Can Nutrient Spiralling be Used to Detect Seasonal Nutrient Uptake in a Forested Stream
2006
Hanafi, Sulfikar | Grace, Michael R | Hart, B. T. (Barry T)
Nutrient spiralling measurements were conducted in Lyrebird Creek, a forested stream in the Dandenong Ranges, Victoria, Australia. Spiralling indices from several nutrient ([graphic removed] , [graphic removed]) enrichment experiments were correlated with seasonal variation in factors thought to control nutrient uptake, i.e., temperature, light and algal biomass. It was hypothesized that nutrient uptake would be higher in summer as increased temperatures would promote both biotic and abiotic processes and higher light levels in summer would stimulate photosynthesis. However, results did not support this hypothesis. Uptake length for [graphic removed] and [graphic removed] and uptake velocity were not correlated with chlorophyll-a, light or temperature (r ² < 0.30, P > 0.1) despite the seasonality of these biophysical factors (r ² > 0.42, P < 0.02). Lyrebird Creek might had no seasonal trend in nutrient uptake and/or nutrient spiraling measurements only appears suitable for contrasting streams with large differences in biophysical factors that supports biotic and abiotic nutrient processing. In addition, small errors in measuring a nutrient concentration can result in a large range in the estimated S w and increased difficulty in determining significant differences in nutrient spiralling indices.
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