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Concentration-discharge (C-Q) relationships of total suspended solids (TSS), total dissolved solids (TDS), particulate organic carbon (POC), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were investigated in the tributaries and main-stems of two mountainous river systems with distinct watershed characteristics (Eel and Umpqua rivers) in Northern California and central Oregon (USA). Power-law (C = a × Q b) fits to the data showed strong transport-limited behavior (b > 1) by TSS and POC, moderate transport limitation of DOC (b > 0.3) and chemostatic behavior (b < 0) by TDS in most streams. These contrasts led to significant compositional differences at varying discharge levels, with particle-bound constituents becoming increasingly important (relative abundances of 50% to >90%) at high-flow conditions. Organic carbon contents of TSS displayed marked decreases with discharge whereas they increased in TDS during high-flow conditions. Daily and cumulative material fluxes for different coastal streams were calculated using the C-Q relationships and showed that the delivery of transport-limited constituents, such as TSS and POC (and DOC to a lesser degree), was closely tied to high-discharge events and occurred primarily during the winter season. The coherence between winter fluxes and high wave-southerly wind conditions along the coast highlights how seasonal and inter-annual differences in fluvial discharge patterns affect the fate of land-derived materials delivered to coastal regions. 

This study examines dissolved rhenium (Re) concentrations as a function of water runoff using river samples from two contrasting mountainous watersheds, the Eel and Umpqua Rivers in the Pacific Northwest, USA. These watersheds share many key characteristics in terms of size, discharge, climate, and vegetation, but they have a 15-fold difference in sediment yield due to differences in their tectonic setting and uplift and erosion rates. We evaluate concentration-runoff (C-R) relationships and ratios of coefficients of variation (CVC/CVR) for major cations, anions, dissolved inorganic carbon, selected trace elements including Re, and 87Sr/86Sr ratios. Recent research outlines the potential of Re to serve as a tracer for the oxidation of ancient/fossil organic matter because of its close association with petrogenic carbon (OCpetro) in rocks. In both the Eel and Umpqua Rivers, our measurements show that Re behaves similarly to major weathering derived-solutes corrected for atmospheric input, such as Ca2+*, Mg2+*, and Na+* with modest dilution across all tributaries with increasing runoff. Rhenium behaves dissimilarly from other trace elements, such as Mo and U, and is also dissimilar to biologically-cycled nutrients, such as NO3 – , PO4 3 , and K+*, suggesting differences in sources, solute generation mechanisms, and flowpaths. Rhenium behavior is also distinct from that of colloids, which have increasing concentrations with increasing runoff. We find that Re and sulfate corrected for atmospheric input (SO4 2 *) have distinct CR relationships, in which SO4 2 * undergoes greater dilution with increasing runoff. This implies that Re is not dominantly sourced from sulfide weathering, which leaves primary bedrock minerals and OCpetro hosted in bedrock of these watersheds as the likely dominant sources of dissolved Re release. At mean discharge, Re concentration in the Eel river (3.5 pmol L-1) is more than two times greater than Re concentrations in the Umpqua River (1.5 pmol L-1). Furthermore, comparison of two tributary watersheds with similar bedrock but marked differences in erosion rates show higher Re concentrations in Bull Creek (erosion rate of 0.5 mm yr 1) relative to Elder Creek (erosion rate of 0.2 mm yr 1). The results of this study suggest that dissolved Re in the Eel and Umpqua River basins is likely derived from primary mineral dissolution or OCpetro oxidation, and Re fluxes are higher in areas with higher erosion rates, suggesting that tectonic setting is one factor that controls Re release and therefore OCpetro oxidation. 

Symbiotic nitrogen (N)-fixing trees supply significant N inputs to forest ecosystems, leading to increased soil fertility, forest growth, and carbon storage. Rapid growth and stoichiometric constraints of N fixers also create high demands for rock-derived nutrients such as phosphorus (P), while excess fixed N can generate acidity and accelerate leaching of rock-derived nutrients such as calcium (Ca). This ability of N-fixing trees to accelerate cycles of Ca, P, and other rock-derived nutrients has fostered speculation of a direct link between N fixation and mineral weathering in terrestrial ecosystems. However, field evidence that N-fixing trees have enhanced access to rock-derived nutrients is lacking. Here we use strontium (Sr) isotopes as a tracer of nutrient sources in a mixed-species temperate rainforest to show that N-fixing trees access more rock-derived nutrients than nonfixing trees. The N-fixing tree red alder (Alnus rubra), on average, took up 8 to 18% more rock-derived Sr than five co-occurring nonfixing tree species, including two with high requirements for rock-derived nutrients. The increased access to rock-derived nutrients occurred despite spatial variation in community‐wide Sr sources across the forest, and only N fixers had foliar Sr isotopes that differed significantly from soil exchangeable pools. We calculate that increased uptake of rock-derived nutrients by N-fixing alder requires a 64% increase in weathering supply of nutrients over nonfixing trees. These findings provide direct evidence that an N-fixing tree species can also accelerate nutrient inputs from rock weathering, thus increasing supplies of multiple nutrients that limit carbon uptake and storage in forest ecosystems.

 

Nitrogen (N) is a key nutrient that shapes cycles of other essential elements in forests, including calcium (Ca). When N availability exceeds ecosystem demands, excess N can stimulate Ca leaching and deplete Ca from soils. Over the long term, these processes may alter the proportion of available Ca that is derived from atmospheric deposition vs. bedrock weathering, which has fundamental consequences for ecosystem properties and nutrient supply. We evaluated how landscape variation in soil N, reflecting long‐term legacies of biological N fixation, influenced plant and soil Ca availability and ecosystem Ca sources across 22 temperate forests in Oregon. We also examined interactions between soil N and bedrock Ca using soil N gradients on contrasting basaltic vs. sedimentary bedrock that differed 17‐fold in underlying Ca content. We found that low‐N forests on Ca‐rich basaltic bedrock relied strongly on Ca from weathering, but that soil N enrichment depleted readily weatherable mineral Ca and shifted forest reliance toward atmospheric Ca. Forests on Ca‐poor sedimentary bedrock relied more consistently on atmospheric Ca across all levels of soil N enrichment. The broad importance of atmospheric Ca was unexpected given active regional uplift and erosion that are thought to rejuvenate weathering supply of soil minerals. Despite different Ca sources to forests on basaltic vs. sedimentary bedrock, we observed consistent declines in plant and soil Ca availability with increasing N, regardless of the Ca content of underlying bedrock. Thus, traditional measures of Ca availability in foliage and soil exchangeable pools may poorly reflect long‐term Ca sources that sustain soil fertility. We conclude that long‐term soil N enrichment can deplete available Ca and cause forests to rely increasingly on Ca from atmospheric deposition, which may limit ecosystem Ca supply in an increasingly N‐rich world.