Changes in discharge affect more surface than subsurface breakdown of organic matter in a mountain stream
Libe Solagaistua A B , Maite Arroita A , Ibon Aristi A , Aitor Larrañaga A and Arturo Elosegi A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Laboratory of Stream Ecology, Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, University of the Basque Country, PO Box 644, E-48080 Bilbao, Spain.
B Corresponding author. Email: libe.solagaistua@ehu.eus
Marine and Freshwater Research 67(12) 1826-1834 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF14408
Submitted: 12 December 2014 Accepted: 24 September 2015 Published: 15 December 2015
Abstract
Discharge fluctuations modify water depth and velocity in streams and this can affect leaf litter breakdown, which is an important ecosystem function. Both during droughts, when parts of the surface dry out, and during floods, which scour the benthic surface, macroinvertebrates can seek refuge in the subsurface. Therefore, as an important part of them depend on organic matter, the effects of discharge fluctuations on leaf breakdown might be greater on the surface than in the subsurface of lotic ecosystems. To test this hypothesis, we measured microbial and total breakdown rates of alder (Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertner) both on the surface and in the subsurface in two areas of a stream, namely, the permanently wet channel and the parafluvial areas. Reduced discharge dried out only the surface of the parafluvial areas, and thus, breakdown rates were reduced only in this habitat. In contrast, breakdown rates were similar in both habitats of the permanently wet channel, but also in the subsurface of the parafluvial area. The subsurface can mitigate the effects of discharge alterations on the breakdown of organic matter in streams, which might be critical for the productivity of these ecosystems under increased drought frequencies.
Additional keywords: drought, flood, leaf-litter bags, microbial breakdown, parafluvial, shredders, surface–subsurface, wet channel.
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