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Title: Impact of wetland decline on decreasing dissolved organic carbon concentrations along the Mississippi River continuum

Abstract

Prior to discharging to the ocean, large rivers constantly receive inputs of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from tributaries or fringing floodplains and lose DOC via continuous in situ processing along distances that span thousands of kilometers. Current concepts predicting longitudinal changes in DOC mainly focus on in situ processing or exchange with fringing floodplain wetlands, while effects of heterogeneous watershed characteristics are generally ignored. We analyzed results from a 17-year time-series of DOC measurements made at seven sites and three expeditions along the entire Mississippi River main channel with DOC measurements made every 17 km. The results show a clear downstream decrease in DOC concentrations that was consistent throughout the entire study period. Downstream DOC decreases were primarily (~63–71%) a result of constant dilutions by low-DOC tributary water controlled by watershed wetland distribution, while in situ processing played a secondary role. We estimate that from 1780 to 1980 wetland loss due to land-use alterations caused a ca. 58% decrease in in DOC concentrations in the tributaries of the Mississippi River. DOC reductions caused by watershed wetland loss likely impacted the capacity for the river to effectively remove nitrogen via denitrification, which can further exacerbate coastal hypoxia. Lastly, these findings highlightmore » the importance of watershed wetlands in regulating DOC longitudinally along the headland to ocean continuum of major rivers.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5]
  1. Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States)
  2. National Weather Service, Silver Spring, MD (United States)
  3. Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States)
  4. Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States); Univ. of Florida, St. Augustine, FL (United States)
  5. Univ. of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1347840
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-124217
Journal ID: ISSN 2296-7745
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC05-76RL01830
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Frontiers in Marine Science
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 3; Journal ID: ISSN 2296-7745
Publisher:
Frontiers Research Foundation
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; Mississippi River Basin; organic carbon; dissolved; wetlands; decline; aquatic; terrestrial; river continuum; interface; in-stream processes

Citation Formats

Duan, Shuiwang, He, Yuxiang, Kaushal, Sujay S., Bianchi, Thomas S., Ward, Nicholas D., and Guo, Laodong. Impact of wetland decline on decreasing dissolved organic carbon concentrations along the Mississippi River continuum. United States: N. p., 2017. Web. doi:10.3389/fmars.2016.00280.
Duan, Shuiwang, He, Yuxiang, Kaushal, Sujay S., Bianchi, Thomas S., Ward, Nicholas D., & Guo, Laodong. Impact of wetland decline on decreasing dissolved organic carbon concentrations along the Mississippi River continuum. United States. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2016.00280
Duan, Shuiwang, He, Yuxiang, Kaushal, Sujay S., Bianchi, Thomas S., Ward, Nicholas D., and Guo, Laodong. Mon . "Impact of wetland decline on decreasing dissolved organic carbon concentrations along the Mississippi River continuum". United States. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2016.00280. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1347840.
@article{osti_1347840,
title = {Impact of wetland decline on decreasing dissolved organic carbon concentrations along the Mississippi River continuum},
author = {Duan, Shuiwang and He, Yuxiang and Kaushal, Sujay S. and Bianchi, Thomas S. and Ward, Nicholas D. and Guo, Laodong},
abstractNote = {Prior to discharging to the ocean, large rivers constantly receive inputs of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from tributaries or fringing floodplains and lose DOC via continuous in situ processing along distances that span thousands of kilometers. Current concepts predicting longitudinal changes in DOC mainly focus on in situ processing or exchange with fringing floodplain wetlands, while effects of heterogeneous watershed characteristics are generally ignored. We analyzed results from a 17-year time-series of DOC measurements made at seven sites and three expeditions along the entire Mississippi River main channel with DOC measurements made every 17 km. The results show a clear downstream decrease in DOC concentrations that was consistent throughout the entire study period. Downstream DOC decreases were primarily (~63–71%) a result of constant dilutions by low-DOC tributary water controlled by watershed wetland distribution, while in situ processing played a secondary role. We estimate that from 1780 to 1980 wetland loss due to land-use alterations caused a ca. 58% decrease in in DOC concentrations in the tributaries of the Mississippi River. DOC reductions caused by watershed wetland loss likely impacted the capacity for the river to effectively remove nitrogen via denitrification, which can further exacerbate coastal hypoxia. Lastly, these findings highlight the importance of watershed wetlands in regulating DOC longitudinally along the headland to ocean continuum of major rivers.},
doi = {10.3389/fmars.2016.00280},
journal = {Frontiers in Marine Science},
number = ,
volume = 3,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Jan 09 00:00:00 EST 2017},
month = {Mon Jan 09 00:00:00 EST 2017}
}

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journal, December 2013

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  • Nature, Vol. 505, Issue 7483
  • DOI: 10.1038/nature12797

Degradation of terrestrially derived macromolecules in the Amazon River
journal, May 2013

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Increased mobilization of aged carbon to rivers by human disturbance
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Divergent biophysical controls of aquatic CO2 and CH4 in the World’s two largest rivers
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Hydrological connectivity, and the exchange of organic matter and nutrients in a dynamic river-floodplain system (Danube, Austria)
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Cost-effective targeting of conservation investments to reduce the northern Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone
journal, December 2014

  • Rabotyagov, Sergey S.; Campbell, Todd D.; White, Michael
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  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1405837111

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journal, February 2011

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The river as a chemostat: fresh perspectives on dissolved organic matter flowing down the river continuum
journal, August 2015

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  • DOI: 10.1139/cjfas-2014-0400

Nutrient dynamics in the lower Mississippi River floodplain: Comparing present and historic hydrologic conditions
journal, June 2009

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Silica: an essential nutrient in wetland biogeochemistry
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  • DOI: 10.1890/070126

Spatial connectivity in a large river system: resolving the sources and fate of dissolved organic matter
journal, October 2011

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  • DOI: 10.1890/10-1475.1

Transport of organic carbon in the world’s rivers
journal, January 1981


Organic carbon export from upland and forested wetland watersheds1
journal, September 1979


Carbon dynamics and sources in the Parani River
journal, March 1993


Organic matter in Bolivian tributaries of the Amazon River: A comparison to the lower mainstream
journal, November 2000

  • Hedges, John I.; Mayorga, Emilio; Tsamakis, Elizabeth
  • Limnology and Oceanography, Vol. 45, Issue 7
  • DOI: 10.4319/lo.2000.45.7.1449

Sorptive fractionation of dissolved organic nitrogen and amino acids onto fine sediments within the Amazon Basin
journal, November 2001

  • Aufdenkampe, Anthony K.; Hedges, John I.; Richey, Jeffery E.
  • Limnology and Oceanography, Vol. 46, Issue 8
  • DOI: 10.4319/lo.2001.46.8.1921

Works referencing / citing this record:

A Synthetic Model to Quantify Dissolved Organic Carbon Transport in the Changjiang River System: Model Structure and Spatiotemporal Patterns
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