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Turbulence‐mediated facilitation of resource uptake in patchy stream macrophytes
Author(s) -
Cornacchia Loreta,
Licci Sofia,
Nepf Heidi,
Folkard Andrew,
Wal Daphne,
Koppel Johan,
Puijalon Sara,
Bouma Tjeerd J.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.1002/lno.11070
Subject(s) - macrophyte , canopy , turbulence , ecosystem , aquatic plant , turbulence kinetic energy , ecology , biology , environmental science , botany , physics , thermodynamics
Many landscapes are characterized by a patchy, rather than homogeneous, distribution of vegetation. Often this patchiness is composed of single‐species patches with contrasting traits, interacting with each other. To date, it is unknown whether patches of different species affect each other's uptake of resources by altering hydrodynamic conditions, and how this depends on their spatial patch configuration. Patches of two contrasting aquatic macrophyte species (i.e., dense canopy‐forming Callitriche and sparse canopy‐forming Groenlandia ) were grown together in a racetrack flume and placed in different patch configurations. We measured 15 NH 4 + uptake rates and hydrodynamic properties along the centerline and the lateral edge of both patches. When the species with a taller, denser canopy ( Callitriche ) was located upstream of the shorter, sparser species ( Groenlandia ), it generated turbulence in its wake that enhanced nutrient uptake for the sparser Groenlandia. At the same time, Callitriche benefited from being located at a leading edge where it was exposed to higher mean velocity, as its canopy was too dense for turbulence to penetrate from upstream. Consistent with this, we found that ammonium uptake rates depended on turbulence level for the sparse Groenlandia and on mean flow velocity for the dense Callitriche , but Total Kinetic Energy was the best descriptor of uptake rates for both species. By influencing turbulence, macrophyte species interact with each other through facilitation of resource uptake. Hence, heterogeneity due to multispecific spatial patchiness has crucial implications for both species interactions and aquatic ecosystem functions, such as nitrogen retention.