Role of Lakes, Flood, and Low Flow Events in Modifying Catchment‐Scale DOC:TN:TP Stoichiometry and Export
Abstract The balance of organic carbon (OC), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) plays a crucial role in determining the processing, retention, and movement of these solutes across the aquatic continuum. Floods and droughts can significantly alter the quantity and ratios of OC:N:P export within inland w...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Water Resources Research |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR034839 |
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| author | Christina Fasching Kyle S. Boodoo Huaxia Yao James A. Rusak Marguerite A. Xenopoulos |
| author_facet | Christina Fasching Kyle S. Boodoo Huaxia Yao James A. Rusak Marguerite A. Xenopoulos |
| author_sort | Christina Fasching |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The balance of organic carbon (OC), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) plays a crucial role in determining the processing, retention, and movement of these solutes across the aquatic continuum. Floods and droughts can significantly alter the quantity and ratios of OC:N:P export within inland waters, but how these ratios change, and are coupled within watersheds that integrate rivers and lakes, is not well known. We investigated the stoichiometry and export of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total N (TN) and total P (TP) in two lake watersheds (10 inflows, 2 outflows) in the southern Boreal Shield over a 37‐year period. Although DOC, TN, and TP concentration behaved similarly, DOC:TN:TP ratios varied seasonally, strongly modulated by stream discharge. DOC:TN, DOC:TP and TN:TP export initially increased rapidly with increasing discharge, peaking at 10%–20% exceedance of the annual discharge for DOC:TP and TN:TP ratios, indicating a rapid depletion of catchment OC sources. Both flood and low flow events resulted in lower DOC:TN and lower DOC:TP export—thereby increasing the relative contributions of stream TN and TP. Consequently, elevated annual discharge coupled with infrequent but high floods and periods of low flow events increased the contributions of TN and TP relative to DOC. Overall, the lakes retained DOC, while increasing TN relative to TP. Nonetheless, the flow regime played a role in modulating nutrient retention in the lakes, likely due to changes in residence time, and the interplay of physical, photochemical, and biological degradation processes. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e1b33b9fefc646a1bb5275df23b98fc8 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0043-1397 1944-7973 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
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| series | Water Resources Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-e1b33b9fefc646a1bb5275df23b98fc82025-08-20T02:09:26ZengWileyWater Resources Research0043-13971944-79732024-03-01603n/an/a10.1029/2023WR034839Role of Lakes, Flood, and Low Flow Events in Modifying Catchment‐Scale DOC:TN:TP Stoichiometry and ExportChristina Fasching0Kyle S. Boodoo1Huaxia Yao2James A. Rusak3Marguerite A. Xenopoulos4Department of Soil Ecology Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research—UFZ Halle GermanyDepartment of Geography and Regional Research Geoecology University of Vienna Vienna AustriaDorset Environmental Science Centre Ontario Ministry of Environment Conservation and Parks Dorset ON CanadaDorset Environmental Science Centre Ontario Ministry of Environment Conservation and Parks Dorset ON CanadaDepartment of Biology Trent University Peterborough ON CanadaAbstract The balance of organic carbon (OC), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) plays a crucial role in determining the processing, retention, and movement of these solutes across the aquatic continuum. Floods and droughts can significantly alter the quantity and ratios of OC:N:P export within inland waters, but how these ratios change, and are coupled within watersheds that integrate rivers and lakes, is not well known. We investigated the stoichiometry and export of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total N (TN) and total P (TP) in two lake watersheds (10 inflows, 2 outflows) in the southern Boreal Shield over a 37‐year period. Although DOC, TN, and TP concentration behaved similarly, DOC:TN:TP ratios varied seasonally, strongly modulated by stream discharge. DOC:TN, DOC:TP and TN:TP export initially increased rapidly with increasing discharge, peaking at 10%–20% exceedance of the annual discharge for DOC:TP and TN:TP ratios, indicating a rapid depletion of catchment OC sources. Both flood and low flow events resulted in lower DOC:TN and lower DOC:TP export—thereby increasing the relative contributions of stream TN and TP. Consequently, elevated annual discharge coupled with infrequent but high floods and periods of low flow events increased the contributions of TN and TP relative to DOC. Overall, the lakes retained DOC, while increasing TN relative to TP. Nonetheless, the flow regime played a role in modulating nutrient retention in the lakes, likely due to changes in residence time, and the interplay of physical, photochemical, and biological degradation processes.https://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR034839dissolved organic carbonnutrientsfloodstreamlakestoichiometry |
| spellingShingle | Christina Fasching Kyle S. Boodoo Huaxia Yao James A. Rusak Marguerite A. Xenopoulos Role of Lakes, Flood, and Low Flow Events in Modifying Catchment‐Scale DOC:TN:TP Stoichiometry and Export Water Resources Research dissolved organic carbon nutrients flood stream lake stoichiometry |
| title | Role of Lakes, Flood, and Low Flow Events in Modifying Catchment‐Scale DOC:TN:TP Stoichiometry and Export |
| title_full | Role of Lakes, Flood, and Low Flow Events in Modifying Catchment‐Scale DOC:TN:TP Stoichiometry and Export |
| title_fullStr | Role of Lakes, Flood, and Low Flow Events in Modifying Catchment‐Scale DOC:TN:TP Stoichiometry and Export |
| title_full_unstemmed | Role of Lakes, Flood, and Low Flow Events in Modifying Catchment‐Scale DOC:TN:TP Stoichiometry and Export |
| title_short | Role of Lakes, Flood, and Low Flow Events in Modifying Catchment‐Scale DOC:TN:TP Stoichiometry and Export |
| title_sort | role of lakes flood and low flow events in modifying catchment scale doc tn tp stoichiometry and export |
| topic | dissolved organic carbon nutrients flood stream lake stoichiometry |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR034839 |
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