Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Seasonal biogeochemical hotspots in the streambed around restoration structures

  • Synthesis and Emerging Ideas
  • Published:
Biogeochemistry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Rapid exchange of stream water and groundwater in streambeds creates hotspots of biogeochemical cycling of redox-sensitive solutes. Although stream–groundwater interaction can be increased through stream restoration, there are few detailed studies of the increased heterogeneity of water and solute fluxes through the streambed and associated patterns of biogeochemical processes around stream restoration structures. In this study, we examined the seasonal patterns of water and solute fluxes through the streambed around a stream restoration structure to relate patterns of water flux through the streambed to morphology of the channel and biogeochemical processes occurring in the bed. We characterized different biogeochemical zones in the streambed using principal component analysis (PCA) and examined the change in spatial patterns of these zones during different seasons. The PCA results show that two principal components summarized 83% of the variance in the original data set. Streambed pore water was characterized as oxic (indicating production of nitrate), anoxic (indicating sulfate, iron and manganese reduction), or stream-like (indicating there was minimal change in the stream water chemistry in the bed). Regardless of season of the year, anoxic zones were predominantly located upstream of the structure, in a low-velocity pool, and oxic zones were predominantly located downstream of the structure, in a turbulent riffle. We expect structures that span the full channel, are impermeable, and permanent, such as those installed in natural channel design restoration will similarly impact biogeochemical processing in the streambed. The installation of these types of restoration structures may be a way to increase the degree of biogeochemical cycling in stream ecosystems.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anderson MP (2005) Heat as a ground water tracer. Ground Water 43:951–968

    Google Scholar 

  • Bailey RG (1995) Descriptions of the ecoregions of the United States. U. S. Forest Service, Miscellaneous Publication No. 1391

  • Baker MA, Dahm CN, Valett HM (2000) Anoxia, anaerobic metabolism, and biogeochemistry of the stream-water–ground-water interface. In: Jones JB, Mulholland PJ (eds) Streams and ground waters. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 260–286

    Google Scholar 

  • Berner EK, Berner RA (1996) Global environment: water air and geochemical cycles. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernhardt ES, Palmer MA, Allan JD, Alexander G, Barnas K, Brooks S et al (2005) Ecology—synthesizing US river restoration efforts. Science 308:636–637. doi:10.1126/science.1109769

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bisson PA, Montgomery DR, Buffington JM (2006) Valley segements, stream reaches, and channel units. In: Hauer FR, Lamberti GA (eds) Methods in stream ecology. Elsevier, San Francisco, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • Bledsoe BP, Watson CC, Biedenharn DS (2002) Quantification of incised channel evolution and equilibrium. J Am Water Resour Assoc 38:861–870. doi:10.1111/j.1752-1688.2002.tb01002.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boulton AJ (2007) Hyporheic rehabilitation in rivers: restoring vertical connectivity. Freshw Biol 52:632–650. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2427.2006.01710.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boulton AJ, Findlay S, Marmonier P, Stanley EH, Valett HM (1998) The functional significance of the hyporheic zone in streams and rivers. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 29:59–81. doi:10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.29.1.59

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brick CM, Moore JN (1996) Diel variation of trace metals in the Upper Clark Fork River, Montana. Environ Sci Technol 30:1953–1960. doi:10.1021/es9506465

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brunke M, Gonser T (1997) The ecological significance of exchange processes between rivers and groundwater. Freshw Biol 37:1–33. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2427.1997.00143.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Champ DR, Gulens J, Jackson RE (1979) Oxidation-reduction dequences in ground water flow systems. Can J Earth Sci 16:12–23

    Google Scholar 

  • Chaney E, Elmore W, Platts WS (1990) Livestock grazing on western riparian areas. Northwest Resource Information Center Inc. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Eagle, ID

    Google Scholar 

  • Cloutier V, Lefebvre R, Therrien R, Savard MM (2008) Multivariate statistical analysis of geochemical data as indicative of the hydrogeochemical evolution of groundwater in a sedimentary rock aquifer system. J Hydrol 353:294–313

    Google Scholar 

  • Conant B (2004) Delineating and quantifying ground water discharge zones using streambed temperatures. Ground Water 42:243–257. doi:10.1111/j.1745-6584.2004.tb02671.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dodds WK, Gudder DA, Mollenhauer D (1995) The ecology of Nostoc. J Phycol 31:2–18. doi:10.1111/j.0022-3646.1995.00002.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duff JH, Triska FJ (2000) Nitrogen biogeochemistry and surface-subsurface exchange in streams. In: Jones JB, Mulholland PJ (eds) Streams and ground waters. Academic Press, San Diego, California

    Google Scholar 

  • Fanelli RM, Lautz LK (2008) Patterns of water, heat and solute flux through the streambeds around small dams. Ground Water. doi:10.1111/j.1745-6584.2008.00461.x

  • Findlay S (1995) Importance of surface-subsurface exchange in stream ecoystems: the hyporheic zone. Limnol Oceanogr 40:159–164

    Google Scholar 

  • Gooseff MN, Anderson JK, Wondzell S, LaNier J, Haggerty R (2006) A modeling study of hyporheic exchange pattern and the sequence, size, and spacing of stream bedforms in mountain stream networks, Oregon, USA (Retraction of vol 19, p 2915, 2005). Hydrol Process 20:2441. doi:10.1002/hyp.6349

  • Gordon ND, McMahon TA, Finlayson BL, Gippel CJ, Nathan RJ (2004) “Putting it all together”: assessing stream health, stream classification, environmental flows and rehabilitation. In: Gordon ND, McMahon TA, Finlayson BL, Gippel CJ, Nathan RJ (eds) Stream hydrology: an introduction for ecologists. Wiley, West Sussex, England

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunten HRv, Lienert C (1993) Decreased metal concentrations in ground water caused by controls of phophate emissions. Nature 364:220–222. doi:10.1038/364220a0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gunten HRv, Karametaxas G, Krahenbul U, Kuslys M, Giovanoli R, Hoehn H, Keil R (1991) Seasonal biogeochemical cycles in riverborn groundwater. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 55:3597–3609. doi:10.1016/0016-7037(91)90058-D

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gunten HRv, Karametaxas G, Keil R (1994) Chemical processes in infiltrated riverbed sediments. Environ Sci Technol 28:2087–2093. doi:10.1021/es00061a017

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey JW, Bencala KE (1993) The effect of streambed topography on surface-subsurface water exchange in mountain catchments. Water Resour Res 29:89–98. doi:10.1029/92WR01960

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey JW, Wagner BJ (2000) Quantifying hydrologic interactions between streams and their subsurface hyporheic zones. In: Jones JB, Mulholland PJ (eds) Streams and ground waters. Academic Press, San Diego, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • Hester ET, Doyle MW (2008) In-stream geomorphic structures as drivers of hyporheic exchange. Water Resour Res 44:W03417. doi:10.1029/2006WR005810

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson RA, Wichern DW (2001) Applied multivariate statistical analysis. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasahara T, Hill AR (2006a) Effects of riffle-step restoration on hyporheic zone chemistry in N-rich lowland streams. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 63:120–133. doi:10.1139/f05-199

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kasahara T, Hill AR (2006b) Hyporheic exchange flows induced by contructed riffles and steps in lowland streams in sourthern Ontario, Canada. Hydrol Process 20:4287–4305. doi:10.1002/hyp.6174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kasahara T, Hill AR (2007) Lateral hyporheic zone chemistry in an artificially constructed gravel bar and a re-meandered stream channel, southern Ontario, Canada. J Am Water Resour Assoc 43:1257–1269. doi:10.1111/j.1752-1688.2007.00108.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kasahara T, Wondzell SM (2003) Geomorphic controls on hyporheic exchange flow in mountain streams. Water Resour Res 39:1005. doi:1010.1029/2002WR001386

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Langmuir D (1997) Aqueous environmental geochemistry. Prentice Hall, Upper Sadle River, New Jersey

    Google Scholar 

  • Lapham WW (1989) Use of temperature profiles beneath streams to determine rates of vertical ground-water flow and vertical hydraulic conductivity. Water-Supply Paper 2337. USGS, Denver, Colorado

    Google Scholar 

  • Lautz LK, Siegel DI (2006) Modeling surface and ground water mixing in the hyporheic zone using MODFLOW and MT3D. Adv Water Resour 29:1618–1633. doi:10.1016/j.advwatres.2005.12.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lautz LK, Siegel DI (2007) The effect of transient storage on nitrate uptake lengths in streams: an inter-site comparison. Hydrol Process 21:3533–3548

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leopold LB, Maddock T (1953) The hydraulic geometry of stream channels and some physiographic implications. United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 252

  • Malakoff D (2004) Profile—Dave Rosgen—the river doctor. Science 305:937–939. doi:10.1126/science.305.5686.937

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mencio A, Mas-Pla J (2008) Assessment by multivariate analysis of groundwater–surface water interactions in urbanized Mediterranean streams. J Hydrol 352:355–366

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrice JA, Vallett HM, Dahm CN, Campana ME (1997) Alluvial characteristics, groundwater–surface water exchange and hydrological retention in headwater streams. Hydrol Process 11:253–267. doi :10.1002/(SICI)1099-1085(19970315)11:3<253::AID-HYP439>3.0.CO;2-J

  • Morrice JA, Dahm CN, Valett HM, Unnikrishna PV, Campana ME (2000) Terminal electron accepting processes in the alluvial sediments of a headwater stream. J North Am Benthol Soc 19:593–608. doi:10.2307/1468119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nagle G (2007) Evaluating ‘natural channel design’ stream projects. Hydrol Process 21:2539–2545. doi:10.1002/hyp.6840

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palmer MA, Bernhardt ES, Allan JD, Lake PS, Alexander G, Brooks S et al (2005) Standards for ecologically successful river restoration. J Appl Ecol 42:208–217. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2664.2005.01004.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pretty JL, Hildrew AG, Trimmer M (2006) Nutrient dynamics in relation to surface-subsurface hydrological exchange in a groundwater fed chalk stream. J Hydrol 330:84–100. doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2006.04.013

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richards K, Brasington J, Hughes F (2002) Geomorphic dynamics of floodplains: ecological implications and a potential modelling strategy. Freshw Biol 47:559–579. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2427.2002.00920.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosgen DL (1996) Applied river morphology. Wildland Hydrology, Pagosa Springs, CO

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosgen DL (1997) A geomorphological approach to restoration of incised rivers. In: Wang SSY, Langendoen EJ, Shields JFD (eds) Proceedings of the Conference on management of landscapes disturbed by channel incision. ISBN 0-937099-05-8

  • Rosgen DL (2001) The cross-vane, w-weir and j-hook vane structures. Their description, design and application for stream stabalization and river restoration. In: Hays DR (ed) Eighth federal interagency sedimentation conference. Reno, Nevada

    Google Scholar 

  • Stonestrom DA, Constantz J (2004) Heat as a tool for studying the movement of ground water near streams. US Geological Survey Circular 1260

  • Valett HM, Morrice JA, Dahm CN, Campana ME (1996) Parent lithology, surface–groundwater exchange, and nitrate retention in headwater streams. Limnol Oceanogr 41:333–345

  • Woessner WW, Sullivan KE (1984) Results of seepage meter and mini-piezometer study, Lake Mead, Nevada. Ground Water 22:561–568. doi:10.1111/j.1745-6584.1984.tb01425.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woocay A, Walton J (2008) Multivariate analyses of water chemistry: surface and ground water interactions. Ground Water 46:437–449. doi:10.1111/j.1745-6584.2007.00404.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wroblicky GJ, Campana ME, Valett HM, Dahm CN (1998) Seasonal variation in surface-subsurface water exchange and lateral hyporheic area of two stream-aquifer systems. Water Resour Res 34:317–328

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was made possible by support from NSF Grant Number 0450317. The authors would like to thank The Nature Conservancy of Wyoming for access to the field site. The authors appreciate the comments of two anonymous reviewers and the associate editor, Mark Williams, which greatly improved the quality of the paper.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forest and Natural Resources Management, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY, 13224, USA

    L. K. Lautz & R. M. Fanelli

Authors
  1. L. K. Lautz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. R. M. Fanelli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to L. K. Lautz.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lautz, L.K., Fanelli, R.M. Seasonal biogeochemical hotspots in the streambed around restoration structures. Biogeochemistry 91, 85–104 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-008-9235-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-008-9235-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation