Phytoplankton gross primary production increases along cascading impoundments in a temperate, low-discharge river: Insights from high frequency water quality monitoring.

ABSTRACT: Damming alters carbon processing along river continua. Estimating carbon transport along rivers intersected by multiple dams requires an understanding of the effects of cascading impoundments on the riverine metabolism. We analyzed patterns of riverine metabolism and phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll a; Chla) along a 74.4-km river reach intersected by six low-head navigation dams. Calculating gross primary production (GPP) from continuous measurements of dissolved oxygen concentration, we found a maximum increase in the mean GPP by a factor of 3.5 (absolute difference of 0.45 g C m^-3 d^-1) along the first 26.5 km of the study reach, while Chla increased over the entire reach by a factor of 2.9 (8.7 µg l^-1). In the intermittently stratified section of the de

SUBMITTER: Engel F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6491547 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature