Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics in Fluvial Systems Across Biomes
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University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Doctoral Dissertations Student Scholarship Spring 2020 Carbon and nitrogen dynamics in fluvial systems across biomes Bianca Rodriguez-Cardona University of New Hampshire, Durham Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation Recommended Citation Rodriguez-Cardona, Bianca, "Carbon and nitrogen dynamics in fluvial systems across biomes" (2020). Doctoral Dissertations. 2515. https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/2515 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CARBON AND NITROGEN DYNAMICS IN FLUVIAL SYSTEMS ACROSS BIOMES BY BIANCA M. RODRÍGUEZ-CARDONA BS, University of Puerto Rico, 2011 MS, University of New Hampshire, 2015 DISSERTATION Submitted to the University of New Hampshire in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Earth and Environmental Sciences May, 2020 This dissertation was examined and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Earth and Environmental Sciences by: Dissertation Director, Dr. William H. McDowell Professor Natural Resources and the Environment Department of Natural Resources and the Environment Dr. Adam S. Wymore Research Assistant Professor Department of Natural Resources and the Environment Dr. Serita Frey Professor Department of Natural Resources and the Environment Dr. Anne Lightbody Associate Professor Department of Earth Science Dr. Robert G.M. Spencer Associate Professor Department of Earth Ocean and Atmospheric Science Florida State University On [December 5, 2019] Approval signature are on file with the University of New Hampshire Graduate School. ii DEDICATION Para mis amados Padres que me dijeron que soñara y gracias a sus consejos he logrado mas de lo pensando, y lo que falta por llegar… iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to thank my advisor, Bill McDowell, for giving me the opportunity to join the lab group to pursue a masters with him and allowing me to stay and complete a doctoral degree. You have facilitated many opportunities to pursue science in multiple locations and collaborations with numerous people all the while allowing the flexibility to pursue the research topics of my interest. I would also like to thank Adam Wymore for working with me side by side since my masters and encouraging me to push forward at all times. I would also like to thank Anne Lightbody, Serita Frey, and Rob Spencer for their help in developing my research, analyzing, and approach it from different perspectives. A special thanks to Carla López-Lloreda, Albertyadir de Jesus Román, Valeria Bonano, Katherine Pérez Rivera, Jody Potter and other members of the Water Quality Analysis Lab for their assistance in field work, analyzing samples and data. Special thanks to collaborators in Siberia, Anatoly Prokushkin and Roman Kolosov for their help at the Evenkia Field Station and associated work at the site. Thank you to the working group, collaborators, and staff at National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) for helping to analyze and manage all the long-term data. I would like to thank my Nesmith officemates and graduate students in NREN and NRESS that have come and gone for their support, friendship, and brainstorming sessions throughout the whole process of graduate school. And a special thanks to my parents and family for their unconditional support in everything I have set my mind to do. The research presented here was supported by the National Science Foundation Award No. ICER 14-45246, Crossing the boundaries of Critical Zone science with a virtual institute (SAVI); NSF DEB-1556603, Deciphering the role of dissolved organic nitrogen in stream nutrient cycling; Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) #14-05-00420, Small iv catchments within the continuous permafrost zone of Central Siberia: the role of wildfire and forest succession in stream biogeochemistry; RFBR #18-05-60203, Landscape and hydrobiological controls on the transport of terrigenic carbon to the Arctic Ocean; NSF DEB- 1546686, Luquillo Long-Term Ecological Research Program; NSF EAR-1331841, Luquillo Critical Zone Observatory; and NSF DMR-1644779 and the State of Florida. Part of the work here was conducted as a part of the Stream Elemental Cycling Synthesis Group funded by NSF DEB #1545288, through the Long-Term Ecological Research Network Communications Office (LNCO), NCEAS, and University of California-Santa Barbara. Data was also obtained from the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) website (National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NRSP-3). v TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iv List of tables ................................................................................................................................. vii List of figures .................................................................................................................................. x Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... xiv CHAPTER PAGE Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 1. Long-term trends in dissolved organic matter from fluvial systems across biomes ................... 5 Abstract .................................................................................................................................... 5 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 7 Methods ................................................................................................................................. 10 Results ................................................................................................................................... 13 Discussion .............................................................................................................................. 17 Tables .................................................................................................................................... 25 Figures ................................................................................................................................... 27 Supplementary information: .................................................................................................. 37 2. Wildfires lead to decreased carbon and increased nitrogen concentrations in upland arctic streams ........................................................................................................................................... 52 Abstract .................................................................................................................................. 52 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 53 Methods ................................................................................................................................. 55 Results and discussion ........................................................................................................... 60 Tables .................................................................................................................................... 67 Figures ................................................................................................................................... 72 Supplementary information ................................................................................................... 76 3. Nitrate uptake enhanced by the availability of dissolved organic matter in tropical montane streams ........................................................................................................................................... 78 Abstract .................................................................................................................................. 78 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 80 Methods ................................................................................................................................. 81 Results ................................................................................................................................... 85 Discussion .............................................................................................................................. 86 Tables .................................................................................................................................... 92 Figures ................................................................................................................................... 94 Supplementary information ................................................................................................... 98 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................