Biogeochemical linkages between nitrogen availability and mountain stream metabolism
I’m examining the temporal synchrony of nitrogen supply-demand relationships across multiple reaches and mountain catchments to evaluate how shifts in nitrogen supply-demand relationships may affect in-stream ecological processes in streams like algal abundance and stream metabolism.
Preliminary results suggest uptake length increased with nitrate supply and decreased with epilithic algal biomass. Uptake rates appear to increased with nitrate supply and surprisingly decreased with epilithic algal biomass. These results could suggest that summertime epilithic algal biomass is not necessarily limited by nitrate supply and is instead more governed by environmental forcing (water temperature and flow).
This work has been presented at virtually at Freshwater Science in 2021 and at AGU Fall 2021 Meeting. Data collection will be complete in September 2023 for a total of nine seasonal rates of uptake per stream and species of nitrogen (NO3 or NH4). I will finish laboratory analysis of all samples by October, all uptake calculations and stream metabolism models by November, and have a manuscript prepared for submission by Fall of 2024.
Co-authors: Heili Lowman, Jasmine Krause, Adrian Harpold, Sudeep Chandra, and Joanna Blaszczak.
Special thanks to the Blaszczak field and laboratory team members (Link) Leon Katona, Rob Miller, Meredith Brehob, Helen Lei, Ian Halterman, Molly Ferro, and Keenan Seto, and (Dillon Ragar), who helped collect and process the survey data; The University of Reno’s Global Water Center (Link) and Chandra lab members (Link), especially Emily Carlson; Tahoe National Forest; and the residents of Glenbrook Nevada, especially Gary and Susan Clemons.
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