Measuring Mass Fluxes of Nutrients to a First-Order Stream within a Pristine Mountain Rainforest in Costa Rica
Abstract
Costa Rica's montane rainforests form an integral part of the economic, social, and environmental well-being of the country. They supply water for agriculture, hydroelectric power, and human consumption. Release of nutrients to streams from rainforests is poorly studied. This information will inform an ongoing public debate over the importance of restoring rainforests in areas formerly cleared for farming. The primary objective in this study was to measure the mass fluxes of nutrients to a first-order mountain stream within a pristine rainforest. The sampling site is within the Texas A&M Soltis Center in Alajuela State, Costa Rica. To measure volumetric and mass fluxes, and identify the sources, a 75 m reach was sampled upstream and downstream at 2 hour intervals over a 48 hour period. Four shallow well Two persistent seeps were sampled. Labile parameters, including oxygen, nitrate, ammonia, and sulfide were tested on-site using a spectrophotometer. Multi-meters were deployed at the upstream and downstream sampling locations to continuously measure physico-chemical parameters. Twelve major ions were analyzed with an ion chromatograph. Using End-member Mixing Analysi stry supplied water to the stream along the study reach: 1) rain water; 2) fresh groundwater; 3) medium total dissolved solid er; 5) right bank seep; 6) left bank seep; and finally 7) upstream. The anticipated outcome is a separated hydrograph showing volumetric and mass fluxes from each of the source waters over the 48 hour period.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018AGUFM.H43C2398G
- Keywords:
-
- 1632 Land cover change;
- GLOBAL CHANGEDE: 1834 Human impacts;
- HYDROLOGYDE: 1847 Modeling;
- HYDROLOGYDE: 1879 Watershed;
- HYDROLOGY