The physical-chemical characteristics of surface waters in the management of quality in clearwater rivers in the Brazilian Amazon

The study of water quality in the Amazon region is important for understanding the functioning of ecological mechanisms. The standard that governs water quality in Brazil, including the Amazon, is Resolution CONAMA 357/05, which uses criteria inspired by standards from other countries. However, this resolution does not consider characteristics of Amazonian aquatic ecosystems, and this can lead to incorrect interpretation of the data. Furthermore, there are few studies on the physical-chemical characteristics of clearwater rivers in the Amazon and the influence of the forest-water interface. Therefore, water samples were collected from four clearwater tributary watersheds of the Amazonas and Tapajós Rivers during the dry season in the city of Santarém, Pará. Most of the points were collected in pristine areas in order to capture the natural physicochemical characteristics of clearwater rivers, as well as to show the importance of ecoregional aspects in water quality management. All samples were below pH 6.0, which represents non-compliance with the CONAMA resolution. Statistical tests yielded negative correlations between pH and conductivity (r = −0.87, p < 0.05), Therefore, the rivers of lower ionic load are influenced by the type of surrounding vegetation, which are characteristics that have been widely reported for blackwater rivers.

From canals to the coast: dissolved organic matter and trace metal composition in rivers draining degraded tropical peatlands in Indonesia

Worldwide, peatlands are important sources of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and trace metals (TMs) to surface waters, and these fluxes may increase with peatland degradation. In Southeast Asia, tropical peatlands are being rapidly deforested and drained. The blackwater rivers draining these peatland areas have high concentrations of DOM and the potential to be hotspots for CO2 release. However, the fate of this fluvial carbon export is uncertain, and its role as a trace metal carrier has never been investigated. This work aims to address these gaps in our understanding of tropical peatland DOM and associated elements in the context of degraded tropical peatlands in Indonesian Borneo. We quantified dissolved organic carbon and trace metal concentrations in the dissolved and fine colloidal (<0.22 µm) and coarse colloidal (0.22–2.7 µm) fractions and determined the characteristics (δ13C, absorbance, fluorescence: excitation-emission matrix and parallel factor – PARAFAC – analysis) of the peatland-derived DOM as it drains from peatland canals, flows along the Ambawang River (blackwater river) and eventually mixes with the Kapuas Kecil River (whitewater river) before meeting the ocean near the city of Pontianak in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. We observe downstream shifts in indicators of in-stream processing. An increase in the δ13C of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), along with an increase in the C1∕C2 ratio of PARAFAC fluorophores, and a decrease in SUVA (specific UV absorbance) along the continuum suggest the predominance of photo-oxidation. However, very low dissolved oxygen concentrations also suggest that oxygen is quickly consumed by microbial degradation of DOM in the shallow layers of water. Blackwater rivers draining degraded peatlands show significantly higher concentrations of Al, Fe, Pb, As, Ni and Cd compared to the whitewater river. A strong association is observed between DOM, Fe, As, Cd and Zn in the dissolved and fine colloid fraction, while Al is associated with Pb and Ni and present in a higher proportion in the coarse colloidal fraction. We additionally measured the isotopic composition of lead released from degraded tropical peatlands for the first time and show that Pb originates from anthropogenic atmospheric deposition. Degraded tropical peatlands are important sources of DOM and trace metals to rivers and a secondary source of atmospherically deposited contaminants.

Distribution and flux of dissolved iron in the peatland-draining rivers and estuaries of Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo

Dissolved iron (dFe) is essential for multiple biogeochemical reactions in oceans, such as photosynthesis, respiration and nitrogen fixation. Currently, large uncertainties remain regarding the input of riverine dFe into coastal oceans, especially in tropical rivers in southeastern Asia. In the present study, the concentrations of dFe and distribution patterns of dFe were determined along the salinity gradient in the Rajang River and three blackwater rivers that drain from peatlands, including the Maludam River, the Sebuyau River and the Simunjan River. In the Rajang River, the dFe concentration in freshwater samples (salinity <1 PSU – practical salinity units) in the wet season (March 2017) was higher than that in the dry season (August 2016), which might be related to the resuspension of sediment particles and soil erosion from cropland. In the Rajang estuary, an intense removal of dFe in low-salinity waters (salinity <15 PSU) was observed, which was likely due to salt-induced flocculation and absorption of dFe onto suspended particulate matter (SPM). However, increases in the dFe concentration in the wet season were also found, which may be related to dFe desorption from SPM and the influences of agricultural activities. In the blackwater rivers, the dFe concentration reached 44.2 µmol L−1, indicating a strong contribution to the dFe budget from peatland leaching. The dFe flux derived from the Rajang estuary to the South China Sea was estimated to be 6.4±2.3×105 kg yr−1. For blackwater rivers, the dFe flux was approximately 1.1±0.5×105 kg yr−1 in the Maludam River. Anthropogenic activities may play an important role in the dFe yield, such as in the Serendeng tributary of the Rajang River and Simunjan River, where intensive oil palm plantations were observed.

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) and methane (CH₄) in rivers and estuaries of northwestern Borneo

Nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) are atmospheric trace gases which play important roles in the climate and atmospheric chemistry of the Earth. However, little is known about their emissions from rivers and estuaries, which seem to contribute significantly to the atmospheric budget of both gases. To this end concentrations of N2O and CH4 were measured in the Rajang, Maludam, Sebuyau and Simunjan rivers draining peatland in northwestern (NW) Borneo during two campaigns in March and September 2017. The Rajang River was additionally sampled in August 2016 and the Samunsam and Sematan rivers were additionally sampled in March 2017. The Maludam, Sebuyau, and Simunjan rivers are typical “blackwater” rivers with very low pH (3.7–7.8), very high dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations (235–4387 mmol L−1) and very low O2 concentrations (31–246 µmol L−1; i.e. 13 %–116 % O2 saturation). The spatial and temporal variability of N2O and CH4 concentrations (saturations) in the six rivers or estuaries was large and ranged from 2.0 nmol L−1 (28 %) to 41.4 nmol L−1 (570 %) and from 2.5 nmol L−1 (106 %) to 1372 nmol L−1 (57 459 %), respectively. We found no overall trends of N2O with O2 or NO3-, NO2- or NH4+, and there were no trends of CH4 with O2 or dissolved nutrients or DOC. N2O concentrations showed a positive linear correlation with rainfall. We conclude, therefore, that rainfall is the main factor determining the riverine N2O concentrations since N2O production or consumption in the blackwater rivers themselves seems to be low because of the low pH. CH4 concentrations were highest at salinity = 0 and most probably result from methanogenesis as part of the decomposition of organic matter under anoxic conditions. CH4 in the concentrations in the blackwater rivers showed an inverse relationship with rainfall. We suggest that CH4 oxidation in combination with an enhanced river flow after the rainfall events might be responsible for the decrease in the CH4 concentrations. The rivers and estuaries studied here were an overall net source of N2O and CH4 to the atmosphere. The total annual N2O and CH4 emissions were 1.09 Gg N2O yr−1 (0.7 Gg N yr−1) and 23.8 Gg CH4 yr−1, respectively. This represents about 0.3 %–0.7 % of the global annual riverine and estuarine N2O emissions and about 0.1 %–1 % of the global riverine and estuarine CH4 emissions. Therefore, we conclude that rivers and estuaries in NW Borneo – despite the fact their water area covers only 0.05 % of the global river/estuarine area – contribute significantly to global riverine and estuarine emissions of N2O and CH4.

Distribution and Flux of Dissolved Iron of the Rajang and Blackwater Rivers at Sarawak, Borneo

Dissolved iron (dFe) is essential for biogeochemical reactions in oceans, such as photosynthesis, respiration and nitrogen fixation. Currently, large uncertainties remain on riverine dFe inputs, especially for tropical rivers in Southeast Asia. In the present study, dFe concentrations and distribution along the salinity gradient in the Rajang River in Malaysia, and three blackwater rivers draining from peatlands, including the Maludam River, the Sebuyau River, and the Simunjan River, were determined. In the Rajang River, the concentration of dFe in fresh water (salinity

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) and methane (CH₄) in rivers and estuaries of northwestern Borneo

Nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) are atmospheric trace gases which play important roles of the climate and atmospheric chemistry of the Earth. However, little is known about their emissions from rivers and estuaries which seem to contribute significantly to the atmospheric budget of both gases. To this end concentrations of N2O and CH4 were measured in the Rajang, Maludam, Sebuyau and Simunjan Rivers draining peatland in northwestern (NW) Borneo during two campaigns in March and September 2017. The Rajang River was additionally sampled in August 2016 and the Samusam and Sematan Rivers were additionally sampled in March 2017. The Maludam, Sebuyau, and Simunjan Rivers are typical "blackwater" rivers with very low pH, very high dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations and very low O2 concentrations. The spatial and temporal variability of N2O and CH4 concentrations (saturations) in the six rivers/estuaries was large and ranged from 2.0 nmol L−1 (28 %) to 41.4 nmol L−1 (570 %) and from 2.5 nmol L−1 (106 %) to 1372 nmol L−1 (57,459 %), respectively. We found no overall trends of N2O with O2 or NO3−, NO2−, NH4+ and there were no trends of CH4 with O2 or dissolved nutrients or DOC. N2O concentrations showed a positive linear correlation with rainfall. We conclude, therefore, that rainfall is the main factor determining the riverine N2O concentrations since N2O production/consumption in the "blackwater" rivers themselves seems to be unlikely because of the low pH. In contrast CH4 concentrations showed an inverse relationship with rainfall. CH4 concentrations were highest at salinity = 0 and most probably result from methanogenesis as part of the decomposition of organic matter under anoxic conditions. We speculate that CH4 oxidation, which can be high when the water discharge is high (e.g. after rainfall events), is responsible for the decrease of the CH4 concentrations along the salinity gradients. The rivers and estuaries studied here were an overall net source of N2O and CH4 to the atmosphere. The total annual N2O and CH4 emissions were 1.09 Gg N2O yr-1 (0.7 Gg N yr-1) and 23.8 Gg CH4 yr-1, respectively. This represents about 0.3–0.7 % of the global annual riverine and estuarine N2O emissions and about 0.1–1 % of the global riverine and estuarine CH4 emissions. Therefore, we conclude that rivers and estuaries in NW Borneo –despite the fact their water area covers only 0.05 % of the global river/estuarine area– contribute significantly to global riverine and estuarine emissions of N2O and CH4.

Organization of fish assemblages in blackwater Atlantic Forest streams

ABSTRACT This study aimed to determine whether fish species occupy different mesohabitats, as defined by specific criteria of substrate types in Atlantic Forest blackwater streams. We sampled fourteen coastal blackwater rivers along the coast of São Paulo State, Brazil, during the low-flow season (June-September/2016). For each stream, we selected three mesohabitat types (sand, leaf-litter and trunks) in a 100 m river stretch. We sampled 41 mesohabitats, 31 of which contained fish, resulting in 15 species. When multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was applied to the mesohabitat abiotic variables, no significant differences were indicated between them. ANOSIM for species density and biomass and Redundancy Analyses (RDAs) for species density, biomass and fish community indexes showed similar patterns of community structure among mesohabitats. Nevertheless, fish biomass, diversity and richness were associated with such unique environmental features as low shading and shallow habitats. The observed dispersion among mesohabitats suggests that these communities are subject to some level of disturbance, which may affect the value of patches as refugia. Thus, the sharing of these mesohabitat patches among species may represent an opportunistic strategy to maximize the use of available resources for these low density populations living in these unique environments.