Title:
Ecosystem Services in a Regulated River: Variability in Nutrient Uptake and Net Ecosystem Metabolism in the Chattahoochee River
Ecosystem Services in a Regulated River: Variability in Nutrient Uptake and Net Ecosystem Metabolism in the Chattahoochee River
Author(s)
Gibson, Cathy A.
Meyer, Judy L.
Meyer, Judy L.
Advisor(s)
Editor(s)
Hatcher, Kathryn J.
Collections
Supplementary to
Permanent Link
Abstract
Rivers provide vital ecosystem services
that are often difficult to quantify economically and
overlooked by management agencies. Two of these
services, nutrient uptake and net ecosystem
metabolism, are especially important in urban rivers
receiving large quantities of point source discharge.
However, little is known about the mechanisms that
facilitate these ecosystem processes in large, regulated
rivers such as the Chattahoochee. We examined how
nutrient uptake and net ecosystem metabolism varied
under different baseflows on the Chattahoochee River
downstream of Atlanta. Nutrient uptake was measured
as uptake length, the average distance traveled
downstream by a nutrient molecule before it is removed
from the water column. Our results showed that
nutrient uptake length was variable, but often exceeded
the length of the river between the major Atlanta
dischargers and West Point Lake. This means that
phosphorous entering in effluent was not removed from
the river before it entered West Point Lake. Net
ecosystem metabolism data indicated that the
Chattahoochee below Atlanta is a highly heterotrophic
system, but respiration appears to decrease under lower
discharge.
Sponsor
Sponsored and Organized by: U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Natural Resources Conservation Service, The University of Georgia, Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology
Date Issued
2001-03
Extent
Resource Type
Text
Resource Subtype
Proceedings