Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Discontinuities In Stream Nutrient Uptake Below Lakesin Mountain Drainage Networks, Michelle A. Baker

Michelle A. Baker

In many watersheds, lakes and streams are hydrologically linked in spatial patterns that influence material transport and retention. We hypothesized that lakes affect stream nutrient cycling via modifications to stream hydrogeomorphology, source‐waters, and biological communities. We tested this hypothesis in a lake district of the Sawtooth Mountains, Idaho. Uptake of NO3− and PO4−3 was compared among 25 reaches representing the following landscape positions: lake inlets and outlets, reaches >1‐km downstream from lakes, and reference reaches with no nearby lakes. We quantified landscape‐scale hydrographic and reach‐scale hydrogeomorphic, source‐water, and biological variables to characterize these landscape positions and analyze relationships to nutrient …