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Beaver Dams Induce Hyporheic and Biogeochemical Changes in Riparian Areas in a Mountain Peatland

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Abstract

Hyporheic exchange is important in increasing stream water transit time through basins and enhancing redox-sensitive biogeochemical reactions influencing downstream water quality. Such exchange may be enhanced by beaver dams which are common throughout low order streams including those originating in peatlands. To understand the influence of beaver dams on hyporheic flows and biogeochemical properties, nitrogen (N), dissolved organic nitrogen (DOC) and N cycling rates were observed along a beaver dammed, third-order stream draining Canadian Rocky Mountain peatland. Beaver dams enlarged the hyporheric zone from ≤1.5 to ≥7.5 m. The looping hyporheic flow path created a zone of N and DOC depletion adjacent to the dams. As a result, nitrification rates were lowest in this zone. Where hyporheic flows exited the riparian area and flowed back to the stream channel downstream of a dam, the adjacent riparian area served as a source of N and DOC to the stream. Enhanced nutrient influx to streams owing to beaver dam modified hyporheic flow paths has implications for stream biogeochemical cycling and ecological integrity, which need further exploration.

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Acknowlegements

This work was funded by Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grants to ABH (RGPIN#327645–2012) and CJW (RGPIN32827–2012), a University of Saskatchewan New Faculty award to CJW, a grant from the Global Institute for Water Security to ABH and CJW (CERC#214685), and scholarships from NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship and the University of Saskatchewan to ES. We thank Larisa Barber, Ashley Mahaffey, Kim Janzen, May Guan and Adam Minke for field assistance and the University of Calgary Biogeosciences Institute for logistical support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil Science, University of Saskatchewan, 51 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5A8, Canada

    Xiaoyue Wang & Angela Bedard-Haughn

  2. State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China

    Xiaoyue Wang

  3. Centre for Hydrology, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada

    Erin L. Shaw & Cherie J. Westbrook

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  1. Xiaoyue Wang
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  4. Angela Bedard-Haughn
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Correspondence to Xiaoyue Wang.

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Wang, X., Shaw, E.L., Westbrook, C.J. et al. Beaver Dams Induce Hyporheic and Biogeochemical Changes in Riparian Areas in a Mountain Peatland. Wetlands 38, 1017–1032 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-018-1059-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-018-1059-9

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