Fine particulate organic matter transport dynamics in a small Coastal Plain stream: influence of hydrology and channel morphology

Abstract

Fine particulate organic matter (FPOM) represents a major component of stream organic matter budgets, and its dynamics greatly affect the productivity and metabolism of a stream community. FPOM transport dynamics has been well documented in high-gradient streams with rocky substrates, but information from low-gradient, sandy-bottom streams has been lacking. We estimated FPOM retention patterns in Payne Creek, a 2nd order Coastal Plain stream (USA), under naturally varying hydraulic conditions (discharge and velocity). Corn pollen, as an FPOM analogue, was released along with a conservative solute tracer and the particle retention coefficient (k p) was calculated by fitting the ratio of total pollen remaining in the water column against the longitudinal transport distance to an exponential decay model. Pollen k p (n = 4) ranged from 0.034 to 0.214 /m, and particle transport distance (S p) ranged from 4.7 to 29.7 m. The S p measured in Payne Creek was in the lowest range of previously reported values, and such rapid particle retention was attributed to the low channel slope and slow current velocity. S p was significantly correlated to water velocity and the channel friction factor, but not to discharge (Q). Two summer experiments conducted in contiguous stream segments resulted in the shortest (4.7 m) and longest (29.7 m) S p, despite the similar Q. This was attributed to the segment-scale channel alterations that occurred during the previous winter, which led to very different hydraulic conditions in the two stream segments. In Payne Creek, seasonal changes in hydrology and segment-scale variation in channel morphology were the main factors controlling FPOM transport and retention.