Oral Presentation Freshwater Sciences 2023

Metabolic Responses to Major Flooding Events in Coastal Intermittent Streams in Australia (#253)

Ryan Felton 1 , Naomi Wells 2 , Joanne Oakes 1 , Judith Rosentreter 2 , Bradley Eyre 1
  1. Southern Cross University, East Lismore, NSW, Australia
  2. Department of Soil & Physical Sciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln, New Zealand

Intermittent streams are hotspots for carbon cycling. Changes in metabolism driven by wet-dry conditions can cause intermittent streams to shift between being either a source or sink of carbon. The impact of adjacent land use, stream morphology, and flow conditions may constrain or buffer metabolic pulses driven by precipitation patterns. In response to cyclic or semi-periodic stream flooding, certain biogeochemical processes facilitated by biofilm communities within spatially disparate riparian zones can exhibit varying metabolic responses. Furthermore, coastal subtropical intermittent streams are potentially unique due to their low gradient, tidal influences on groundwater connectivity, and their role as aquatic/marine interfaces. We have limited understanding of how metabolism changes in coastal intermittent streams and how this is impacted by flooding. This is important given the increasing frequency and severity of flood events. In this study, we analysed trends in metabolic response following flood events in eight subtropical coastal intermittent streams (Northern Rivers region, NSW) from 2020-2022 by modelling continuous dissolved oxygen data collected from fixed stations within each stream. We analysed catchment land use using GIS techniques and collected water quality samples to provide additional insight into functional constraints on metabolism. Clustering analysis highlighted the unique metabolic behaviour of each stream flooding event based on the rewetting frequency of large-scale floods and drought duration. These long-term datasets of gross primary production and ecosystem respiration were developed alongside models for surface water inundation, light availability, and groundwater influence. Kernel density plots were developed to show the contraction and expansion of the metabolic potential of streams in relation to post-flood recovery. This data can be used to constrain estimates of stream metabolism during flooding events in relation to the floodplain land use. This analysis can help resolve changes to metabolic activity due to flooding and drought regimes in coastal intermittent streams.

 

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