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1. Integrating Aquatic Metabolism and Net Ecosystem CO2 Balance in Short- and Long-Hydroperiod Subtropical Freshwater Wetlands

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-021-00672-2  

   Malone, Sparkle L. ; Zhao, Junbin ; Kominoski, John S. ; Starr, Gregory ; Staudhammer, Christina L. ; Olivas, Paulo C. ; Cummings, Justin C. ; Oberbauer, Steven F. ( January 2021 , Ecosystems)

   null (Ed.)

   Abstract How aquatic primary productivity influences the carbon (C) sequestering capacity of wetlands is uncertain. We evaluated the magnitude and variability in aquatic C dynamics and compared them to net ecosystem CO 2 exchange (NEE) and ecosystem respiration ( R eco ) rates within calcareous freshwater wetlands in Everglades National Park. We continuously recorded 30-min measurements of dissolved oxygen (DO), water level, water temperature ( T water ), and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). These measurements were coupled with ecosystem CO 2 fluxes over 5 years (2012–2016) in a long-hydroperiod peat-rich, freshwater marsh and a short-hydroperiod, freshwater marl prairie. Daily net aquatic primary productivity (NAPP) rates indicated both wetlands were generally net heterotrophic. Gross aquatic primary productivity (GAPP) ranged from 0 to − 6.3 g C m −2  day −1 and aquatic respiration ( R Aq ) from 0 to 6.13 g C m −2  day −1 . Nonlinear interactions between water level, T water , and GAPP and R Aq resulted in high variability in NAPP that contributed to NEE. Net aquatic primary productivity accounted for 4–5% of the deviance explained in NEE rates. With respect to the flux magnitude, daily NAPP was a greater proportion of daily NEE at the long-hydroperiod site (mean = 95%) compared to the short-hydroperiod site (mean = 64%). Although we have confirmed the significant contribution of NAPP to NEE in both long- and short-hydroperiod freshwater wetlands, the decoupling of the aquatic and ecosystem fluxes could largely depend on emergent vegetation, the carbonate cycle, and the lateral C flux. 

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2. Quantifying effects of increased hydroperiod on wetland nutrient concentrations during early phases of freshwater restoration of the Florida Everglades

   https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13231  

   Sarker, Shishir K. ; Kominoski, John S. ; Gaiser, Evelyn E. ; Scinto, Leonard J. ; Rudnick, David T. ( September 2020 , Restoration Ecology)

   Wetland restoration requires managing long‐term changes in hydroperiod and ecosystem functions. We quantified relationships among spatiotemporal variability in wetland hydrology and total phosphorus (TP) and its stoichiometric relationships with total organic carbon (TOC:TP) and total carbon (TC:TP) and total nitrogen (TN:TP) in water, flocculent organic matter (floc), periphyton, sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense), and soil during early phases of freshwater wetland restoration—water year (WY) 2016 (1 May, 2015 to 30 April, 2016) to WY 2019—in Everglades National Park (ENP, Homestead, FL, U.S.A.). Wetland hydroperiod increased by 87 days, following restoration actions and rainfall events that increased median stage in the upstream source canal. Concentrations of TP were highest and most variable at sites closest (<1 km) to canal inputs and upstream wetland sources of legacy P. Surface water TOC:TP and TN:TP ratios were highest in wetlands >1 km downstream of the canal in wet season 2015 with spatial variability reflecting disturbances including droughts, fires, and freeze events. The TP concentrations of flocculent soil surface particles, periphyton, sawgrass, and consolidated soil declined, and TC:TP and TN:TP ratios increased (except soil) logarithmically with downstream distance from the canal. We measured abrupt increases in periphyton (wet season 2018) and sawgrass TP (wet season 2015 and 2018) at sites <1 km from the canal, likely reflecting legacy TP loading. Our results suggest restoration efforts that increase freshwater inflow and hydroperiod will likely change patterns of nutrient concentrations among water and organic matter compartments of wetlands as a function of nutrient legacies.

    

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3. Linking Hydrology and Dissolved Organic Matter Characteristics in a Subtropical Wetland: A Long‐Term Study of the Florida Everglades

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GB006648  

   Regier, Peter ; Larsen, Laurel ; Cawley, Kaelin ; Jaffé, Rudolf ( December 2020 , Global Biogeochemical Cycles)

   Dissolved organic matter (DOM) acts as an important biogeochemical component of aquatic ecosystems that controls nutrient cycling, influences water quality, and links terrestrial and oceanic carbon pools, yet long‐term studies of how changing environmental drivers alter its abundance and composition are rare. Using a 10‐year, spatially explicit data set from Everglades National Park, a globally significant wetland, we investigated the relationships between DOM quality/quantity and hydrologic/climatic drivers along two contrasting marsh‐estuarine transects based on generalized linear modeling and a cumulative sums analysis. Analyses revealed distinct spatial, seasonal, and interannual patterns in variability of DOC and optical properties. Landscape‐scale seasonal patterns showed an enrichment in microbial‐like and protein‐like DOM during the dry season relative to the wet season. While some compositional constituents varied with the solar calendar, responsive to temperature and photoperiod, others varied with the hydrologic calendar. Independent water level and discharge effects indicated strong hydrologic control on DOM quality that differed between the two transects, evidencing differences in their connectivity to areas of high agricultural activity. Across all sites, a significant long‐term increasing trend in the fluorescence index was observed, associated with a positive correlation with precipitation and also potential changes in agricultural inputs, with other features associated with drought and hurricanes. Lastly, the cumulative sums analysis revealed differences between the two transects in the sensitivity of DOM composition to decreased water levels associated with 30‐year climate scenarios, with the less hydrologically dynamic transect exhibiting greater potential sensitivity.

    

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4. Atmosphere-terrestrial exchange of gaseous elemental mercury: parameterization improvement through direct comparison with measured ecosystem fluxes

   https://doi.org/10.1039/c9em00341j  

   Khan, T. R. ; Obrist, D. ; Agnan, Y. ; Selin, N. E. ; Perlinger, J. A. ( October 2019 , Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts)

   To simulate global mercury (Hg) dynamics in chemical transport models (CTMs), surface-atmosphere exchange of gaseous elemental mercury, Hg 0 , is often parameterized based on resistance-based dry deposition schemes coupled with a re-emission function, mainly from soils. Despite extensive use of this approach, direct evaluations of this implementation against field observations of net Hg 0 exchange are lacking. In this study, we evaluate an existing net exchange parameterization (referred to here as the base model) by comparing modeled fluxes of Hg 0 to fluxes measured in the field using micrometeorological techniques. Comparisons were performed in two terrestrial ecosystems: a grassland site in Switzerland and an Arctic tundra site in Alaska, U.S., each including summer and winter seasons. The base model included the dry deposition and soil re-emission parameterizations from Zhang et al. (2003) and the global CTM GEOS-Chem, respectively. Comparisons of modeled and measured Hg 0 fluxes showed large discrepancies, particularly in the summer months when the base model overestimated daytime net deposition by approximately 9 and 2 ng m −2 h −1 at the grassland and tundra sites, respectively. In addition, the base model was unable to capture a measured nighttime net Hg 0 deposition and wintertime deposition. We conducted a series of sensitivity analyses and recommend that Hg simulations using CTMs: (i) reduce stomatal uptake of Hg 0 over grassland and tundra in models by a factor 5–7; (ii) increase nighttime net Hg 0 deposition, e.g. , by increasing ground and cuticular uptake by reducing the respective resistance terms by factors of 3–4 and 2–4, respectively; and (iii) implement a new soil re-emission parameterization to produce larger daytime emissions and lower nighttime emissions. We also compared leaf Hg 0 uptake over the growing season estimated by the dry deposition model against foliar Hg measurements, which revealed good agreement with the measured leaf Hg concentrations after adjusting the base model as suggested above. We conclude that the use of resistance-based models combined with the new soil re-emission flux parameterization is able to reproduce observed diel and seasonal patterns of Hg 0 exchange in these ecosystems. This approach can be used to improve model parameterizations for other ecosystems if flux measurements become available. 

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5. Effects of hydrology on the movements of a large-bodied predator in a managed freshwater marsh

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-021-04764-x  

   Strickland, Bradley A. ; Gastrich, Kirk ; Beauchamp, Jeffery S. ; Mazzotti, Frank J. ; Heithaus, Michael R. ( January 2021 , Hydrobiologia)

   Wetlands are dynamic environments where aquatic organisms are affected by both predictable and unpredictable changes in hydrology. Understanding how abundant large-bodied predators respond to these changes is especially important in context of wetland restoration. We used satellite telemetry to investigate how individual (e.g., sex, size, body condition) and environmental factors influenced movement behaviors of American Alligators [Alligator mississippiensis (Daudin, 1801)] in a managed freshwater marsh ecosystem of the Florida Everglades. We quantified space use, movement activity, and habitat selection of animals (n = 18) across hydrological seasons and the breeding period and performed stable isotope analyses to infer seasonal dietary changes. Though individual animals did not change space use across seasons, movement activity was lower for some individuals and δ15 Nitrogen isotopic values were higher in the dry season possibly reflecting greater foraging opportunities when marsh dry down concentrates prey. Alligators may be using canals as foraging sites which have abundant prey year-round and shallow sawgrass habitats as spots for basking. Based on our findings, ongoing restoration of water inflow will likely change the distribution and movement behavior of alligators. 

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