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Relationships between diatom metrics based on species nutrient traits and agricultural land use

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Abstract

We assessed how diatom metrics were related to different ranges of agricultural land use. Diatom assemblage composition, nutrients, and landscape characteristics were determined at 232 sites in eight agriculturally dominated study areas of the continental United States. Two regional groups based on differences in diatom relations to human disturbance were determined. Changes in diatom species composition were related to nutrients, pH, and conductivity in the eastern study areas (due to more wetlands) and more exclusively to nutrients in the west-central study areas. Homogenization of diatom flora among streams was related to high agricultural disturbance at this transcontinental scale. Species traits were developed separately for the east and west-central study groups and calculated two ways: indicator species analysis for taxa in low and high TN or TP conditions and weighted average partial least squares models of TN and TP concentration. These diatom metrics were significantly related to many indicators of agricultural land use in watersheds, especially percent row crops. Further analysis was conducted on only the west-central region due to its larger sample size. Overall, diatom metrics using species responses to N gradients were better related to agricultural land use than were species responses to P gradients. Most nutrient-based diatom metrics changed greatly in response to low ranges of percent row crops, but only a few high N diatom metrics responded to high row crop conditions. The greater response of diatoms to changes in low agriculture conditions may be due to past diatom evolution occurring when most waters had low nutrient conditions.

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Acknowledgements

This study could not have been done without the data collection efforts of Robert Black, Daniel Calhoun, Brian Caskey, Jill Frankforter, Brian Gregory, Patrick Moran, and Holly Weyers. The authors would like to also thank Kurt Carpenter and Sarah Spaulding for technical review, along with journal reviewers. This study was funded as part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Quality Assessment Program, Nutrient Effects on Stream Ecosystems (http://wa.water.usgs.gov/neet/).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, Oshkosh, WI, 54901, USA

    Robert Pillsbury

  2. Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48864, USA

    R. Jan Stevenson

  3. U.S. Geological Survey, Tacoma, WA, 98402, USA

    Mark D. Munn

  4. U.S. Geological Survey, Portland, OR, 97216, USA

    Ian Waite

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Appendix

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Table 10 Indicator species values for taxa having the top ten highest indicator values for low P, low N, high P, or high N conditions in either the eastern or west-central (WC) groups of study areas. Numbers in the tables are the indicator values for the corresponding nutrient condition and group of study areas. Numbers in parentheses in the heading indicate the minimum indicator value for all taxa having significant (p < 0.05) indicator values for a nutrient condition and group of study areas before the comma; and after the comma is the number of taxa having significant (p < 0.05) indicator values for a nutrient condition and group of study areas
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Pillsbury, R., Stevenson, R.J., Munn, M.D. et al. Relationships between diatom metrics based on species nutrient traits and agricultural land use. Environ Monit Assess 191, 228 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-019-7357-8

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