Pulse, Shunt and Storage: Hydrological Contraction Shapes Processing and Export of Particulate Organic Matter in River Networks.

ABSTRACT: Streams and rivers act as landscape-scale bioreactors processing large quantities of terrestrial particulate organic matter (POM). This function is linked to their flow regime, which governs residence times, shapes organic matter reactivity and controls the amount of carbon (C) exported to the atmosphere and coastal oceans. Climate change impacts flow regimes by increasing both flash floods and droughts. Here, we used a modelling approach to explore the consequences of lateral hydrological contraction, that is, the reduction of the wet portion of the streambed, for POM decomposition and transport at the river network scale. Our model integrates seasonal leaf litter input as generator of POM, transient storage of POM on wet and dry streambed portions with associated decomposition and ensuin

SUBMITTER: Catalan N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11420374 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature