Summer Stream Metabolism Values for Cedar Creek, Kansas

Abstract

Summer gross primary productivity and community respiration along Cedar Creek in Chase County, Kansas, were estimated by the daily oxygen change method. Mean gross primary productivity increased from upstream to downstream while the opposite trend was true for community respiration. Ob- served daily gross primary productivity varied from less than 1.0 to 32.3 g 0,/m2/ day and community respiration varied from 5.52 to 26.4 g O,/m2/day. Gross primary productivity and community respiration were esti- mated along reaches of Cedar Creek and the Cottonwood River in Chase County, Kansas, from 31 May through 10 August 1972, as part of an environmental inventory conducted for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District. In view of the paucity of information concerning productivity and respiration values for Kansas surface waters, it appeared advisable to enter these data into the published record. DESCRIPTION OF THE STREAM. Cedar Creek, a right hand tributory of the Cottonwood River, is located along the western face of the Flint Hills Upland (Cen- tral Lowland Province) in east central Kansas. Its drainage basin encompasses an area approximately 227 km2 and is situated primarily in Chase County. There are five major tributaries: Coon Creek, Turkey Creek, Brush Creek, Middle Creek and Bill's Creek. Cedar Creek is a mature, sluggish stream meandering 31 km through a well- defined floodplain cutting through an undulating topography underlaid by Permian shales and limestones of the Chase Group. Stream gradient varies from 3.4 m/km in the upper reaches to 0.9 m/km along the lower reaches. Channel width along the study reaches varied from approximately 10-13 m. The stream bottom is best char- acterized as rocky, ranging from bedrock to gravel. Except for some of the deeper, quieter pools little sediment is accumulated. Stream depth varied from a few centi- meters in riffles to approximately two meters in some pools. The mean daily dis- charge near the mouth is 128,023 m3. Cedar Creek is classed as a medium, sediment- bearing stream with an average suspended load of approximately 2.02 m3/ha. Cedar Creek water is a good quality. Throughout this study bicarbonate alkalinity averaged 277 ppm, pH ranged from 7.4-8.5, and specific conductance averaged 415