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River ecosystem metabolism and carbon biogeochemistry in a changing world

Nature volume 613, pages 449–459 (2023)Cite this article

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Abstract

River networks represent the largest biogeochemical nexus between the continents, ocean and atmosphere. Our current understanding of the role of rivers in the global carbon cycle remains limited, which makes it difficult to predict how global change may alter the timing and spatial distribution of riverine carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions. Here we review the state of river ecosystem metabolism research and synthesize the current best available estimates of river ecosystem metabolism. We quantify the organic and inorganic carbon flux from land to global rivers and show that their net ecosystem production and carbon dioxide emissions shift the organic to inorganic carbon balance en route from land to the coastal ocean. Furthermore, we discuss how global change may affect river ecosystem metabolism and related carbon fluxes and identify research directions that can help to develop better predictions of the effects of global change on riverine ecosystem processes. We argue that a global river observing system will play a key role in understanding river networks and their future evolution in the context of the global carbon budget.

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Fig. 1: River ecosystem metabolism.
Fig. 2: Carbon fluxes from land through river networks to the atmosphere and the coastal ocean.
Fig. 3: Complexity of global-change effects on river ecosystem metabolism and CO2 and CH4 emissions.
Fig. 4: A global river observation system.

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Data availability

We have used data published previously in https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2018.292, https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.11707, https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1963.1, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-010-9349-1, https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2010.55.3.1047, https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.11134, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-15496-2, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14895, https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.11614.

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Acknowledgements

The following funding sources are acknowledged: T.J.B., The NOMIS Foundation, SNF (IZSEZO_181491, 200021_163015); R.L., ANR “Investissements d’avenir” (ANR-16-CONV-0003_Cland); E.S.B. and R.O.H., US NSF grant no. 1442439 (StreamPULSE); E.R.H., US NSF grant no. 1926426; P. Raymond, US NSF grant no. 1840243; T.M. and J.A.R., Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies; P. Regnier, BELSPO (ReCAP, FEd-tWIN), EU Horizon 2020 VERIFY (grant agreement no. 776810) and ESM2025 - Earth System Models for the Future (grant agreement no. 101003536); L.R., Research Grants Council of Hong Kong (grant no. 17300621). K. Peter designed the figures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. River Ecosystems Laboratory, Alpine and Polar Environmental Research Centre (ALPOLE), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland

    Tom J. Battin

  2. Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR ECOSYS, Thiverval-Grignon, France

    Ronny Lauerwald

  3. Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

    Emily S. Bernhardt

  4. Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Venice, Italy

    Enrico Bertuzzo

  5. Centre for Research on Ecology and Forestry Applications (CREAF), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Lluís Gómez Gener

  6. Flathead Lake Biological Station, University of Montana, Polson, MT, USA

    Robert O. Hall Jr

  7. Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA

    Erin R. Hotchkiss

  8. School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

    Taylor Maavara

  9. Department of Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Tamlin M. Pavelsky

  10. Department of Geography, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

    Lishan Ran

  11. Institute for Climate and Carbon Neutrality, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

    Lishan Ran

  12. Yale School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    Peter Raymond & Judith A. Rosentreter

  13. Centre for Coastal Biogeochemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, Lismore, New South Wales, Australia

    Judith A. Rosentreter

  14. Biogeochemistry and Modeling of the Earth System Modeling (BGEOSYS), Department of Geosciences, Environment and Society, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium

    Pierre Regnier

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  1. Tom J. Battin
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Contributions

T.J.B. conceptualized the review, with inputs from all co-authors, R.L. and P. Regnier provided the carbon budget, T.M. and J.A.R. provided the GHG data, R.O.H., E.S.B. and L.G.G. provided ecosystem metabolism data, E.B., E.S.B., E.R.H. and R.O.H. provided material for the figures, J.A.R. designed the figures, T.J.B. wrote a first draft of the manuscript, which was revised and edited by all co-authors.

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Correspondence to Tom J. Battin.

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Supplementary Sections 1–3, including Supplementary Tables 1–6 and Supplementary References.

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Battin, T.J., Lauerwald, R., Bernhardt, E.S. et al. River ecosystem metabolism and carbon biogeochemistry in a changing world. Nature 613, 449–459 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05500-8

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