Dark matters: Contrasting responses of stream biofilm to browning and loss of riparian shading.

ABSTRACT: Concentrations of terrestrial-derived dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in freshwater ecosystems have increased consistently, causing freshwater browning. The mechanisms behind browning are complex, but in forestry-intensive regions browning is accelerated by land drainage. Forestry actions in streamside riparian forests alter canopy shading, which together with browning is expected to exert a complex and largely unpredictable control over key ecosystem functions. We conducted a stream mesocosm experiment with three levels of browning (ambient vs. moderate vs. high, with 2.7 and 5.5-fold increase, respectively, in absorbance) crossed with two levels of riparian shading (70% light reduction vs. open canopy) to explore the individual and combined effects of browning and loss of shading on the q

SUBMITTER: Jyvasjarvi J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9545655 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature