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The main goal of this dissertation was to explore the interactions between the hydrogeomorphology of the streambed in sandy lowland low-order streams and the microbial community inhabiting it. In particular, (i) the influence of the vertical water exchange across the streambed and (ii) of the sediment transport on the function and structure of the streambed microbial community, (iii) and the potential of the microbial community to influence these physical factors were explored. The influences were studied with a model system approach (micro- and mesocosms).
Firstly, I examined the significance of vertical water exchange across the streambed for the microbial community. I determined the differences in the microbial community structure and function associated with sediments of differing grain sizes. The grain sizes differed in surface-to-volume ratio and hydraulic conductivity. The results revealed vertical water exchange as the major factor for the structure and function of the microbial community.
Secondly, I studied the ability of the microbial community to influence the vertical water exchange across two sandy streambeds: leveled and rippled. My results showed that the microbial community can reduce and even block the vertical water exchange by reducing pore space with gas bubbles formed due to high primary production.
Thirdly, I determined the effect of short-term sediment transport events on the function of the microbial community and on the influence of the microbial community on vertical water exchange. The results show that the mechanical stress associated with short-term sediment transport events does not influence the microbial community function. However, a single short-term sediment transport event increased vertical water exchange by (i) releasing the gas bubbles produced by the microbial community and (ii) creating irregularities in the flume bed.
Lastly, I ascertained the potential of benthic algal mats to transport sediment by means of buoyancy-mediated detachment from the bed. The results revealed the detachment of algal mats as a novel mechanism of sediment transport during low-flow periods. Overall, the interactions studied show that in sandy streambeds (i) the pattern of vertical water exchange is the primary physical template for the microbial community, and (ii) the activity of the microbial community and sediment transport are stochastic sources of spatiotemporal heterogeneity in vertical water exchange. These results contribute to the understanding and prediction of stream ecosystem functions in sandy streams, which is of special significance in light of the increase in fine sediment load in streams worldwide.
Processes of microbial carbon transformation and accumulation during initial stream succession were investigated. Studies were carried out in the experimental watershed Chicken Creek, constructed to investigate ecosystem succession, and additionally in experimental flumes simulating sand-bed streams. In a one year investigation, microbial respiration in soils and sediments along the hydrologic flow path of three stream corridors in the Chicken Creek watershed was measured. Contrary to expectation, respiration rates of rewetted soil and sediment from dry stream channels were similar to rates measured with sediments collected in the perennial channel sections. This suggested that permanent water availability was not a main factor determining metabolic potential in this early successional watershed. In an outdoor flume experiment it was determined whether shallow (1cm) and deep (4cm) sediment disturbances in small sand-bed streams have similar effects on whole-stream metabolism, and whether autotrophic and heterotrophic processes and organisms respond in similar ways. Results suggested that disturbing sediments during early successional stages had no effect on whole-stream metabolism, whereas in advanced stages, deep but not shallow sediment disturbance could lead to a transitory shift towards heterotrophy. Changes in riparian and in-stream vegetation during stream succession come along with different amounts and types of organic matter input in stream ecosystems. It was tested to determine if increasing quality and quantity of litter input changes whole-stream metabolism and activity and structure of microbial communities associated with sediments and leaves. Whole-stream metabolism was found to be similar in all treatments because sediments and leaves were constrained by oxygen and nutrient availability. There seemed to be compensation between the effect of algae fueling microbial activity in open-land treatments and microbial use of allochthonous carbon sources in the litter treatments. Fungal and bacterial activity associated with leaves was unaffected by the background litter standing stock, but the structure of communities was affected. However, leaf quality had a clear effect on microbial activity and community structure with higher activity on tree compared to grass leaves.
Flooding of dry sediments is known to trigger pulses of microbial respiration at land-water-interfaces. The regulation of discharge variability is therefore proposed to affect the respiration balance of these sites. In this study, I assessed the impact of discharge regulation on microbial respiration associated to surface sediments at a land-water-interface of the river Spree. I developed a theoretical model, based on empirical respiration data, to estimate the two-month total respiration at the study site for three discharge scenarios. The real scenario represented the actual discharge at the study site, which was regulated by the Spremberg reservoir dam. In the unregulated scenario, the regulating effect by the dam was excluded. In the extremely regulated scenario, a hypothetical constant discharge was modeled. For each scenario, the daily discharge, the corresponding flooded areas, the extent of dry or rewetted areas, and the durations of flooding or rewetting by rain at the study site were determined. Microbial respiration rates associated to surface sediments were measured with a respirometer under flooded, dry, and rewetted conditions. The model applied these rates to the respective flooded, dry or rewetted areas of the study site, to calculate the daily areal respiration. In all sediments from the land-water-interface, a distinctive respiration pulse was measured on the first day of flooding, and higher respiration rates under flooded than under dry conditions. The discharge of the unregulated scenario was characterized by a higher variability and larger flow volume than the regulated real scenario. Due to the higher total discharge, larger areas were flooded in the unregulated scenario, the total respiration from sediments under long-term flooded conditions was therefore higher. Moreover, the daily extent of flooded areas fluctuated more strongly, hence more short-term respiration pulses upon flooding were triggered than in the real regulated scenario. The calculated total two-month respiration of the unregulated scenario exceeded that of the regulated real scenario by almost 14 %. These results suggest that discharge regulation can have a considerable negative impact on sediment-associated microbial respiration at land-water-interfaces.
Vor dem Hintergrund der EG WRRL besteht ein großer Bedarf an effektiven Maßnahmen zur Gewässerentwicklung. Das Belassen und der Einbau von Holz haben hierfür durch die Aktivierung fließgewässertypischer Prozesse ein großes Potenzial. Ziel war es daher, Handlungsempfehlungen für das Belassen und den naturnahen Einsatz von Holz in Tieflandbächen zu entwickeln. Diese basieren auf Grundlage des aktuellen Wissensstandes und eigenen Untersuchungen zu offenen Fragen. In den eigenen Untersuchungen wurden Holz- bzw. Maßnahmenstrecken mit unveränderten bzw. holzfreien Kontrollstrecken in Tieflandbächen und –flüssen verglichen, hauptsächlich hinsichtlich ökologischer Zustandsbewertung des Makrozoobenthos und der Fische, der Gewässerstruktur und der Holzmengen bzw. der Holzdynamik. Die eigenen Untersuchungen zeigten:
1. Die Wirkungszusammenhänge zwischen Holz und Organismen des Makrozoobenthos waren auch in der Zustandsbewertung nach EG WRRL feststellbar. Holz führte unabhängig von Gewässertyp und –größe zur Verbesserung der Strukturgüte und des ökologischen Zustands beim Makrozoobenthos. Die Zustandsbewertung wurde in 45 % der untersuchten Strecken (N = 31) soweit verbessert, dass der „gute“ und sogar „sehr gute“ ökologische Zustand erreicht wurde.
2. Eingebaute Strömungslenker aus Holz können den natürlichen Eintrag nicht vollständig ersetzen. Strömungslenker erzielten nur teilweise Verbesserungen der Gewässerstruktur und des ökologischen Zustands. In den 7 untersuchten Strecken wurde die Tiefenvariabilität im Längsprofil durch die Bildung von Kolken gesteigert. Sinuosität, Querprofil, Sohlsubstrat und der ökologische Zustand des Makrozoobenthos und der Fische wurden aber nur kaum beeinflusst.
3. Der Einbau von Holz beeinflusst die Dynamik und Retention von Driftholz und führt zu einer Steigerung der Holzmenge in einer Gewässerstrecke. In einer 400 m langen Strecke eines Tieflandflusses mit Strömungslenkern aus Holz und natürlichem Holzeintrag wurde die eingebaute Holzmenge durch die zusätzliche Retention von Driftholz nach vier Jahren bereits um 60 % im Volumen und um 240 % in der Holzoberfläche erhöht. Der kontinuierliche Austrag von Holz aus der Strecke wurde durch neuen Eintrag und die Retention in der Strecke kompensiert.
In den Handlungsempfehlungen für die Praxis wurde herausgearbeitet, dass die Förderung des natürlichen Holzeintrags prinzipiell Priorität gegenüber dem Einbau von Holz hat. Für drei Restriktionsgrade von gering bis hoch wurden Empfehlungen für einen möglichst naturnahen Holzeinsatz entwickelt, der zudem natürlichen Holzeintrag berücksichtigt. Grundlage der Empfehlungen sind Angaben zum Holzvolumen, dem Deckungsgrad, der Anzahl an Stämmen sowie dem Verbauungsgrad von Holzeinbauten und deren Lage zur Fließrichtung. Ergänzt werden die Angaben durch die Kategorisierung von 6 Grundtypen natürlicher Holzstrukturen.
In-stream microbial carbon transformation under opposing stresses - drought and sediment transport
(2018)
The mineralization of organic matter (OM) is an important ecosystem service that has come under pressure because of increased frequency of droughts and higher sediment loads in running waters. In particular, lowland streams in temperate regions may experience reinforced sediment transport through migratory ripples and changes of naturally sorted sand and gravel in streambeds towards sand-dominated, homogenized streambed structure. The impact on microbial carbon (C)-transformation from these changes was the main focus of my doctoral thesis, in particular the impact of (i) periodic mechanical disturbance associated with ripple migration (ii) streambed structure homogenization, and (iii) drought in streambeds with sorted or homogenized sediment structure.
In a set of microcosms, the significance of periodic mechanical disturbances for microbial C-transformation was tested. Thereby, the quantity and quality of the OM in the sandy sediments were varied by the addition of leaves and fish feces to the OM-poor sands. The results revealed that periodic mechanical disturbances resulted in significant decrease in microbial respiration to a low and similar level regardless of OM quality contained in sand.
The importance of the streambed structure (sorted vs homogenized) for C-transformation was tested using set of experimental streams. The focus was on the interaction between benthic and hyporheic microbial processes in C-transformation to better understand the consequences of streambed homogenization on microbial function. The results showed that sediment structure determines connectivity between the benthic and hyporheic zones. The lower water exchange in homogenized streambeds and thereby reduced supply of freshly produced bioavailable OM from the benthic to the hyporheic zone, curtailed microbial respiration in the latter affecting the water quality.
The influence of a drought and rewetting was tested on C-transformation in streambeds with a sorted or homogenized sediment structure using experimental streams where one half of the streams were strongly shaded and the other half moderately shaded. The results showed that streambeds affected by droughts, either with sorted or homogenized sediment structure have a similar microbial activity at the first place controlled by shading, whereas microbial composition during drought and its recovery after rewetting was additionally affected by sediment structure.
Overall, this doctoral thesis showed that in sediment transport– and drought-impacted streambeds (i) ripple migration results in decreased C-transformation regardless of the available quality of OM, (ii) homogenization of sorted sediment structure leads to a decrease in microbial C-transformation in the hyporheic zone, and (iii) interaction between sediment structure and shading alters microbial community composition especially critical for resistance and resilience of C-transformation during drought and rewetting.
Intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES) experience drying events, and they are becoming increasingly common due to climate change and anthropogenic water withdrawal. Despite their prevalence, IRES have been less studied than non-drying rivers, and more research is needed to understand their dynamics. This dissertation examines drying events' effects on the sediment microbial community structure and biogeochemistry in temperate IRES. First, a research study was carried out using an outdoor mesocosm setup to track changes in bacterial and fungal communities, microbial functions and properties of sediment-dissolved organic carbon during three different drying events. Results showed that drying duration and intensity and sediment organic matter content regulated river Spree sediment microbial community composition and biogeochemical processes during drying. The associated sediment respiration, assessed as CO2 flux, rapidly declined during all drying treatments, and Bacilli class became the most dominant bacteria after 90 days of drying, except in non-enriched sediment under the most intense drying. Second, a microcosm experiment was conducted to understand how sediment drying history and properties influence biogeochemical dynamics during an IRES expansion phase. Sediment respiration and nutrient release/retention rates were measured through flow resumption, and results showed that drying duration and intensity and sediment organic matter content regulated the dynamics of nutrients and respiration upon flow resumption. Under the most intense and prolonged drying, non-enriched sediment showed a lag response in respiration during the first day after flow resumption, while all other treatments had either a linear increase or a fast pulse in respiration. Finally, the long-term microbial succession in IRES sediment and soil in the experimental catchment of Chicken Creek was investigated. In 2008 and 2018, the sediment of three ephemeral streams and their adjacent soil was analyzed for the structure of the bacterial and fungal communities and microbial functions across different seasons. Results showed that environmental factors, such as vegetation type and organic matter content, mediated sediment and soil microbial succession in Chicken Creek. Ephemeral streams under spare and sporadic flow events remained unique ecosystems with distinctive microbial communities and biogeochemical dynamics, different from its riparian soil. Overall, this dissertation concludes that temperate IRES are dynamic ecosystems where dry-wet cycles and environmental factors modulate their sediment microbial community structure and function trajectories in the short- and long term.
