Riparian tree associations and storage, transport, and processing of particulate organic matter in a subtropical stream

110 Pages·2002·3.9 MB·English

by  Roberts, Christopher Richard

RIPARIANTREEASSOCIATIONSANDSTORAGE,TRANSPORT,AND
PROCESSINGOFPARTICULATEORGANICMATTERINASUBTROPICAL
STREAM
' By ; ;
CHRISTOPHERRICHARDROBERTS
ADISSERTATIONPRESENTEDTOTHEGRADUATESCHOOLOFTHE
L'NIVERSITYOFFLORIDAINPARTIALFULFILLMENTOFTHE
REQUIIUiMENTSFORTHEDEGREEOFDOCTOROFPHILOSOPHY
UNIVERSITYOFFLORIDA
2002
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Igreatlyappreciatealltheeffortsofmymajorprofessor,Dr.ThomasCrisman.
Hisadviceandguidance,bothdealingwiththisprojectandinmorepersonalareas,
throughthisarduousprocesswasconsiderable. Iamalsogratefultomyothercommittee
members,Drs.LaurenChapman,FrankNordlie,andWilliamWisefortheircounsel.
Mywifewasinspirationalthroughthisentireprocess,neverlettingmegetdown
onmysetbacksandalwayspushingmetoworkmyhardestandbest. Shehasworked
equallyhardinherstudiesandalthoughourtimetogetherhasbeenlimited,herconstant
inspirationhasledmetothepointwhereIamnow.
SpecialthanksgotoToddOsborneforhelpingwithprocessingofleafmaterials
inthelaboratory. AllchemicalanalyseswereperformedbytheForageEvaluation
SupportLaboratoryattheUniversityofFlorida,withspecificthankstoRichardFethiere.
Withoutalltheirhelp,thecompletionofthisprojectandthesiswouldneverhavebeen
accomplished. Thanksalsogotoallthestudentworkerswhoslavedawayinanonymity
toallowotherstoreapthebenefits. IwouldalsoliketothanktheCenterforWetlands
staff,specificallySherlBrinkley,fortheirbehindthesceneeffortsinmakingthis -
researchareality.
ii
TABLEOFCONTENTS
page
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii
LISTOFTABLES v
LISTOFFIGURES vi
ABSTRACT ix
CHAPTERS
1 INTRODUCTION 1
2 LEAFASSOCIATIONS 4
Introduction •. 4
Methods 5
Results 7
Discussion 12
3 STORAGEANDTRANSPORT 21
Introduction 21
Methods 22
StudySite 22
ExperimentalApproach 23
DataAnalysis 27
ResultsandDiscussion 27
LatitudinalComparisons 27
OrganicMatterBudget 31
Inputs 34
Storage 41
Transport 50
4 LITTERPROCESSING 56
Introduction 56
Methods 57
iii
StudySite •'^
DataAnalysis
Results ^1
Discussion
LeafChemistry ^3
TimingofLitterFall 77
Macroinvertebrates
5 CONCLUSIONS 82
REFERENCES 84
APPENDICES 94
BIOGRAPHICALSKETCH 97
iv
I
LISTOFFIGURES
Figure Page
2-1 Dendrogramshowingassociationsof31commonripariantree
speciesfromnorth-centralFloridabasedonphosphorus,nitrogen,
recalcitrantandinhibitorycompounds,cuticledevelopment,and
timingofleaffall. Numbersonleftindicatefourdiscretegroupings 10
2-2 Periodofleaffallof31commonripariantreespeciesfrom
north-centralFloridafromSeptember2000toAugust2001 11
2-3 Percentageofdryweight(±1standarderror)consistingof
phosphorusfor31commonripariantreespeciesfromnorth-central
Florida 13
2-4 Percentageofdryweight(±1standarderror)consistingofnitrogen
for31commonripariantreespeciesfromnorth-centralFlorida 14
2-5 Invitroorganicmatterdigestibility(IVOMD)(±1standarderror)
asapercentageofdryweightfor31commonripariantreespecies
fromnorth-centralFlorida 15
3-1 MapofPossumCreek,Florida,studysiteandplacementofsampling
equipmentinfloodplain 24
3-2 Approximatetimingofleafabscissionfromselectedforestsofthe
world. Solidlineindicatestimingofleaffall 28
3-3 OrganicmatterbudgetforthePossumCreeksystem,Florida,from
October2000-November2001. Solidarrowsindicatemeasured
movements,anddashedarrowsindicatehypothesizedmovementsof
organicmatterbetweeninput,storage,andexportcompartments. Inputs
(leftcolumnofboxes)andexports(rightcolumn)areexpressedas
annualsummationofeachtransportvehicle. Storage (middlecolumn)
isexpressedastheannualmean. AlldataareexpressedasgAFDM
m-^yr' 33
3-4 Organicmatterinputsvialitterfall(circles)andlateraldeposition
(triangles)fromOctober2000throughNovember2001intoPossum
Creek,Florida. Errorbarsrepresent±onestandarderror 35
V
3-5 Percentbyweightofconstituentsoforganicmatterinlitterfall
fromOctober2000throughNovember2001atPossumCreek,Florida.
Reproductivestructuresincludenuts,seeds,blossoms,andother
structuresassociatedwithfloralreproduction 37
3-6 Percentbyweightofconstituentsoforganicmatterinlateral
depositionfromOctober2000throughNovember2001atPossum
Creek,Florida. Gapindatarepresentsafloodingeventthatdisabled
lateraldepositiontraps. Reproductivestructuresincludenuts,seeds,
blossoms,andotherstructuresassociatedwithfloralreproduction 39
3-7 Percentbyweightofconstituentsoforganicmatterstoredonthe
PossumCreekfloodplain,Florida,fromOctober2000through
November2001. Reproductivestructiiresincludenuts,seeds,
blossoms,andotherstructuresassociatedwithfloralreproduction 42
3-8 OrganicmatterstorageonthePossumCreekfloodplain,Florida,from
October200throughNovember2001. Errorbarsrepresent±one
standarderror 43
3-9 In-streamorganicmatterstorageinleafpacks(white)anddebris
dams(black)per100mofstreamlengthfromOctober2000
throughNovember2001inPossumCreek,Florida 45
3-10 Percentbyweightofconstituentsofinleafpacks(upper)and
debrisdams(lower)fromOctober2000throughNovember2001in
PossumCreek,Florida. Gapsindatarepresentperiodswherenoleaf
packswerepresent. Reproductivestructuresincludenuts,seeds,
blossoms,andotherstructuresassociatedwithfloralreproduction 46
3-11 In-streambenthicorganicmatterstorageasCPOM(circles)andFPOM
(triangles)fromOctober2000throughNovember2001inPossum
Creek,Florida. Errorbarsrepresent±onestandarderror 49
3-12 In-streamorganicmattertransportasFPOM(white)andCPOM
(black)fromOctober2000throughNovember2001inPossum
Creek,Florida 51
3-13 GageheightatPossumCreek,Florida,fromSeptember2000to
October2001. Asterisks(*)representinstanceswhenwaterheight
exceededbankfullstage 52
4-1 Percentofdryweightofphosphorus,nitrogen,andrefractory
compoundsinthesenescentleavesoffivetreespeciescollected
fromOctober2000-May2001. Errorbarsrepresent±one
vi
Macroinvertebrateabundanceandleafcarboncontentovertime
collectedfromPossumCreekfromDecember2000toMay2001.
Graybarsrepresentmacroinvertebrates-leafpack''andwhitebars
representmacroinvertebrates-gC'-leafpack''. Bothsamplingdate
andcumulativedegreedaysareshown. Errorbarsrepresent±
onestandarderror
Dominantshreddersandcollector-gathererscollectedfromPossum
CreekfromDecember2000toMay2001. Graybarsrepresent
macroinvertebrates-leafpack''andwhitebarsrepresent
macroinvertebrates-gC'-leafpack''. Bothsamplingdateand
cumulativedegreedaysareshown. Errorbarsrepresent±one
standarderror
Dominantfilter-feederscollectedfromPossumCreekfrom
December2000toMay2001. Graybarsrepresent
macroinvertebrates-leafpack''andwhitebarsrepresent
macroinvertebrates-gC -leafpack''. Bothsamplingdateand
cumulativedegreedaysareshown Errorbarsrepresent±one
standarderror
DominantpredatorscollectedfromPossumCreekfromDecember
2000toMay2001. Graybarsrepresentmacroinvertebrates-leaf
pack''andwhitebarsrepresentmacroinvertebrates-gC'-leaf
pack''. Bothsamplingdateandcumulativedegreedaysare
shown Errorbarsrepresent±onestandarderror
Chironomidae(Diptera)collectedfromPossumCreekfrom
December2000toMay2001. Graybarsaremacroinvertebrates-
leafpack''andwhitebarsaremacroinvertebrates-gC'-leafpack''.
Bothsamplingdateandcumulativedegreedaysareshown.
Errorbarsrepresent±onestandarderror
Chironomidae(Diptera)relativeabundanceovertimecollected
fromPossumCreekfromDecember2000toMay2001. Both
samplingdateandcumulativedegreedaysareshown
vii
LISTOFTABLES
Table Page
2-1 Scientificandcommonnamesofthe31commonriparianspecies
fromnorthcentralFloridausedinthisstudyandthedegreeof
cuticledevelopment. Cuticledevelopmentisonascaleof1-5,with
1representingthemostheavilydevelopedcuticleand5theleast
developed 8
3-1 Litterfallfromrepresentativeforestsalongalatitudinalgradient 29
3-2 Lateraldepositionfromrepresentativeforestsalongalatitudinal
Gradient 32
3-3 Organicmatterstorageinrepresentativefirstandsecond-orderstreams
alongalatitudinalgradient 40
3-4 Organicmatterexportfromrepresentativefirstandsecond-ordersfreams
alongalatitudinalgradient 53
4-1 MacroinvertebratescollectedfromPossumCreek,Florida,onleaf
packsfromDecember2000toMay2001 65
viii
AbstractofDissertationPresentedtotheGraduateSchoolinPartialFulfillmentofthe
RequirementsfortheDegreeofDoctorofPhilosophy
RIPARIANTREEASSOCIATIONSANDSTORAGE,TRANSPORT,
ANDPROCESSINGOFPARTICULATEORGANICMATTER
INASUBTROPICALSTREAM
By
ChristopherRichardRoberts
May2002
Chairperson:ThomasL.Crisman
MajorDepartment:EnvironmentalEngineeringSciences
Ripariantreeassociations,leaf-litterstorage,transport,andin-streamprocessing
wereinvestigatedinsubtropicalnorth-centralFlorida. Chemicalconstituents,cuticle
development,andtimingofleaffallwerequantifiedfor31speciesandanalyzedwith
hierarchicalclusteranalysis. Fourgroupsandtwooutlyingspecieswereclassified.
Pinuselliottii,uncommoninnaturalripariansystems,butwidelyplantedregionallyin
plantations,andSapiumsebiferum,anexotic,werestatisticallyassociatedwithother
species,butmonoculturescoulddeleteriouslyaffectinvertebratesthatprocessleaflitter.
Theseassociationscanbeusedtobetterunderstandvegetativecommunitymanagement
andrestorationofriparianareas.
Storageandtransportofleaflitterwereanalyzedbiweeklyoverayearinbotha
streamandfloodplainsystem. PeakleaffalloccurredfromSeptember-Decemberwith
asmallerpeakduringJanuary-Februaryandwerereflectedinpeaksofbothlateraland
longitudinalorganicmattertransport. Longitudinaltransportwasalsocorrelatedto
streamdischarge. Floodplainstoragewashighestduringwinter2000-2001duringand
aftertheperiodofpeakleaffall. Variabilityinfloodplainorganicmatterincreased
ix
markedlyafterfloodingduringJulyandSeptember2001. Theseresultssuggestthat
leaffallistemporallyextendedandthatfreshlitterisavailableformuchoftheyear.
Leavesoffivecommonripariantreespecieswerecomparedforin-stream
processingrates. Early-abscisingdeciduoustreeswereprocessedtwiceasrapidlyas
late-abscisingevergreentrees. Incontrasttomosttemperatestreams,shredding
macroinvertebrateswererarelycollectedandappeartobeoflimitedimportanceinleaf
processing. Thissuggeststhatfungalandbacterialprocessingisofgreaterimportance
insubtropicalstreams. Macroinvertebrateabundanceonleafpacksdecreasedfrom
DecemberthroughMay,ratherthanoverthecourseofprocessing,suggestingthat
factorsotherthanleafavailabilityinfluencemacroinvertebrateabundance. Thefactthat
fewshredderswerepresentsuggeststhatinvertebrateswereusingleafpacksashabitat
and,inthecaseofscrapersandcollector-gatherers,forfeedingfungalcommimitiesand
zoneoffineparticulateorganicmatteraccumulation,respectively.
Thisresearchfillsavoidinimderstandingstreamecosystemfunctionalonga
latitudinalgradient. Subtropicalstreams,intermsofbothtimingofleaffallanda
macroinvertebratecommunityonlylooselysynchronizedtoseasonalleafinputs,behave
inawayintermediatebetweenconditionsintemperatestreamsandthoseofthe
SouthernHemisphere.