Helocrenic springs as sources of nutrient rich fine particulate organic matter in small foothill watershed.

Despite the large number of studies devoted to organic matter dynamics in fluvial ecosystems, the detrital pathways of spring headwater systems remain neglected. In particular, spring wetlands (helocrenes or seepages) might have considerable influence on downstream headwater stream systems due to the alteration of the nutrient and organic matter content of the water. In this study, we examined fine particulate organic matter (FPOM) drained from helocrenic springs to describe its downstream transport.

Performance of landscape composition metrics for predicting water quality in headwater catchments.

Land use is a predominant threat to the ecological integrity of streams and rivers. Understanding land use-water quality interactions is essential for the development and prioritization of management strategies and, thus, the improvement of water quality. Weighting schemes for land use have recently been employed as methods to advance the predictive power of empirical models, however, their performance has seldom been explored for various water quality parameters.

Bioindication Testing of Stream Environment Suitability for Young Freshwater Pearl Mussels Using In Situ Exposure Methods.

Knowledge of habitat suitability for freshwater mussels is an important step in the conservation of this endangered species group. We describe a protocol for performing in situ juvenile exposure tests within oligotrophic river catchments over one-month and three-month periods. Two methods (in both modifications) are presented to evaluate the juvenile growth and survival rate.