Streams and rivers are important players in the global carbon cycle. Whole-ecosystem gross primary production and respiration as key components of the carbon cycle in streams have received considerable attention over the last decades. This project combines sensor networks to monitor ecosystem metabolism and CO2 dynamics in a range of streams in the Swiss Alps. Data will be cast into an ecohydraulic framework to mechanistically explain and predict the metabolic regime of Alpine streams. We will also assess the contribution of ecosystem respiration to CO2 evasion fluxes from streams to the atmosphere. Thereby, it will shed light on a major and ongoing debate on the source of CO2 outgassing from streams to the atmosphere. Establishing this link is fundamental to pinpoint the role of streams in the global carbon cycle.
PhD students: Marta Boix Canadell, Pier Luigi Segatto; PI: Tom J. Battin; EPFL Scientists: Lluis Gómez Gener, Amber Ulseth (now at Sam Houston State University, USA); Research Technician: Dr. Nicola Deluigi; Collaboration: Prof. Stuart Lane UNIL
Further information: http://p3.snf.ch/project-163015
