Distribution and Characteristics of Blackwater Rivers and Streams of the Contiguous United States.

ABSTRACT: Blackwater rivers and streams have stained or tea-colored water from tannins released by decaying plant matter. Natural conditions in these waters often differ from non-blackwater systems. For example, the pH and oxygen levels in waters can be very low, but completely natural. We examined an existing USEPA data set and found that blackwaters existed across the contiguous United States but were most common in the east. Water chemistry showed differences between blackwater and non-blackwater sites, but differences were not consistent across ecoregions making national scale generalizations difficult. Physical habitat data analysis did not show dramatic differences between blackwater and non-blackwater sites. Blackwater typically arises from streams that drain tannin-rich bogs/muskeg and wetla

SUBMITTER: Flotemersch JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11463050 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature