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Title: Global patterns and drivers of ecosystem functioning in rivers and riparian zones

Journal Article · · Science Advances
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  3. Imperial College, London (United Kingdom)
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  5. Berlin Inst. of Technology (Germany)
  6. Univ. de Toulouse (France)
  7. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  8. Catalan Inst. of Water Research, Girona (Spain)
  9. Univ. Nacional Comahue, Bariloche (Argentina)
  10. Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (United States)
  11. Univ. of the Republic, Punta del Este (Uruguay)
  12. Pontifical Catholic Univ. of Ecuador, Quito (Ecuador)
  13. Central Washington Univ. Ellensburg, WA (United States)
  14. Finnish Environment Inst., Oulu (Finland)
  15. Federal Univ. of Tocantins, Palmas (Brazil)
  16. Univ. of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS (Australia)
  17. Idaho State Univ., Pocatello, ID (United States)
  18. City of Austin, TX (United States). Watershed Protection Department
  19. Univ. of Basque Country, Bilbao (Spain)
  20. Univ. of Leeds (United Kingdom)
  21. Univ. of Applied Science and Arts of Southern Switzerland, Manno (Switzerland)
  22. Colby College, Waterville, ME (United States)
  23. Swiss Federal Inst. of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dubendorf (Switzerland)
  24. Univ. Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte (Brazil)
  25. Univ. of Coimbra (Portugal)
  26. Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States)
  27. El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Villahermosa (Mexico)
  28. Cawthron Inst. Nelson (New Zealand)
  29. Irstea, Aix en Provence (France)
  30. Georgia Southern Univ., Statesboro, GA (United States)
  31. Univ. of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, Canobbio (Switzerland)
  32. Montana State Univ., Bozeman, MT (United States)
  33. Wilfrid Laurier Univ., Waterloo, ON (Canada)
  34. Univ. of Lorraine, Metz (France)
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  36. Marine Inst. Newport (Ireland)
  37. Univ. of Quebec (Canada)
  38. INIBIOMA-CONICET, Bariloche (Argentina)
  39. Univ. of Western Australia, Crawley, WA (Australia)
  40. Univ. San Francisco de Quito (Ecuador)
  41. Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States)
  42. Univ. of Valencia, Burjassot (Spain)
  43. Univ. of Calgary, AB (Canada)
  44. Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS), Krakow (Poland)
  45. Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States)
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  47. Norsk Inst. for Vannforskning, Oslo (Norway); Univ. of Copenhagen (Denmark)
  48. Trent Univ., Peterborough (Canada)
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  50. Univ. of Vigo, Pontevedra (Spain)
  51. Univ. of San Carlos of Guatemala (Guatemala)
  52. Mangalore Univ., Konaje (India)
  53. Leibniz Inst. of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Stechlin (Germany)
  54. Dublin Inst. of Technology (Ireland)
  55. Univ. of Brazil, Brasilia (Brazil)
  56. Univ. of San Andres, La Paz (Bolivia)
  57. Monash Univ., Melbourne, VIC (Australia)
  58. Leibniz Inst. of Freshwater Ecology and Inland, Stechlin (Germany); Potsdam Univ. (Germany)
  59. Univ. de Lorraine, Metz (France)
  60. Coastal Carolina Univ., Conway, SC (United States)
  61. Regional Integrated Univ. of Upper Uruguay and Missions, Erechim (Brazil)
  62. IISD Experimental Lakes Area Inc., Winnipeg (Canada)
  63. Kyushu Univ. (Japan)
  64. Aquatics Alaska, Juneau, AK (United States)
  65. Univ. of Melbourne (Australia)
  66. Univ. Técnica Particular de Loja (Ecuador)
  67. Univ. of Yamanashi (Japan)
  68. Indiana Univ. of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA (United States)
  69. Dundalk Inst. of Technology (Ireland)
  70. Univ. of Ontario Inst. of Technology, Oshwa, ON (Canada)
  71. Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)
  72. Radboud Univ., Nijmegen (Netherlands)
  73. Univ. of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS (United States)
  74. Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Umea (Sweden)
  75. Univ. of Regina (Canada); Queen's Univ., Belfast, Northern Ireland (United Kingdom)
  76. Federal Univ. of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis (Brazil)
  77. Memorial Univ. of Newfoundland, Saint John (Canada)
  78. Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA (United States)
  79. USDA Forest Service, Hilo, HI (United States). Pacific Southwest Research Station
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  81. Univ. of Eldoret (Kenya)
  82. Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala (Sweden)
  83. Federal Univ. of Bahia, Salvador (Brazil)
  84. Finnish Environment Inst. (SYKE), Jyväskylä (Finland)
  85. Univ. of Zagreb (Croatia)
  86. Nanyang Technological Univ. (Singapore)
  87. Ehime Univ., Matsuyama (Japan)
  88. Lake Superior State Univ., Sault St. Marie, MI (United States)
  89. Rio de Janeiro State Univ. (Brazil)
  90. Univ. of Oulu (Finland)
  91. Hokkaido Univ., Sapporo (Japan)
  92. Univ. of Jyväskylä, Tampere (Finland)
  93. Univ. Austral de Chile, Valdivia (Chile)
  94. Masaryk Univ., Brno (Czech Republic)
  95. Texas A & M Univ., Corpus Christi, TX (United States)
  96. Wageningen Univ. (Netherlands)
  97. Univ. of the Basque Country, Bilbao (Spain)
  98. Tongass National Forest, Sitka, AK (United States)
  99. Univ. of San Andrés, La Paz, (Bolivia)
  100. Autonomous Univ. of Madrid (Spain)
  101. Centro de Investigacion en Ecosistemas de la Patagonia, Coyhaique (Chile)
  102. Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC (Canada)
  103. Univ. of Adelaide, SA (Australia)
  104. Univ. del Zulia, Cuenca (Venezuela)
  105. Univ. of Bucharest (Romania)
  106. Swiss Federal Inst. of Aquatic Science and Technology, Duebendorf (Switzerland)
  107. Centro Univ. Regional del Este (Uruguay)
  108. Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States)
  109. Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, Dorset, ON (Canada)
  110. Univ. of Valencia (Spain)
  111. Univ. of Pannonia, Veszprém (Hungary)
  112. Univ. of Latvia, Salaspils (Latvia)
  113. Umea Univ. (Sweden)
  114. Stockton Univ., Galloway, NJ (United States)
  115. Univ. of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), Baltimore, MD (United States)
  116. Univ. de la República de Uruguay, Trienta y Tres (Uruguay)
  117. Univ. of Canterbury, Christchurch (New Zealand)
  118. Univ. of Helsinki (Finland)
  119. Estonian Univ. of Life Sciences, Tartu (Estonia)
  120. Kristianstad Univ. (Sweden)
  121. Taiwan Forestry Research Inst., Taipei (Taiwan)
  122. East Stroudsburg Univ., Stroudsburg, PA (United States)
  123. Trent Univ., Petersborough (Canada)
  124. Western Univ., London (Canada)
  125. Tokyo Inst. of Technology (Japan)
  126. Univ. of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs (Australia)
  127. Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool Univ., Suzhou (China)
  128. Univ. of Notre Dame, IN (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations

River ecosystems receive and process vast quantities of terrestrial organic carbon, the fate of which depends strongly on microbial activity. Variation in and controls of processing rates, however, are poorly characterized at the global scale. In response, we used a peer-sourced research network and a highly standardized carbon processing assay to conduct a global-scale field experiment in greater than 1000 river and riparian sites. We found that Earth’s biomes have distinct carbon processing signatures. Slow processing is evident across latitudes, whereas rapid rates are restricted to lower latitudes. Both the mean rate and variability decline with latitude, suggesting temperature constraints toward the poles and greater roles for other environmental drivers (e.g., nutrient loading) toward the equator. These results and data set the stage for unprecedented “next-generation biomonitoring” by establishing baselines to help quantify environmental impacts to the functioning of ecosystems at a global scale.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1490565
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1493114
Journal Information:
Science Advances, Vol. 5, Issue 1; ISSN 2375-2548
Publisher:
AAASCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 95 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (11)

Comparison of organic matter in intermittent and perennial rivers of Mediterranean Chile with the support of citizen science journal July 2019
Leaf litter traits predominantly control litter decomposition in streams worldwide journal June 2019
Measuring function and structure of urban headwater streams with citizen scientists journal April 2019
The freshwater biome gradient framework: predicting macroscale properties based on latitude, altitude, and precipitation journal July 2019
Plant phylogenetic history explains in‐stream decomposition at a global scale journal August 2019
Hierarchical variation in cellulose decomposition in least-disturbed reference streams: a multi-season study using the cotton strip assay journal August 2019
Slow degradation of compostable plastic carrier bags in a stream and its riparian area journal January 2019
A Humboldtian Approach to Mountain Conservation and Freshwater Ecosystem Services journal December 2019
Local and landscape drivers of aquatic‐to‐terrestrial subsidies in riparian ecosystems: a worldwide meta‐analysis journal April 2019
Comparing biotic drivers of litter breakdown across stream compartments journal May 2019
Leaf litter decomposition in boreal lakes: variable mass loss and nutrient release ratios across a geographic gradient journal December 2019

Figures / Tables (4)

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Fig. 3(p. 4)figure Fig. 3
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