Global patterns and drivers of ecosystem functioning in rivers and riparian zones.
Scott D TiegsDavid M CostelloMark W IskenGuy WoodwardPeter B McIntyreMark O GessnerEric ChauvetNatalie A GriffithsAlex S FleckerVicenç AcuñaRicardo AlbariñoDaniel C AllenCecilia AlonsoPatricio AndinoClay ArangoJukka AroviitaMarcus V M BarbosaLeon A BarmutaColden V BaxterThomas D C BellBrent BellingerLuz BoyeroLee E BrownAndreas BruderDenise A BruesewitzFrancis J BurdonMarcos CallistoCristina CanhotoKrista A CappsMaría M CastilloJoanne ClapcottFanny ColasCheco Colón-GaudJulien CornutVerónica Crespo-PérezWyatt F CrossJoseph M CulpMichael DangerOlivier DanglesElvira de EytoAlison M DerryVeronica Díaz VillanuevaMichael M DouglasArturo ElosegiAndrea C EncaladaSally EntrekinRodrigo EspinosaDiana EthaiyaVerónica FerreiraCarmen FerriolKyla M FlanaganTadeusz FleituchJennifer J Follstad ShahAndré Frainer BarbosaNikolai FribergPaul C FrostErica A GarciaLiliana García LagoPavel Ernesto García SotoSudeep GhateDarren P GilingAlan GilmerJosé Francisco GonçalvesRosario Karina GonzalesManuel A S GraçaMike GraceHans-Peter GrossartFrançois GuéroldVlad GulisLuiz U HeppScott HigginsTakuo HishiJoseph HuddartJohn HudsonSamantha ImbergerCarlos Iñiguez-ArmijosTomoya IwataDavid J JanetskiEleanor JenningsAndrea E KirkwoodAaron A KoningSarian KostenKevin A KuehnHjalmar LaudonPeter R LeavittAurea L Lemes da SilvaShawn James LerouxCarri J LeRoyPeter J LisiRichard MacKenzieAmy M MarcarelliFrank O MaseseBrendan G McKieAdriana Oliveira MedeirosKristian MeissnerMarko MilišaShailendra MishraYo MiyakeAshley MoerkeShorok MombrikotbRob MooneyTim MoultonTimo MuotkaJunjiro N NegishiVinicius Neres-LimaMika L NieminenJorge NimptschJakub OndruchRiku PaavolaIsabel PardoChristopher J PatrickEdwin T H M PeetersJesus PozoCatherine PringleAaron PrussianEstefania QuentaAntonio QuesadaBrian ReidJohn S RichardsonAnna RigosiJosé RincónGeta RîşnoveanuChristopher T RobinsonLorena Rodríguez-GallegoTodd V RoyerJames A RusakAnna C SantamansGéza B SelmeczyGelas SimiyuAgnija SkujaJerzy SmyklaKandikere R SridharRyan SponsellerAaron StolerChristopher M SwanDavid SzlagFranco Teixeira-de MelloJonathan D TonkinSari UusheimoAllison M VeachSirje VilbasteLena B M VoughtChiao-Ping WangJackson R WebsterPaul B WilsonStefan WoelflMarguerite A XenopoulosAdam G YatesChihiro YoshimuraCatherine M YuleYixin X ZhangJacob A ZwartPublished in: Science advances (2019)
River ecosystems receive and process vast quantities of terrestrial organic carbon, the fate of which depends strongly on microbial activity. Variation in and controls of processing rates, however, are poorly characterized at the global scale. In response, we used a peer-sourced research network and a highly standardized carbon processing assay to conduct a global-scale field experiment in greater than 1000 river and riparian sites. We found that Earth's biomes have distinct carbon processing signatures. Slow processing is evident across latitudes, whereas rapid rates are restricted to lower latitudes. Both the mean rate and variability decline with latitude, suggesting temperature constraints toward the poles and greater roles for other environmental drivers (e.g., nutrient loading) toward the equator. These results and data set the stage for unprecedented "next-generation biomonitoring" by establishing baselines to help quantify environmental impacts to the functioning of ecosystems at a global scale.