Hurricane pulses: Small watershed exports of dissolved nutrients and organic matter during large storms in the Southeastern USA

Shuo Chen; YueHan Lu; Padmanava Dash; Parnab Das; Jianwei Li; Krista Capps; Hamed Majidzadeh; Mark Elliott

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.06.351

Hurricane pulses: Small watershed exports of dissolved nutrients and organic matter during large storms in the Southeastern USA

Sci Total Environ. 2019 Nov 1:689:232-244. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.06.351. Epub 2019 Jun 24.

Authors

Shuo Chen¹, YueHan Lu², Padmanava Dash³, Parnab Das⁴, Jianwei Li⁵, Krista Capps⁶, Hamed Majidzadeh⁷, Mark Elliott⁴

Affiliations

¹ Molecualr Eco-Geochemistry (MEG) Laboratory, Department of Geological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa 35487, USA.
² Molecualr Eco-Geochemistry (MEG) Laboratory, Department of Geological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa 35487, USA; SUSTech Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Southern University of Science and Technology, 1088 Xueyuan Rd., Xili, Nanshan District, Shenzhen 518055, Guangdong, China. Electronic address: yuehan.lu@ua.edu.
³ Department of Geosciences, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA.
⁴ Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa 35487, USA.
⁵ Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN 37209, USA.
⁶ Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-2202, USA.
⁷ Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology & Forest Science, Clemson University, Georgetown, SC 29442, USA.

PMID: 31271989
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.06.351

Abstract

Extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, can cause ecological disturbances that alter energy and nutrients across terrestrial-aquatic boundaries. Yet, relatively few studies have considered the impacts of extreme weather events on biogeochemical dynamics in watersheds at larger spatial scales. Here, we assessed the effects of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma on the export of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and nutrients in ten watersheds from five southeastern states of the United States. We quantified the magnitude of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nutrients exported during the storms and assessed the changes in DOM sources and bioreactivity after storms. Our results show that the storm-mobilized DOC and nutrients fluxes were primarily driven by water discharge. The proportions of terrestrial, humic-like DOM compounds increased, and percent autochthonous, protein-like DOM decreased during high flows. Percent bioreactive DOC decreased with increasing discharge. Bioreactivity increased with increasing nitrate concentration, but decreased as percent terrestrial humic-like DOM, aromaticity, and molecular weight increased. These observations suggest that storms may have shifted flow paths to shallower depths that promoted the addition of biorefractory organic matter from topsoils into the water column. Notably, the total flux of bioreactive DOC was at least nearly twice as high at peak discharge, indicating materials transported by large storm flows could strongly enhance microbial activity in streams, although the position of storm-mediated microbial hotspots would depend on the flow rate and other instream parameters. Additionally, compared to forest-dominated watersheds, urban watersheds exported high loads of nutrients and bioreactive DOC, and a wetland-dominated watershed had a prolonged, but relatively subdued export of DOC and nutrients. Together, our findings highlight the ecological significance of extreme weather and climate events in leading to rapid, large-magnitude changes in energy and nutrient availability within drainage networks, and the potential interactions between land use and climate change on watershed biogeochemistry.

Keywords: Bioreactive dissolved organic carbon (BDOC); Dissolved nutrients; Dissolved organic matter (DOM); Extreme weather and climate events; Land cover; Storm event.