Carbon dioxide dynamics in agricultural streams : Investigation of two streams draining catchments dominated by agricultural land

Sammanfattning: In recent years, streams draining agricultural land has been suggested to exhibit high carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations when compared to streams draining other land-types. The transport of carbon from land to ocean is mainly occurring through the chain of inland waters, and with agricultural land today representing 40% of all continental area many of these inland waters are influenced by agricultural land. The aim of this study was to improve the understanding of CO2 dynamics and its control in agricultural streams. Continuous data was collected from two catchments of different scales, near the city of Uppsala, Sweden. Both catchments are typical low-land catchments largely dominated by agricultural land. The measured CO2 concentrations were analyzed to find temporal variations and differences in dynamics between the catchments. The interplay between CO2 and parameters such as dissolved oxygen, discharge and conductivity were analyzed to determine the main drivers for CO2 dynamics. The findings show supersaturation of CO2 concentration during the full length of the measurement periods, with mean CO2 concentrations higher than what have been observed in streams draining other land-type catchments. Diel CO2 cycles were found throughout most of the measurement periods, where manual measurements were conducted to confirm these findings. The diel CO2 patterns were suggested to be heavily dependent on in-situ metabolic control while hydrological factors, such as sufficient discharge, seemed to be needed to produce a good diel CO2 signal. CO2 build-up is suggested to occur in the catchment soil and, when flushed out after rain events, result in an increasing CO2 concentration. This might be one important driver for the high levels in CO2 concentration found in the streams during summer and autumn. Analysis of the catchment areas suggest the percentage of agricultural land and the size of the catchment areas had an impact on hydrology, both for sufficient water flow to exist but also for the CO2 response after rain events. More research is encouraged, where more parameters should be investigated, such as groundwater inputs and carbonate precipitation.