TY - JOUR
T1 - Sediment composition mediated land use effects on lowland streams ecosystems
AU - dos Reis Oliveira, Paula C.
AU - Kraak, Michiel H.S.
AU - van der Geest, Harm G.
AU - Naranjo, Sofia
AU - Verdonschot, Piet F.M.
PY - 2018/8/1
Y1 - 2018/8/1
N2 - Despite the widely acknowledged connection between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, the contribution of runoff to the sediment composition in lowland stream deposition zones and the subsequent effects on benthic invertebrates remain poorly understood. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the mechanisms by which runoff affects sediment composition and macroinvertebrates in deposition zones of lowland stream ecosystems. To this end, sediment from runoff and adjacent instream deposition zones from streams with different land use was chemically characterized and the biological effects were assessed at the species, community and ecosystem level. Runoff and deposition zone sediment composition as well as biological responses differed clearly between forest and agricultural streams. The stream deposition zone sediment C/N ratio reflected the respective runoff sediment composition. Deposition zones in the forest stream had a higher C/N ratio in comparison to the agricultural streams. Growth of Hyalella azteca and reproduction of Asellus aquaticus were higher on forest stream sediment, whereas chironomids and worms suffered less mortality on the agricultural sediments containing only natural food. The forest stream deposition zones showed higher values for indices indicative of biological integrity and had a lower sediment oxygen demand. We concluded that agricultural land use affects lowland stream ecosystem deposition zones at the species, community and ecosystem level via altered food quality (C/N ratio) and higher oxygen demand of the sediment.
AB - Despite the widely acknowledged connection between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, the contribution of runoff to the sediment composition in lowland stream deposition zones and the subsequent effects on benthic invertebrates remain poorly understood. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the mechanisms by which runoff affects sediment composition and macroinvertebrates in deposition zones of lowland stream ecosystems. To this end, sediment from runoff and adjacent instream deposition zones from streams with different land use was chemically characterized and the biological effects were assessed at the species, community and ecosystem level. Runoff and deposition zone sediment composition as well as biological responses differed clearly between forest and agricultural streams. The stream deposition zone sediment C/N ratio reflected the respective runoff sediment composition. Deposition zones in the forest stream had a higher C/N ratio in comparison to the agricultural streams. Growth of Hyalella azteca and reproduction of Asellus aquaticus were higher on forest stream sediment, whereas chironomids and worms suffered less mortality on the agricultural sediments containing only natural food. The forest stream deposition zones showed higher values for indices indicative of biological integrity and had a lower sediment oxygen demand. We concluded that agricultural land use affects lowland stream ecosystem deposition zones at the species, community and ecosystem level via altered food quality (C/N ratio) and higher oxygen demand of the sediment.
KW - C/N ratio
KW - Deposition zone
KW - Food quality
KW - Macroinvertebrates
KW - Runoff
KW - Sediment respiration
U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.03.010
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.03.010
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85043401542
VL - 631-632
SP - 459
EP - 468
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
SN - 0048-9697
ER -