Riparian tree associations and storage, transport, and processing of particulate organic matter in a subtropical stream PDF
Preview Riparian tree associations and storage, transport, and processing of particulate organic matter in a subtropical stream
RIPARIANTREEASSOCIATIONSANDSTORAGE,TRANSPORT,AND PROCESSINGOFPARTICULATEORGANICMATTERINASUBTROPICAL STREAM ' By ; ; CHRISTOPHERRICHARDROBERTS ADISSERTATIONPRESENTEDTOTHEGRADUATESCHOOLOFTHE L'NIVERSITYOFFLORIDAINPARTIALFULFILLMENTOFTHE REQUIIUiMENTSFORTHEDEGREEOFDOCTOROFPHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITYOFFLORIDA 2002 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Igreatlyappreciatealltheeffortsofmymajorprofessor,Dr.ThomasCrisman. Hisadviceandguidance,bothdealingwiththisprojectandinmorepersonalareas, throughthisarduousprocesswasconsiderable. Iamalsogratefultomyothercommittee members,Drs.LaurenChapman,FrankNordlie,andWilliamWisefortheircounsel. Mywifewasinspirationalthroughthisentireprocess,neverlettingmegetdown onmysetbacksandalwayspushingmetoworkmyhardestandbest. Shehasworked equallyhardinherstudiesandalthoughourtimetogetherhasbeenlimited,herconstant inspirationhasledmetothepointwhereIamnow. SpecialthanksgotoToddOsborneforhelpingwithprocessingofleafmaterials inthelaboratory. AllchemicalanalyseswereperformedbytheForageEvaluation SupportLaboratoryattheUniversityofFlorida,withspecificthankstoRichardFethiere. Withoutalltheirhelp,thecompletionofthisprojectandthesiswouldneverhavebeen accomplished. Thanksalsogotoallthestudentworkerswhoslavedawayinanonymity toallowotherstoreapthebenefits. IwouldalsoliketothanktheCenterforWetlands staff,specificallySherlBrinkley,fortheirbehindthesceneeffortsinmakingthis - researchareality. ii TABLEOFCONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii LISTOFTABLES v LISTOFFIGURES vi ABSTRACT ix CHAPTERS 1 INTRODUCTION 1 2 LEAFASSOCIATIONS 4 Introduction •. 4 Methods 5 Results 7 Discussion 12 3 STORAGEANDTRANSPORT 21 Introduction 21 Methods 22 StudySite 22 ExperimentalApproach 23 DataAnalysis 27 ResultsandDiscussion 27 LatitudinalComparisons 27 OrganicMatterBudget 31 Inputs 34 Storage 41 Transport 50 4 LITTERPROCESSING 56 Introduction 56 Methods 57 iii StudySite •'^ DataAnalysis Results ^1 Discussion LeafChemistry ^3 TimingofLitterFall 77 Macroinvertebrates 5 CONCLUSIONS 82 REFERENCES 84 APPENDICES 94 BIOGRAPHICALSKETCH 97 iv I LISTOFFIGURES Figure Page 2-1 Dendrogramshowingassociationsof31commonripariantree speciesfromnorth-centralFloridabasedonphosphorus,nitrogen, recalcitrantandinhibitorycompounds,cuticledevelopment,and timingofleaffall. Numbersonleftindicatefourdiscretegroupings 10 2-2 Periodofleaffallof31commonripariantreespeciesfrom north-centralFloridafromSeptember2000toAugust2001 11 2-3 Percentageofdryweight(±1standarderror)consistingof phosphorusfor31commonripariantreespeciesfromnorth-central Florida 13 2-4 Percentageofdryweight(±1standarderror)consistingofnitrogen for31commonripariantreespeciesfromnorth-centralFlorida 14 2-5 Invitroorganicmatterdigestibility(IVOMD)(±1standarderror) asapercentageofdryweightfor31commonripariantreespecies fromnorth-centralFlorida 15 3-1 MapofPossumCreek,Florida,studysiteandplacementofsampling equipmentinfloodplain 24 3-2 Approximatetimingofleafabscissionfromselectedforestsofthe world. Solidlineindicatestimingofleaffall 28 3-3 OrganicmatterbudgetforthePossumCreeksystem,Florida,from October2000-November2001. Solidarrowsindicatemeasured movements,anddashedarrowsindicatehypothesizedmovementsof organicmatterbetweeninput,storage,andexportcompartments. Inputs (leftcolumnofboxes)andexports(rightcolumn)areexpressedas annualsummationofeachtransportvehicle. Storage (middlecolumn) isexpressedastheannualmean. AlldataareexpressedasgAFDM m-^yr' 33 3-4 Organicmatterinputsvialitterfall(circles)andlateraldeposition (triangles)fromOctober2000throughNovember2001intoPossum Creek,Florida. Errorbarsrepresent±onestandarderror 35 V 3-5 Percentbyweightofconstituentsoforganicmatterinlitterfall fromOctober2000throughNovember2001atPossumCreek,Florida. Reproductivestructuresincludenuts,seeds,blossoms,andother structuresassociatedwithfloralreproduction 37 3-6 Percentbyweightofconstituentsoforganicmatterinlateral depositionfromOctober2000throughNovember2001atPossum Creek,Florida. Gapindatarepresentsafloodingeventthatdisabled lateraldepositiontraps. Reproductivestructuresincludenuts,seeds, blossoms,andotherstructuresassociatedwithfloralreproduction 39 3-7 Percentbyweightofconstituentsoforganicmatterstoredonthe PossumCreekfloodplain,Florida,fromOctober2000through November2001. Reproductivestructiiresincludenuts,seeds, blossoms,andotherstructuresassociatedwithfloralreproduction 42 3-8 OrganicmatterstorageonthePossumCreekfloodplain,Florida,from October200throughNovember2001. Errorbarsrepresent±one standarderror 43 3-9 In-streamorganicmatterstorageinleafpacks(white)anddebris dams(black)per100mofstreamlengthfromOctober2000 throughNovember2001inPossumCreek,Florida 45 3-10 Percentbyweightofconstituentsofinleafpacks(upper)and debrisdams(lower)fromOctober2000throughNovember2001in PossumCreek,Florida. Gapsindatarepresentperiodswherenoleaf packswerepresent. Reproductivestructuresincludenuts,seeds, blossoms,andotherstructuresassociatedwithfloralreproduction 46 3-11 In-streambenthicorganicmatterstorageasCPOM(circles)andFPOM (triangles)fromOctober2000throughNovember2001inPossum Creek,Florida. Errorbarsrepresent±onestandarderror 49 3-12 In-streamorganicmattertransportasFPOM(white)andCPOM (black)fromOctober2000throughNovember2001inPossum Creek,Florida 51 3-13 GageheightatPossumCreek,Florida,fromSeptember2000to October2001. Asterisks(*)representinstanceswhenwaterheight exceededbankfullstage 52 4-1 Percentofdryweightofphosphorus,nitrogen,andrefractory compoundsinthesenescentleavesoffivetreespeciescollected fromOctober2000-May2001. Errorbarsrepresent±one vi Macroinvertebrateabundanceandleafcarboncontentovertime collectedfromPossumCreekfromDecember2000toMay2001. Graybarsrepresentmacroinvertebrates-leafpack''andwhitebars representmacroinvertebrates-gC'-leafpack''. Bothsamplingdate andcumulativedegreedaysareshown. Errorbarsrepresent± onestandarderror Dominantshreddersandcollector-gathererscollectedfromPossum CreekfromDecember2000toMay2001. Graybarsrepresent macroinvertebrates-leafpack''andwhitebarsrepresent macroinvertebrates-gC'-leafpack''. Bothsamplingdateand cumulativedegreedaysareshown. Errorbarsrepresent±one standarderror Dominantfilter-feederscollectedfromPossumCreekfrom December2000toMay2001. Graybarsrepresent macroinvertebrates-leafpack''andwhitebarsrepresent macroinvertebrates-gC -leafpack''. Bothsamplingdateand cumulativedegreedaysareshown Errorbarsrepresent±one standarderror DominantpredatorscollectedfromPossumCreekfromDecember 2000toMay2001. Graybarsrepresentmacroinvertebrates-leaf pack''andwhitebarsrepresentmacroinvertebrates-gC'-leaf pack''. Bothsamplingdateandcumulativedegreedaysare shown Errorbarsrepresent±onestandarderror Chironomidae(Diptera)collectedfromPossumCreekfrom December2000toMay2001. Graybarsaremacroinvertebrates- leafpack''andwhitebarsaremacroinvertebrates-gC'-leafpack''. Bothsamplingdateandcumulativedegreedaysareshown. Errorbarsrepresent±onestandarderror Chironomidae(Diptera)relativeabundanceovertimecollected fromPossumCreekfromDecember2000toMay2001. Both samplingdateandcumulativedegreedaysareshown vii LISTOFTABLES Table Page 2-1 Scientificandcommonnamesofthe31commonriparianspecies fromnorthcentralFloridausedinthisstudyandthedegreeof cuticledevelopment. Cuticledevelopmentisonascaleof1-5,with 1representingthemostheavilydevelopedcuticleand5theleast developed 8 3-1 Litterfallfromrepresentativeforestsalongalatitudinalgradient 29 3-2 Lateraldepositionfromrepresentativeforestsalongalatitudinal Gradient 32 3-3 Organicmatterstorageinrepresentativefirstandsecond-orderstreams alongalatitudinalgradient 40 3-4 Organicmatterexportfromrepresentativefirstandsecond-ordersfreams alongalatitudinalgradient 53 4-1 MacroinvertebratescollectedfromPossumCreek,Florida,onleaf packsfromDecember2000toMay2001 65 viii AbstractofDissertationPresentedtotheGraduateSchoolinPartialFulfillmentofthe RequirementsfortheDegreeofDoctorofPhilosophy RIPARIANTREEASSOCIATIONSANDSTORAGE,TRANSPORT, ANDPROCESSINGOFPARTICULATEORGANICMATTER INASUBTROPICALSTREAM By ChristopherRichardRoberts May2002 Chairperson:ThomasL.Crisman MajorDepartment:EnvironmentalEngineeringSciences Ripariantreeassociations,leaf-litterstorage,transport,andin-streamprocessing wereinvestigatedinsubtropicalnorth-centralFlorida. Chemicalconstituents,cuticle development,andtimingofleaffallwerequantifiedfor31speciesandanalyzedwith hierarchicalclusteranalysis. Fourgroupsandtwooutlyingspecieswereclassified. Pinuselliottii,uncommoninnaturalripariansystems,butwidelyplantedregionallyin plantations,andSapiumsebiferum,anexotic,werestatisticallyassociatedwithother species,butmonoculturescoulddeleteriouslyaffectinvertebratesthatprocessleaflitter. Theseassociationscanbeusedtobetterunderstandvegetativecommunitymanagement andrestorationofriparianareas. Storageandtransportofleaflitterwereanalyzedbiweeklyoverayearinbotha streamandfloodplainsystem. PeakleaffalloccurredfromSeptember-Decemberwith asmallerpeakduringJanuary-Februaryandwerereflectedinpeaksofbothlateraland longitudinalorganicmattertransport. Longitudinaltransportwasalsocorrelatedto streamdischarge. Floodplainstoragewashighestduringwinter2000-2001duringand aftertheperiodofpeakleaffall. Variabilityinfloodplainorganicmatterincreased ix markedlyafterfloodingduringJulyandSeptember2001. Theseresultssuggestthat leaffallistemporallyextendedandthatfreshlitterisavailableformuchoftheyear. Leavesoffivecommonripariantreespecieswerecomparedforin-stream processingrates. Early-abscisingdeciduoustreeswereprocessedtwiceasrapidlyas late-abscisingevergreentrees. Incontrasttomosttemperatestreams,shredding macroinvertebrateswererarelycollectedandappeartobeoflimitedimportanceinleaf processing. Thissuggeststhatfungalandbacterialprocessingisofgreaterimportance insubtropicalstreams. Macroinvertebrateabundanceonleafpacksdecreasedfrom DecemberthroughMay,ratherthanoverthecourseofprocessing,suggestingthat factorsotherthanleafavailabilityinfluencemacroinvertebrateabundance. Thefactthat fewshredderswerepresentsuggeststhatinvertebrateswereusingleafpacksashabitat and,inthecaseofscrapersandcollector-gatherers,forfeedingfungalcommimitiesand zoneoffineparticulateorganicmatteraccumulation,respectively. Thisresearchfillsavoidinimderstandingstreamecosystemfunctionalonga latitudinalgradient. Subtropicalstreams,intermsofbothtimingofleaffallanda macroinvertebratecommunityonlylooselysynchronizedtoseasonalleafinputs,behave inawayintermediatebetweenconditionsintemperatestreamsandthoseofthe SouthernHemisphere.
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