koenig, Lauren E.

AU - Hall, Robert O.

AU - Arroita, Maite

AU - Blaszczak, Joanna R.

AU - Carter, Alice M.

AU - Cohen, Matt

AU - Harvey, Judson W.

AU - Heffernan, James B.

AU - Helton, Ashley M.

AU - Hosen, Jacob D.

AU - Kirk, Lily

AU - McDowell, William H.

AU - Stanley, Emily H.

AU - Yackulic, Charles B.

AU - Grimm, Nancy B.

PY - 2022/2/22

Y1 - 2022/2/22

N2 - Mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation drive much of the variation in productivity across Earth's terrestrial ecosystems but do not explain variation in gross primary productivity (GPP) or ecosystem respiration (ER) in flowing waters. We document substantial variation in the magnitude and seasonality of GPP and ER across 222 US rivers. In contrast to their terrestrial counterparts, most river ecosystems respire far more carbon than they fix and have less pronounced and consistent seasonality in their metabolic rates. We find that variation in annual solar energy inputs and stability of flows are the primary drivers of GPP and ER across rivers. A classification schema based on these drivers advances river science and informs management.

AB - Mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation drive much of the variation in productivity across Earth's terrestrial ecosystems but do not explain variation in gross primary productivity (GPP) or ecosystem respiration (ER) in flowing waters. We document substantial variation in the magnitude and seasonality of GPP and ER across 222 US rivers. In contrast to their terrestrial counterparts, most river ecosystems respire far more carbon than they fix and have less pronounced and consistent seasonality in their metabolic rates. We find that variation in annual solar energy inputs and stability of flows are the primary drivers of GPP and ER across rivers. A classification schema based on these drivers advances river science and informs management.

KW - Flow regimes

KW - Light regimes

KW - Metabolism

KW - River ecosystems

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DO - 10.1073/pnas.2121976119

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AN - SCOPUS:85124680139

SN - 0027-8424

VL - 119

JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

IS - 8

M1 - e2121976119

ER -

Light and flow regimes regulate the metabolism of rivers

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

UN SDGs

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