Aspects of Organic Matter Transport and Processing within Savannah River Plant Streams and the Savannah River Flood Plain Swamp

摘要

The studies were directed toward understanding; (1) the transport dynamics, storage, and retention of organic matter, (2) the processing of leaf material that enters the streams and swamp habitats of the SRP, and (3) how these factors are influenced by current or previous reactor operations at the SRP. Suspended particulate organic matter, benthic organic matter, and in-stream wood were investigated along selected reaches of Steel Creek from April 1983 to April 1984. Concentrations of organic seston ranged from 0.4 to 5.7 mg l exp -1 . Steel Creek transported significantly higher concentrations of particulate organic matter than did either Meyers Branch or the waters at the swamp site. Seston and dissolved organic matter were investigated on Four Mile Creek, a thermal stream on the SRP, within three different reactor cycles; reactor not operating (cold flow), reactor operating in early portion of cycle (early hot flow), and reactor operating in late portion of cycle (late hot flow). Significantly higher concentrations of particulate organic matter were transported at all study sites during hot flow than during cold flow. Particulate organic matter and dissolved organic matter concentrations were investigated at twelve sampling sites to quantify input and output dynamics of organic matter to the flood plain swamp. Samples were taken biweekly from February 1983 to March 1984. Dissolved organic matter concentrations ranged from 1.3 to 9.9 mg l exp -1 and particulate organic matter concentrations ranged from 0.3 to 5.1 mg l exp -1 . Leaf decomposition of three bottomland tree species was studied at six stream and four swamp sites under various temperature regimes. (ERA citation 11:007841)