Ecohydrological Controls on Carbon Drainage via Groundwater in a Coastal BC Douglas-Fir Headwater Catchment During Pre- and Post-Harvest Periods

Mark S. Johnson1,2, T. Andrew Black3, Rachhpal Jassal4, Nicholas J. Grant4 and Iain Hawthorne1, (1)University of British Columbia, Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Vancouver, BC, Canada, (2)University of British Columbia, Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, Vancouver, BC, Canada, (3)University of British Columbia, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, Vancouver, BC, Canada, (4)University of British Columbia, Biometeorology and Soil Physics Group, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Contact First Author: Mark S. Johnson; mark.johnson@ubc.ca

Abstract ID#: 35751

 

English Abstract:
Delivery of dissolved carbon from landscapes to streams is highly pronounced in headwater catchments where terrestrial-aquatic connectivity is high. Dissolved CO2 is of particular interest in headwater systems since it can rapid evade from inland waters to the atmosphere, which can complicate resolution of the terrestrial carbon balance. Here we focus on groundwater as the primary flowpath for delivery of terrestrially-fixed carbon from the biosphere to the hydrosphere in a ~90 Ha managed forest catchment near Campbell River, British Columbia. We present 5 years of near-continuous in situ measurements of dissolved CO2 in riparian groundwater at the catchment outlet. These data are compared against ecosystem respiration, as well as gross and net ecosystem productivity determined using eddy covariance within the catchment prior to and following forest harvest mid-way through this study. Ecohydrological controls on carbon drainage are considered in relation to forest harvest impacts on carbon uptake dynamics and hydrological flowpaths.
Back to: Measuring and Modeling Biogeochemical Processes Controlling the Carbon Cycle of Inland Waters II