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Organic carbon and nitrogen export from a tropical dam-impacted floodplain system
Journal
Biogeosciences
Volume
10
Number
1
Pages / Article-Number
23-38
Abstract
Tropical floodplains play an important role in organic matter transport, storage, and transformation between headwaters and oceans. However, the fluxes and quality of organic carbon (OC) and organic nitrogen (ON) in tropical river-floodplain systems are not well constrained. We explored the quantity and characteristics of dissolved and particulate organic matter (DOM and POM, respectively) in the Kafue River flowing through the Kafue Flats (Zambia), a tropical river-floodplain system in the Zambezi River basin. During the flooding season, >80% of the Kafue River water passed through the floodplain, mobilizing large quantities of OC and ON, which resulted in a net export of 69119 kgOCkm(-2) d(-1) and 3.8-4.7 kgONkm(-2) d(-1), 80% of which was in the dissolved form. The elemental C: N ratio of similar to 20, the comparatively high delta C-13 values of -25% to -21 parts per thousand, and its spectroscopic properties (excitation-emission matrices) showed that DOMin the river was mainly of terrestrial origin. Despite a threefold increase in OC loads due to inputs from the floodplain, the characteristics of the riverine DOM remained relatively constant along the sampled 410-km river reach. This suggests that floodplain DOM displayed properties similar to those of DOM leaving the upstream reservoir and implied that the DOM produced in the reservoir was relatively short-lived. In contrast, the particulate fraction was 13C-depleted (-29 parts per thousand) and had a C: N ratio of similar to 8, which indicated that POM originated from phytoplankton production in the reservoir and in the floodplain, rather than from plant debris or resuspended sediments. While the upstream dam had little effect on the DOM pool, terrestrial particles were retained, and POM from algal and microbial sources was released to the river. A nitrogen mass balance over the 2200 km(2) flooded area revealed an annual deficit of 15 500-22 100 tN in the Kafue Flats. The N isotope budget suggests that these N losses are balanced by intense N-fixation. Our study shows that the Kafue Flats are a significant local source of OC and ON to downstream ecosystems and illustrates how the composition of riverine OM can be altered by dams and floodplains in tropical catchments.
