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14 Páginas ; 6 Figuras ; 2 Tablas, 1. We studied whole-ecosystem metabolism in eight streams from several biomes in North America to identify controls on the rate of stream metabolism over a large geographic range. The streams studied had climates ranging from tropical to cool-temperate and from humid to arid and were all relatively uninfluenced by human disturbances. 2. Rates of gross primary production (GPP), ecosystem respiration (R) and net ecosystem production (NEP) were determined using the open-system, two-station diurnal oxygen change method. 3. Three general patterns in metabolism were evident among streams: (1) relatively high GPP with positive NEP (i.e. net oxygen production) in early afternoon, (2) moderate primary production with a distinct peak in GPP during daylight but negative NEP at all times and (3) little or no evidence of GPP during daylight and a relatively constant and negative NEP over the entire day. 4. Gross primary production was most strongly correlated with photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). A multiple regression model that included log PAR and stream water soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) concentration explained 90% of the variation in log GPP. 5. Ecosystem respiration was significantly correlated with SRP concentration and size of the transient storage zone and, together, these factors explained 73% of the variation in R. The rate of R was poorly correlated with the rate of GPP. 6. Net ecosystem production was significantly correlated only with PAR, with 53% of the variation in log NEP explained by log PAR. Only Sycamore Creek, a desert stream in Arizona, had positive NEP (GPP: R > 1), supporting the idea that streams are generally net sinks rather than net sources of organic matter. 7. Our results suggest that light, phosphorus concentration and channel hydraulics are important controls on the rate of ecosystem metabolism in streams over very extensive geographic areas., The Ecosystems Program, National Science Foundation, to Virginia Tech (DEB-9628860). The research was conducted in part on the Oak Ridge National Environmental Research Park, Environmental Sciences Division, Office of Biological and Environmental Research, U.S. Department of Energy under contract DE-AC05–00OR2725 with University of Tennessee-Battelle LLC.

13 Páginas ; 8 Figuras ; 1 Tabla, Hydrologic interactions among biogeochemically active stream subsystems affect material export downstream. We combined a conservative tracer addition with measurements of water table elevation and nutrient concentrations of surface and subsurface water to examine hydrologic interactions among surface and subsurface subsystems and their implications for stream biogeochemistry. We injected bromide (Br ) into a 400-m reach of Sycamore Creek, a losing stream in central Arizona, for 15 d and monitored changes in concentration in three subsystems: surface, parafluvial, and riparian zones. Additionally, we collected water samples from these subsystems for nutrient analyses. Water flowed from surface to subsurface zones as expected in this losing stream, but a significant amount of subsurface water (17% of surface discharge in the reach) returned to the surface. Within the parafluvial subsystem, median transport time (Tmed) in two gravel bars differed substantially (from 2 to 30 h and from 6 to >300 h, respectively, for upper and lower bars), and varied significantly with depth in the lower bar (mean (±se) Tmed = 190 ± 20 h at 30 cm compared to 101 ± 18 h at 110 cm). Flow paths from the surface to parafluvial and riparian zones, and subsequently back to the surface stream, differ from patterns in mesic areas, where water moves laterally and vertically towards the surface stream. Estimates of nutrient retention for the stream reach varied four fold in response to simulated changes in lateral subsurface connections and the configuration of subsystems. Thus at this scale, accurate nutrient budgets require an understanding of surface-subsurface connections and hydrologic parameters., This research was part of the Lotic Intersite Nitrogen eXperiment (LINX) supported by a National Science Foundation grant (DEB-9628860) to Virginia Tech (subcontract to N.B.G. and E.M. at Arizona State University).

24 Páginas ; 10 Figuras ; 4 Tablas, 1. The Lotic Intersite Nitrogen eXperiment (LINX) was a coordinated study of the relationships between North American biomes and factors governing ammonium uptake in streams. Our objective was to relate inter-biome variability of ammonium uptake to physical, chemical and biological processes. 2. Data were collected from 11 streams ranging from arctic to tropical and from desert to rainforest. Measurements at each site included physical, hydraulic and chemical characteristics, biological parameters, whole-stream metabolism and ammonium uptake. Ammonium uptake was measured by injection of 15N-ammonium and downstream measurements of 15N-ammonium concentration. 3. We found no general, statistically significant relationships that explained the variability in ammonium uptake among sites. However, this approach does not account for the multiple mechanisms of ammonium uptake in streams. When we estimated biological demand for inorganic nitrogen based on our measurements of in-stream metabolism, we found good correspondence between calculated nitrogen demand and measured assimilative nitrogen uptake. 4. Nitrogen uptake varied little among sites, reflecting metabolic compensation in streams in a variety of distinctly different biomes (autotrophic production is high where allochthonous inputs are relatively low and vice versa). 5. Both autotrophic and heterotrophic metabolism require nitrogen and these biotic processes dominate inorganic nitrogen retention in streams. Factors that affect the relative balance of autotrophic and heterotrophic metabolism indirectly control inorganic nitrogen uptake., The LINX study was funded by a grant (DEB-9628860) from the National Science Foundation. Work in Alaska was also funded by the National Science Foundation (OPP-9615949), and the East Fork Little Miami River study was supported by Procter & Gamble. Work at several streams was made possible by collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service and NSF funded LTER studies. Work at Walker Branch, Tennessee, was also partially supported by the Walker Branch Watershed project, Environmental Sciences Division, Office of Biological and Environmental Research, U.S. Department of Energy under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with UT-Battelle, LLC.

5 páginas ; 5 Figuras, A comparative 15N-tracer study of nitrogen dynamics in headwater streams from biomes throughout North America demonstrates that streams exert control over nutrient exports to rivers, lakes, and estuaries. The most rapid uptake and transformation of inorganic nitrogen occurred in the smallest streams. Ammonium entering these streams was removed from the water within a few tens to hundreds of meters. Nitrate was also removed from stream water but traveled a distance 5 to 10 times as long, on average, as ammonium. Despite low ammonium concentration in stream water, nitrification rates were high, indicating that small streams are potentially important sources of atmospheric nitrous oxide. During seasons of high biological activity, the reaches of headwater streams typically export downstream less than half of the input of dissolved inorganic nitrogen from their watersheds., NSF grants DEB-9628860, DEB-9810222, and OPP-9615949

7 figuras, The objectives of this study were 1) to compare Sonoran Desert streams with other streams in terms of retention efficiency of nitrate; 2) to examine the effects of a flood on nitrate retention and to determine which factors control nitrate retention in the surface stream subsystem in Sycamore Creek, Arizona; and 3) to compare the short-term nutrient addition technique with computations based upon natural nutrient gradients. From June to September 1995, we did 8 short-term nitrate and chloride additions (4 additions before and 4 after a flood) in a 240-m reach to measure nitrate uptake length as an index of surface stream retention efficiency of nitrate. We also calculated nitrate uptake lengths based on a natural downstream decline in nitrate concentration, using data from the addition dates and from previous studies. Nitrate uptake lengths measured in Sycamore Creek were short (, National Science Foundation's Ecosystem Studies Program (grant no. DEB-9306909 to S.G.F. and N.B.G.) and Long-Term Studies Program (grant no. DEB- 9615358 to N.B.G. and S.G.F.).