Junsheng Yue

Groundwater-surface water interactions in the hyporheic zone under climate change scenarios

Slight changes in climate, such as the rise of temperature or alterations of precipitation and evaporation, will dramatically influence nearly all freshwater and climate-related hydrological behavior on a global scale. The hyporheic zone (HZ), where groundwater (GW) and surface waters (SW) interact, is characterized by permeable sediments, low flow velocities, and gradients of physical, chemical, and biological characteristics along the exchange flows. Hyporheic metabolism, that is biogeochemical reactions within the HZ as well as various processes that exchange substances and energy with adjoining systems, is correlated with hyporheic organisms, habitats, and the organic matter (OM) supplied from GW and SW, which will inevitably be influenced by climate-related variations. The characteristics of the HZ in acting as a transition zone and in filtering and purifying exchanged water will be lost, resulting in a weakening of the self-purification capacity of natural water bodies. Thus, as human disturbances intensify in the future, GW and SW pollution will become a greater challenge for mankind than ever before. Biogeochemical processes in the HZ may favor the release of carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), and methane (CH4) under climate change scenarios. Future water resource management should consider the integrity of aquatic systems as a whole, including the HZ, rather than independently focusing on SW and GW.

CH 4 concentrations and fluxes in a subtropical metropolitan river network: Watershed urbanization impacts and environmental controls

Urbanization and greenhouse gas emissions are of great global concern, especially in developing countries such as China. However, little is known about the relationship between the two. In this study, we examined the influences of the urbanization of Chongqing Municipality, which covers an area of 5494km2, in China, on the CH4 emissions of in its metropolitan river network. The results from 84 sampling locations showed an overall mean CH4 concentration of 0.69±1.37μmol·L-1 and a CH4 flux from the river network of 1.40±2.53mmolCH4m-2d-1. The CH4 concentrations and fluxes presented a clear seasonal pattern, with the highest value in the spring and the lowest in the summer. Such seasonal variations were probably co-regulated by the dilution effect, temperature and supply of fresh organic matter by algal blooms. Another important result was that the CH4 concentrations and fluxes increased with the degree of urbanization or the proportion of urban land use, being approximately 3-13 times higher in urban and suburban areas than in rural ones. The total nitrogen, dissolved oxygen (O%) and possible sewage discharge, which could affect the in situ CH4 production and exogenous CH4 input respectively, were important factors that influenced the spatial patterns of CH4 in human-dominated river networks, while the nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) could be good predictors of the CH4 emissions in urban watersheds. Hydrologic drivers, including bottom sediment type, flow velocity and river width, were strongly correlated with the CH4 concentrations and could also affect the spatial variance and predict the CH4 hotspots in such metropolitan river networks. With increasing urbanization, we should pay more attention to the increasing greenhouse gas emissions associated with urbanization.

Potholes of Mountain River as Biodiversity Spots: Structure and Dynamics of the Benthic Invertebrate Community

ABSTRACT Temporary freshwater rock pools, as special, small-sized and isolated habitats, provide ideal systems for studying island biogeography and ecological theories and processes. In this study, a total of 70 potholes of mountain rivers were sampled during the four seasons from November 2013 to October 2014 to assess the structure of the benthic invertebrate community and to identify the relationships between habitat characteristics and the community composition. Pothole area ranged from approximately 0.01 to 0.39 m2, and pothole depth ranged from 0.03 to 0.74 m. Forty-three taxa belonging to 37 families and 16 orders were collected from the potholes. The highest numbers of benthic invertebrate taxa were observed in summer and the highest average number of taxa per pothole (8.5) was observed in autumn. The diversity was the highest in spring, and the average densities of benthic invertebrates were highest in autumn. Large potholes supported more taxa than small ones and significant relationships between richness and pothole area, richness and water volume were observed. The results of Redundancy Analysis show that the community composition of benthic invertebrates in the potholes was closely correlated with water temperature, pothole area and water depth. Our results indicate that benthic invertebrate communities in river potholes are mainly structured by water depth, pothole area and water volume. The seasonal changes are also an important factor determining the presence/absence of certain taxa.