Input, movement and exchange of organic matter within a subtropical coastal black water river‐flood plain system

SUMMARY. 1. Inputs, movements and exchanges of particulate organic matter were measured on two contrasting floodplains of the Ogeechee River, Georgia, U.S.A. A model, which incorporated measurements of standing crop, respiration, litterfall, inundation, and litter processing rates, was used to estimate annual exchanges of organic matter between the river and floodplains. 2. Annual litterfall was higher on the East floodplain than on the lower elevation West floodplain (902 v. 784 g ash‐free‐dry‐mass [AFDM] m −2 ). 3. Experiments with tagged leaves and sticks demonstrated that litter was readily displaced during floods. The distance and direction of displacement varied within and between floodplains but tended to be higher closer to the river and was generally parallel to the river. 4. The model indicated that both floodplains lost organic matter to the river. The lower elevation floodplain (East) lost more organic matter to the river (208 g AFDM m −2 year −1 ) than did the higher elevation (West) floodplain (79g AFDM m −2 year −1 ). 5. Inputs of organic matter from the floodplain to the river exceeded the amount of litterfall typically entering heavily forested high gradient headwater streams (5.5 v. 0.4‐0.6 kg AFDM m −2 year −1 ). 6. Floodplain organic matter inputs may exert a greater influence upon structure and function within these streams than do upstream inputs or primary production. Consequently, current conceptualizations of stream structure and function need to be modified to account for the effects of floodplain inputs on stream channel processes within large, low‐gradient rivers.