Sediment‑associated processes dominate spatial variation in stream ecosystem respiration
4 affiliations
- 1Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
- 2Worcester State University, Worcester, MA, USA
- 3Flathead Lake Biological Station, University of Montana, Polson, MT, USA
- 4Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
Abstract
Hyporheic zones (HZ) can contribute substantially to total stream ecosystem respiration (ERtot). HZ-focused process-based models may, therefore, effectively predict ERtot across sites, yet this remains untested under variable environmental conditions. Here, we evaluate whether spatial variation in HZ respiration predicted via a process-based model explains spatial variation in field-estimates of ERtot across 33 sites in the Yakima River basin in Washington State, USA. We found that HZ respiration predictions did not explain spatial variation in field estimates of ERtot. To investigate further, we partitioned ERtot contributions into water-column respiration (ERwc) and sediment-associated respiration (ERsed). ERsed contributed >50% of ERtot at 88% of sites, though relative contributions varied substantially. Despite this dominance, modeled HZ respiration explained neither spatial variation in ERtot nor in ERsed, suggesting that the HZ model alone does not capture the drivers of sediment-associated respiration across these sites. Instead, ERsed spatial variation was primarily explained by gross primary production, stream slope, velocity, and total dissolved nitrogen rather than median grain size, a primary control of HZ respiration predicted by the process-based model. Consistent with recent studies, our results indicate that improving basin-scale ERtot predictions requires integrating hydrologic and biogeochemical processes across hyporheic, benthic, and water-column zones.
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BibTeX
@article{garayburucaruso2026sedimentassociated,
title = {{Sediment‑associated processes dominate spatial variation in stream ecosystem respiration}},
author = {Vanessa A. Garayburu‐Caruso and Matthew Kaufman and Brieanne Forbes and Robert O. Hall and Maggi M. Laan and Xingyuan Chen and Xinming Lin and Stephanie Fulton and Lupita Renteria and Yilin Fang and Kyongho Son and James Stegen},
journal = {Communications Earth \& Environment},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.1038/s43247-026-03613-w},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-026-03613-w},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Sediment‑associated processes dominate spatial variation in stream ecosystem respiration
AU - Vanessa A. Garayburu‐Caruso
AU - Matthew Kaufman
AU - Brieanne Forbes
AU - Robert O. Hall
AU - Maggi M. Laan
AU - Xingyuan Chen
AU - Xinming Lin
AU - Stephanie Fulton
AU - Lupita Renteria
AU - Yilin Fang
AU - Kyongho Son
AU - James Stegen
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/01
JO - Communications Earth & Environment
DO - 10.1038/s43247-026-03613-w
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-026-03613-w
AB - Hyporheic zones (HZ) can contribute substantially to total stream ecosystem respiration (ERtot). HZ-focused process-based models may, therefore, effectively predict ERtot across sites, yet this remains untested under variable environmental conditions. Here, we evaluate whether spatial variation in HZ respiration predicted via a process-based model explains spatial variation in field-estimates of ERtot across 33 sites in the Yakima River basin in Washington State, USA. We found that HZ respiration predictions did not explain spatial variation in field estimates of ERtot. To investigate further, we partitioned ERtot contributions into water-column respiration (ERwc) and sediment-associated respiration (ERsed). ERsed contributed >50% of ERtot at 88% of sites, though relative contributions varied substantially. Despite this dominance, modeled HZ respiration explained neither spatial variation in ERtot nor in ERsed, suggesting that the HZ model alone does not capture the drivers of sediment-associated respiration across these sites. Instead, ERsed spatial variation was primarily explained by gross primary production, stream slope, velocity, and total dissolved nitrogen rather than median grain size, a primary control of HZ respiration predicted by the process-based model. Consistent with recent studies, our results indicate that improving basin-scale ERtot predictions requires integrating hydrologic and biogeochemical processes across hyporheic, benthic, and water-column zones.
SN - 2662-4435
ER -