A model-based comparison of organic matter dynamics between riparian-forested and open-canopy streams

Abstract The food webs of forest streams are primarily based upon inputs of organic matter from adjacent terrestrial ecosystems. However, streams that run through open landscapes generally lack closed riparian canopies, and an increasing number of studies indicate that terrestrial organic matter may be an important resource in these systems as well. Combining key abiotically-controlled factors (stream discharge, water temperature, and litter input rate) with relevant biotic processes (e.g. macroinvertebrate CPOM consumption, microbial processing), we constructed a model to predict and contrast organic matter dynamics (including temporal variation in CPOM standing crop, CPOM processing rate, FPOM production, and detritivore biomass) in small riparian-forested and open-canopy streams. Our modeled results showed that the standing crop of CPOM was similar between riparian-forested and open-canopy streams, despite considerable differences in litter input rate. This unexpected result was partly due to linkages between CPOM supply and consumer abundance that produced higher detritivore biomass in the forest stream than the open-canopy stream. CPOM standing crop in the forest stream was mainly regulated by top-down consumer control, depressing it to a level similar to that of the open-canopy stream. In contrast, CPOM standing crop in the open-canopy stream was primarily controlled by physical factors (litter input rates and discharge), not consumption. This suggests that abiotic processes (e.g. discharge) may play a greater role in limiting detrital resource availability and consumer biomass in open-canopy streams than in forest streams. These model results give insight on functional differences that exists among streams and they can be used to predict effects of anthropogenic influences such as forestry, agriculture, urbanization, and climate change on streams and how riparian management and conservation tools can be employed to mitigate undesirable effects.