Greenhouse GAS Dynamics In Streams Located Within Forested Landscapes Of The US Northeast.

Streams are important for the transport, removal, and transformation of nutrients. To date, research conducted in agricultural and urban catchments show that both the quantity and quality of terrestrially-derived solutes and nutrients influences the production or consumption of greenhouse gases (GHG) during microbial metabolism in streams. Relationships between site-specific attributes (e.g. land-use and land-cover, physiography, landscape features, climatology, etc.) and GHG fluxes in recipient streams vary over time, and are generally influenced by hydrological events, antecedent moisture conditions, pH, sub-surface geomorphology, water-table depth, dissolved oxygen levels, and oxidation-reduction status. Very little is known however about the relative importance of spatial and temporal variability at regulating GHG fluxes and associated biogeochemical factors in forested streams the US Northeast. For this project, the primary objectives are 1) to quantify fluxes of naturally occurring GHG across distinct hydrogeomorphic (HGM) features; 2) to examine the role of stream sediments in the production of GHG; and 3) to develop a GHG budget for streams that are found in a typical Northeastern watershed. To meet these objectives, results from data collected during base flow conditions from seven reaches in three streams will be investigated.