Environmental controls of whole-stream metabolism identified from continuous monitoring of Basque streams

• DOI: 10.1899/07-022.1
• Publication Date: 2008-03-11T13:36:08Z
• Authors: Oihana Izagirre; Urko Agirre; Miren Bermejo; Jesús Pozo; Arturo Elosegi
• Keywords: 0106 biological sciences; 13. Climate action; 15. Life on land; 01 natural sciences; 6. Clean water

AbstractMost methods for assessing the ecological status of streams focus on structural characteristics (water quality, community composition, riparian vegetation) but neglect functional properties of the ecosystem because routine methods to assess stream function are scarce. Metabolism, one of the most integrative ecosystem functions, can be a good indicator of stream function because it is relevant across all sizes and types of streams, is sensitive to stressors, such as eutrophication or changes in riparian cover, and can be measured continuously. Environmental controls on whole-ecosystem metabolism were measured at 19 contrasting stream reaches in the Basque Country (northern Spain). Discharge, temperature, and O2 were monitored continuously for 15 mo, reaeration rate was calculated with the nighttime regression method, and whole-stream metabolism was calculated by the single-station open-channel method. The effect of discharge on reaeration coefficients was highly site-specific. Average gross primary...