scholarly journals Experimental reductions in stream flow alter litter processing and consumer subsidies in headwater streams

2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 737-750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert M. Northington ◽  
Jackson R. Webster
Keyword(s):  
Stream Flow ◽  
Headwater Streams ◽  
Litter Processing

Summer flower pulses: Catkin litter processing in headwater streams

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iris J. Garthwaite ◽  
Angie Froedin-Morgensen ◽  
Sorrel H. Hartford ◽  
Shannon M. Claeson ◽  
Joy M. Ramstack Hobbs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Headwater Streams ◽  
Litter Processing

The long-term response of stream flow to climatic warming in headwater streams of interior AlaskaThis article is one of a selection of papers from The Dynamics of Change in Alaska’s Boreal Forests: Resilience and Vulnerability in Response to Climate Warming.

2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (7) ◽  
pp. 1210-1218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy B. Jones ◽  
Amanda J. Rinehart
Keyword(s):  
Climate Warming ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Stream Flow ◽  
Headwater Streams ◽  
Base Flow ◽  
Stream Flows ◽  
Interior Alaska ◽  
Storm Flow ◽  
Recession Curves ◽  
Stream Hydrology

Warming in the boreal forest of interior Alaska will have fundamental impacts on stream ecosystems through changes in stream hydrology resulting from upslope loss of permafrost, alteration of availability of soil moisture, and the distribution of vegetation. We examined stream flow in three headwater streams of the Caribou–Poker Creeks Research Watershed (CPCRW) in interior Alaska over a 30-year period to determine (i) how stream flow varied among streams draining watersheds with varying extents of permafrost and (ii) evaluate if stream hydrology is changing with loss of permafrost. The three streams drained subcatchments with permafrost extents ranging from 4% to 53%. For each stream, runoff data were analyzed by separating base and storm flow contributions using a local-minimum method and with analysis of flood recession curves. Mean daily runoff during the ice-free season did not significantly vary among streams (mean = 0.57 mm·d–1), although the watersheds with lower permafrost had a greater contribution of base flow. Across years, flow was variable and was related with summer temperature in the watershed with low permafrost and with precipitation in the watershed with high permafrost. With climate warming and loss of permafrost, stream flows will become less responsive to precipitation and headwater streams may become ephemeral.

Particulate Organic Matter Export from Three Headwater Streams: Discrete versus Continuous Measurements

1988 ◽  
Vol 45 (11) ◽  
pp. 2010-2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas F. Cuffney ◽  
J. Bruce Wallace
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Particulate Organic Matter ◽  
Stream Flow ◽  
Headwater Streams ◽  
Dry Mass ◽  
Bedload Transport ◽  
Total Export ◽  
Discrete Method ◽  
Continuous Measurements ◽  
Total Discharge

Particulate organic matter (POM) export from three small headwater streams of the southern Appalachian Mountains was estimated using continuous and discrete (grab) measurement methods for 2 yr. Total annual POM export estimated from continuous measurements was always greater (28–68 kg ash-free dry mass (AFDM)) than estimates (8–44 kg AFDM) made from discrete measurements (i.e. POM concentration × total discharge). Continuous export samples were collected using a weir and gaging flume connected to a Coshocton proportional sampler designed to deliver 0.6% of discharge into a series of three settling barrels. The settling barrels removed a consistent proportion of POM (85–87%). The proportion of stream flow sampled by the Coshocton samplers was constant for each of the samplers (range 0.53–0.6%). The constant extraction efficiencies and proportional sampling of discharge allowed for the calculation of total export independent of discharge measurements (i.e. total export = amount in barrels ÷ extraction efficiency ÷ Coshocton percentage). The inability of the discrete method to adequately sample storm and bedload transport accounts for the underestimates of total annual export. This underestimation has important implications for studies which use discrete measurements to estimate POM export.

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