Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Interactions Between Biosphere, Atmosphere and Human Land Use in the Amazon Basin pp 119–148Cite as

Aquatic Ecosystems

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Ecological Studies ((ECOLSTUD,volume 227))

Abstract

The emissions of carbon dioxide and methane from aquatic ecosystems to the atmosphere are a significant component of the carbon cycle in the Amazon basin. Recent estimates of inundated areas, of gas transfer velocities, and of concentrations and fluxes of carbon dioxide in diverse aquatic habitats are used to update, and extend to the whole lowland basin, estimates of carbon dioxide emissions. Total floodable area derived from remotely sensed data with a spatial resolution of about 100 m in the Amazon basin <500 m above sea level is approximately 800,000 km2. Combination of channel geometry and lengths for streams and rivers results in an estimate of approximately 60,000 km2 for channel areas. Gas transport velocities derived from mechanistic models and measurements in a variety of standing and flowing waters indicate values are higher than those used in prior calculations of carbon dioxide emission. Combination of updated inundated areas and gas transfer velocities with numerous new measurements of carbon dioxide concentrations and fluxes from streams, rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and wetlands results in an estimate up to approximately 1800 Tg C year−1 for the whole lowland Amazon basin. The majority of the basin-wide evasion of carbon dioxide is likely derived from atmospheric carbon dioxide fixed by photosynthesis by higher plants in aquatic environments. Further research is needed on carbon inputs, sedimentation, and emission of both carbon dioxide and methane from all habitats with particular attention to those with flooded forests and floating herbaceous plants, and on areal coverage and emission from streams.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abril G, Guérin F, Richard S, Delmas R, Galy-Lacaux C, Gosse P, Tremblay A, Varfalvy L, Santos MA, Matvienko B (2005) Carbon dioxide and methane emissions and the carbon budget of a 10-year old tropical reservoir (Petit Saut, French Guiana). Global Biogeochem Cycles 19:1–16

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Abril G, Martinez J-M, Artigas LF, Moreira-Turcq P, Benedetti MF, Vidal L, Meziane T, Kim J-H, Bernardes MC, Savoye N, Deborde J, Souza EL, Albéric P, de Souza MFL, Roland F (2014) Amazon River carbon outgassing fuelled by wetlands. Nature 505:395–398

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Aires F, Papa F, Prigent C (2013) A long-term high-resolution wetland dataset over the Amazon basin, downscaled from multiwavelength retrieval using SAR data. J Hydrometeorol 14:594–607

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alin SR, Rasera MFFL, Salimon CI, Richey JE, Holtgrieve GW, Krusche AV, Snidvongs A (2011) Physical controls on carbon dioxide transfer velocity and flux in low-gradient river systems and implications for regional carbon budgets. J Geophys Res Biogeosci 116:G01009. doi:10.1029/2010jg001398

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Alsdorf D, Han S-C, Bates P, Melack J (2010) Seasonal water storage on the Amazon floodplain measured from satellites. Remote Sens Environ 114:2448–2456

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amaral JHF, Suhett AL, Melo S, Farjalla VF (2013) Seasonal variation and interaction of photodegradation and microbial metabolism of DOC in black water Amazonian ecosystems. Aquat Microb Ecol 70:157–168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aragão LEOC, Malhi Y, Barbier N, Lima A, Shimabukuro Y, Anderson L, Saatchi S (2008) Interactions between rainfall, deforestation and fires during recent years in the Brazilian Amazonia. Philos Trans R Soc B 363:1779–1785

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arnesen AS, Silva TSF, Hess LL, Novo EMLM, Rudorff CM, Chapman BD, McDonald KC (2013) Monitoring flood extent in the lower Amazon River floodplain using ALOS/PALSAR ScanSAR images. Remote Sens Environ 130:51–61. doi:10.1016/j.rse.2012.10.035

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aufdenkampe AK, Mayorga E, Raymond PA, Melack JM, Doney SC, Alin SR, Aalto RE, Yoo K (2011) Rivers key to coupling biogeochemical cycles between land, oceans and atmosphere. Front Ecol Environ 9:53–60

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Banerjee S, MacIntyre S (2004) The air-water interface: turbulence and scalar exchange. In: Grue J (ed) Advances in coastal and ocean engineering, vol 9. World Scientific, Hackensack, NJ, pp 181–237

    Google Scholar 

  • Barbosa PM (2013) Avaliação do fluxo difusivo de metano (CH4) em ambientes do médio-baixo Solimões. M.Sc. Thesis, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

    Google Scholar 

  • Barros N, Cole JJ, Tranvik LJ, Prairie YT, Bastiviken D, Huszar VLM, del Giorgi P, Roland F (2011) Carbon emission from hydroelectric reservoirs linked to reservoir age and latitude. Nat Geosci 4:593–596

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Battin TJ, Luyssaert S, Kaplan LA, Aufdenkampe AK, Richter A, Tranvik LJ (2009) The boundless carbon cycle. Nat Geosci 2:598–600

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Beck V, Chen H, Gerbig C, Bergamaschi P, Bruhwiler L, Houweling S et al (2012) Methane airborne measurements and comparison to global models during BARCA. J Geophys Res 117:D15310. doi:10.1029/2011JD017345

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Beighley RE, Gummadi V (2011) Developing channel and floodplain dimensions with limited data: a case study in the Amazon basin. Earth Surf Process Landf 36:1059–1071

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beighley RE, Eggert KG, Dunne T, He Y, Gummadi V, Verdin KL (2009) Simulating hydrologic and hydraulic processes throughout the Amazon River Basin. Hydrol Process 23:1221–1235. doi:10.1002/hyp.7252

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belger L, Forsberg B, Melack JM (2011) Factors influencing carbon dioxide and methane emissions from interfluvial wetlands of the upper Negro River basin, Brazil. Biogeochemistry 105:171–183. doi:10.1007/s10533-010-9536-0

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bloom AA, Palmer PI, Fraser A, Reay DS, Frankenberg C (2010) Large-scale controls on methanogenesis inferred from methane and gravity spaceborne data. Science 327:322–325

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Borges AV, Abril G, Darchambeau F, Teodoru CR, others (2015) Divergent biophysical controls of aquatic CO2 and CH4 in the world’s two largest rivers. Sci Rep. doi:10.1038/srep15614

    Google Scholar 

  • Bouchez J, Beyssac O, Galy V, Gaillardet J, France-Lanord C, Laurence M, Moreira-Turcq PF (2010) Oxidation of petrogenic organic carbon in the Amazon floodplain as a source of atmospheric CO2. Geology 38:255–258

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brix H, Sorrell BK, Orr PT (1992) Internal pressurization and convective gas flow in some emergent freshwater macrophytes. Limnol Oceanogr 37:1420–1433

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown J, Loveland T, Ohlen D, Zhu Z (2003) LBA regional land cover from AVHRR 1-km version 1.2 (IGBP). Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center, Oak Ridge, TN

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Burrows MT, Schoeman DS, Buckley LB, Moore P, Poloczanska ES, Brander KM et al (2011) The pace of shifting climate in marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Science 334:652–655

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Butman D, Raymond PA (2011) Significant efflux of carbon dioxide from streams and rivers in the United States. Nat Geosci 4:839–842

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cao M, Marshall S, Gregson K (1996) Global carbon exchange and methane emission from natural wetlands: application of a process-based model. J Geophys Res 101:14399–14414

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Casimiro L, Waldo S, Labat D, Guyot JL, Ardoin-Bardin S (2011) Assessment of climate change impacts on the hydrology of the Peruvian Amazon-Andes basin. Hydrol Process 25:3721–3734

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Casimiro L, Waldo S, Labat D, Guyot JL, Ronchail J, Espinoza Villar JC (2012) Trends in rainfall rates and temperature fluctuations in the Peruvian Amazonas-Andes basin over the last 40 years. Hydrol Process. doi:10.1002/hyp.9418

    Google Scholar 

  • Castello L, McGrath DG, Hess LL, Coe MT, Lefebvre PA, Petry P, Macedo MN, Renó VF, Arantes CC (2013) The vulnerability of Amazon freshwater ecosystems. Conserv Lett 6:217–229

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chambers JQ, Fisher JI, Zeng H, Chapman EL, Baker DB, Hurtt GC (2007) Hurricane Katrina’s carbon footprint on U.S. Gulf Coast forests. Science 318:1107

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chen JL, Wilson CR, Tapley BD (2010) The 2009 exceptional Amazon flood and interannual terrestrial water storage change observed by GRACE. Water Resour Res 46. doi:10.1029/2010WR009383

  • Coe MT, Costa MH, Howard E (2007) Simulating the surface waters of the Amazon River basin: impacts of new river geomorphic and dynamic flow parameterizations. Hydrol Process 22:2542–2553

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coe MT, Costa MH, Soares-Filho BS (2009) The influence of historical and potential future deforestation on the stream flow of the Amazon River—land surface processes and atmospheric feedback. J Hydrol. doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2009.02.043

    Google Scholar 

  • Coe MT, Latrubesse EM, Ferreira ME, Amsler ML (2011) The effects of deforestation and climate variability on the streamflow of the Araguaia River, Brazil. Biogeochemistry 105:119–131. doi:10.1007/s10533-011-9582-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cole JJ, Praire YT, Caraco NF, McDowell WH, Tranvik LJ, Striegl RR, Duarte CM, Kortelainen P, Downing JA, Middleburg J, Melack JM (2007) Plumbing the global carbon cycle: integrating inland waters into the terrestrial carbon budget. Ecosystems. doi:10.1007/s10021-006-9013-8

    Google Scholar 

  • Costa MH, Coe MT, Guyot JL (2009) Effects of climatic variability and deforestation on surface water regimes. In: Gash J, Keller M, Silva-Dias P (eds) Amazonia and global change, Geophysical monograph series 186. American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, pp 543–553

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Cox PM, Pearson D, Booth BB, Friedlingstein P, Huntingford C, Jones CD, Luke CM (2013) Sensitivity of tropical carbon to climate change constrained by carbon dioxide variability. Nature 494:341–344

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Crill PM, Bartlett KB, Wilson J, Sebacher DI, Harriss RC, Melack JM, MacIntyre S, Lesack L, Smith Morrill L (1988) Tropospheric methane from an Amazon floodplain lake. J Geophys Res 93:1564–1570

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson EA, Figueiredo RDO, Markewitz D, Aufdenkampe AK (2010) Dissolved CO2 in small catchment streams of eastern Amazonia: a minor pathway of terrestrial carbon loss. J Geophys Res 115. doi:10.1029/2009JG001202

  • Davidson EA, de Araújo AC, Artaxo P, Balch JK, Brown IF, Bustamante MMC, Coe MT, DeFries RS, Keller M, Longo M, Munger JW, Schroeder W, Soares-Filho BS, Souza CM Jr, Wofsy SC (2012) The Amazon basin in transition. Nature 481:321–328

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Del Sontro T, Kunz MJ, Kempter T, Wuest A, Wehrli B, Senn DB (2011) Spatial heterogeneity of methane ebullition in a large tropical reservoir. Environ Sci Technol 45:9866–9873

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Devol AH, Quay PD, Richey JE, Martinelli LA (1987) The role of gas exchange in the inorganic carbon, oxygen and 222 radon budgets of the Amazon River. Limnol Oceanogr 32:235–248

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Downing J (2009) Global limnology: up-scaling aquatic services and processes to planet Earth. Verh Int Verein Limnol 30:1149–1166

    Google Scholar 

  • Downing JA, Cole JJ, Duarte CM, Middelburg J, Melack JM, Prairie YT, Kortelainen P, Striegl RG, McDowell WH, Tranvik LJ (2012) Global abundance and size distribution of streams and rivers. Inland Waters 2:229–236

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellis EE, Richey JE, Aufdenkampe AK, Krusche AV, Quay PD, Salimon C, da Cunha HB (2012) Factors controlling water-column respiration in rivers of the central and southwestern Amazon Basin. Limnol Oceanogr 57:527–540

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Engle D, Melack JM (2000) Methane emissions from the Amazon floodplain: enhanced release during episodic mixing of lakes. Biogeochemistry 51:71–90

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Engle DL, Melack JM, Doyle RD, Fisher TR (2008) High rates of net primary productivity and turnover for floating grasses on the Amazon floodplain: implications for aquatic respiration and regional CO2 flux. Glob Chang Biol 14:369–381

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferreira E, Zuanon J, Forsberg B, Goulding M, Briglia-Ferreira SR (2007) Rio Branco: ecologia e conservação de Roraima. INPA/ACCA, Lima, p 201

    Google Scholar 

  • Finer M, Jenkins CN (2012) Proliferation of hydroelectric dams in the Andean Amazon and implications for Andes-Amazon connectivity. PLoS One 7:e35126. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0035126

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Finer M, Orta-Martinez M (2010) A second hydrocarbon boom threatens the Peruvian Amazon: trends, projections, and policy implications. Environ Res Lett 5. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/5/1/014012

    Google Scholar 

  • Flores BM, Piedade MTF, Nelson BW (2014) Fire disturbance in Amazonian blackwater floodplain forests. Plant Ecol Divers 7:319–327

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frankenberg C, Bergamaschi P, Butz A, Houweling S, Meirink JF, Notholt J, Petersen AK, Schrijver H, Warneke T, Aben I (2008) Tropical methane emissions: a revised view from SCIAMACHY onboard ENVISAT. Geophys Res Lett 35. doi:10.1029/2008GL034300

  • Frappart F, Seyler F, Martinez J-M, León JG, Cazenave A (2005) Floodplain water storage in the Negro River basin estimated from microwave remote sensing of inundation and water levels. Remote Sens Environ 99:387–399

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gash J, Keller M, Silva-Dias P (eds) (2009) Amazonia and global change, Geophysical monograph series 186. American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Getirana ACV, Boone A, Yamazaki D, Decharme B, Papa F, Mognard N (2012) The hydrological modeling and analysis platform (HyMAP): evaluation in the Amazon Basin. J Hydrometeorol 13:1641–1665

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gloor M, Brienen RJW, Galbraith D, Feldpausch TR, Schöngart J, Guyot JL, Espinoza JC, Lloyd J, Phillips OL (2013) Intensification of the Amazon hydrological cycle over the last two decades. Geophys Res Lett 40. doi:10.1002/grl.50377

    Google Scholar 

  • Guérin F, Abril G, Richard S, Burban B, Reynouard C, Seyler P, Delmas R (2006) Methane and carbon dioxide emissions from tropical reservoirs: significance of downstream rivers. Geophys Res Lett 33. doi:10.1029/2006GL027929

  • Guérin F, Abril G, Serca D, Delon C, Richard S, Delmas R, Tremblay A, Varfalvy L (2007) Gas transfer velocities of CO2 and CH4 in a tropical reservoir and its river downstream. J Mar Syst 66:161–172

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton S, Sippel S, Melack JM (1995) Oxygen depletion and carbon dioxide production in waters of the Pantanal wetland of Brazil. Biogeochemistry 30:115–141

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton SK, Sippel SJ, Melack JM (2002) Comparison of inundation patterns among major South American floodplains. J Geophys Res 107. doi:10.1029/2000JD000306

  • Hamilton SK, Sippel SJ, Melack JM (2004) Seasonal inundation patterns in two large savanna floodplains of South America: the Llanos de Moxos (Bolivia) and the Llanos del Orinoco (Venezuela and Colombia). Hydrol Process 18:2103–2116

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanson MC, Potapov PV, Moore R, Hancher M, Turubanov SA, Tyukavina A et al (2013) High-resolution global maps of 21st century forest cover change. Science 342:850–853

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hawes JE, Peres CA, Riley LB, Hess LL (2012) Landscape-scale variation in structure and biomass of Amazonian seasonally flooded and unflooded forests. For Ecol Manage 281:163–176

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hess LL, Melack JM, Novo EMLM, Barbosa CCF, Gastil M (2003) Dual-season mapping of wetland inundation and vegetation for the central Amazon basin. Remote Sens Environ 87:404–428

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ho DT, Veron F, Harrison E, Bliven LF, Scott N, McGillis WR (2007) The combined effect of rain and wind on air-water gas exchange: a feasibility study. J Mar Syst 66:150–160

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hofmann H (2013) Spatiotemporal distribution patterns of dissolved methane in lakes: how accurate are the current estimations of the diffusive flux path? Geophys Res Lett 40:2779–2784

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huntingford C, Jones PD, Livina VN, Lenton TM, Cox PM (2013) No increase in global temperature variability despite changing regional patterns. Nature 500:327–330

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jarvis A, Reuter HI, Nelson A, Guevara E (2008) Hoe-filled seamless SRTM data v4. International Center for Tropical Agriculture, Cali. Available at http://srtm.csi.cgiar.org

  • Jati SR (2013) Emissão de CO2 and CH4 nas savanas úmidas de Roraima. M.Sc. Thesis, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson MS, Lehmann J, Couto EG, Novaes JP, Riha SJ (2006) DOC and DIC in flowpaths of Amazonian headwater catchments with hydrologically contrasting soils. Biogeochemistry 81:45–57

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson MS, Weiler M, Couto EG, Riha SJ, Lehmann J (2007) Storm pulses of dissolved CO2 in a forested headwater Amazonian stream explored using hydrograph separation. Water Resour Res 43:W11201. doi:10.1029/2007WR006359

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson MS, Lehmann J, Riha SJ, Krusche AV, Richey JE, Ometto J, Couto EG (2008) CO2 efflux from Amazonian headwater streams represents a significant fate for deep soil respiration. Geophys Res Lett 35:L17401. doi:10.1029/2008GL034619

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Junk WJ, Piedade MTF, Schöngart J, Cohn-Haft M, Adeney JM, Wittmann F (2011) A classification of major naturally-occurring Amazonian lowland wetlands. Wetlands 31:623–640

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kemenes A, Forsberg BR, Melack JM (2007) Methane release below a hydroelectric dam. Geophys Res Lett 34:L12809. doi:10.1029/2007GL029479

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kemenes A, Forsberg BR, Melack JM (2011) CO2 emissions from a tropical hydroelectric reservoir (Balbina, Brazil). J Geophys Res Biogeosci 116:G03004. doi:10.1029/2010JG001465

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kemenes A, Forsberg BR, Melack JM (2016) Downstream emissions of CH4 and CO2 from Amazon hydroelectric reservoirs (Tucuruí, Samuel and Curuá-Una). Inland Waters (in press)

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim JH, Zell C, Moreira-Turcq P, Pérez MAP, Abril G, Mortillaro JM, Weijers JWH, Meziane T, Sinninghe Damsté JS (2012) Tracing soil organic carbon in the lower Amazon River and its tributaries using GDGT distributions and bulk organic matter properties. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 90:163–180

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Koschorreck M (2000) Methane turnover in exposed sediments of an Amazon floodplain lake. Biogeochemistry 50:195–206

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lahteenoja O, Reátegui YR, Räsänen M, Torres DC, Oinonen M, Page S (2011) The large Amazonian peatland carbon sink in the subsiding Pastaza-Maranon foreland basin, Peru. Glob Chang Biol 18:164–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Langerwisch F, Rost S, Gerten D, Poulter B, Rammig A, Cramer W (2012) Potential effects of climate change on inundation patterns in the Amazon basin. Hydrol Earth Syst Sci Discuss 9:261–300

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lau KM, Wu HT, Kim KM (2013) A canonical response of precipitation characteristics to global warming from CMIP5 models. Geophys Res Lett 40:3163–3169

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lehner B, Döll P (2004) Development and validation of a global database of lakes, reservoirs and wetlands. J Hydrol 296:1–22

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu J, Wang B, Cane MA, Yim S-Y, Leem J-Y (2013) Divergent global precipitation changes induced by natural versus anthropogenic forcing. Nature 493:656–659

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lloyd J, Kolle O, Fritsch H, Freitas SR, Dias MAFS, Artaxo P, Nobre AD, Araújo AC, Kruijt B, Sogocheva L, Fisch G, Thielmann A, Kuhn U, Andreae MO (2007) An airborne regional carbon balance for Central Amazonia. Biogeosciences 4:759–768

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Longo KM, Freitas SR, Andreae MO, Yokelson R, Artaxo P (2009) Biomass burning in Amazonia: emissions, long-range transport of smoke and its regional and remote impacts. In: Gash J, Keller M, Silva-Dias P (eds) Amazonia and global change, Geophysical monograph series 186. American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, pp 207–232

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Macedo MN, Coe MT, DeFries R, Uriarte M, Brando PM, Neill C, Walker WS (2013) Land-use-driven stream warming in southeastern Amazonia. Philos Trans R Soc B 368:20120153, 10.1098/rstb.2012.0153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacIntyre S, Wanninkhof R, Chanton J (1995) Trace gas exchange across the air-water interface in freshwater and coastal marine environments. In: Matson P, Harriss R (eds) Biogenic trace gases: measuring emissions from soil and water. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 52–97

    Google Scholar 

  • MacIntyre S, Jonsson A, Jansson M, Åberg J, Turney DE, Miller S (2010) Buoyancy flux, turbulence, and the gas transfer coefficient in a stratified lake. Geophys Res Lett 37:L24604. doi:10.1029/2010GL044164

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Malhi Y, Roberts JT, Betts RA, Killen TJ, Li W, Nobre CA (2008) Climate change, deforestation, and the fate of the Amazon. Science 319:169–172

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marengo JA (2004) Interdecadal variability and trends of rainfall across the Amazon basin. Theor Appl Climatol 78:79–96

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marengo JA, Nobre CA, Tomasella J, Oyama MD, de Oliveira GS, de Oliveira R, Camargo H, Alves LM, Brown IF (2008) The drought of Amazonia in 2005. J Clim 21:495–516

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marengo J, Nobre CA, Betts RA, Cox PM, Sampaio G, Salazar L (2009) Global warming and climate change in Amazonia: climate-vegetation feedback and impacts on water resources. In: Gash J, Keller M, Silva-Dias P (eds) Amazonia and global change, Geophysical monograph series 186. American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, pp 273–292

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Marengo JA, Tomasella J, Alves LM, Soares WR, Rodriguez DA (2011) The drought of 2010 in the context of historical droughts in the Amazon region. Geophys Res Lett 38:L12703. doi:10.1029/2011GL047436

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayorga E, Logsdon MG, Ballester MVR, Richey JE (2005a) Estimating cell-to-cell land surface drainage paths from digital channel networks, with an application to the Amazon basin. J Hydrol 315:167–182

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayorga E, Aufdenkampe AK, Masiello CA, Krusche AV, Hedges JI, Quay PD, Richey JE, Brown TA (2005b) Young organic matter as a source of carbon dioxide outgassing from Amazonian rivers. Nature 436:538–541. doi:10.1038/nature03880

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Melack JM (2004) Remote sensing of tropical wetlands. In: Ustin S (ed) Manual of remote sensing, vol 4, Remote sensing for natural resources management and environmental monitoring. Wiley, New York, NY, pp 319–343

    Google Scholar 

  • Melack JM (2005) Floodplain lakes and reservoirs in tropical and subtropical South America: limnology and human impacts. In: O’Sullivan P, Reynolds C (eds) Lakes handbook, vol 2. pp 241–257

    Google Scholar 

  • Melack JM, Coe MT (2013) Climate change and the floodplain lakes of the Amazon basin. In: Goldman CR, Kumagai M, Robarts R (eds) Global impact of climate change on inland water systems. Wiley, New York, NY, pp 295–310

    Google Scholar 

  • Melack JM, Engle D (2009) An organic carbon budget for an Amazon floodplain lake. Verh Int Verein Limnol 30:1179–1182

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Melack JM, Forsberg B (2001) Biogeochemistry of Amazon floodplain lakes and associated wetlands. In: McClain ME, Victoria RL, Richey RE (eds) Biogeochemistry of the Amazon Basin and its role in a changing world. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 235–276

    Google Scholar 

  • Melack JM, Hess LL (2010) Remote sensing of the distribution and extent of wetlands in the Amazon basin. In: Junk WJ, Piedade M, Wittmann F, Schöngart J, Parolin P (eds) Amazonian floodplain forests: ecophysiology, ecology, biodiversity and sustainable management, Ecological studies. Springer, Berlin, pp 43–59

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Melack JM, Hess LL, Gastil M, Forsberg BR, Hamilton SK, Lima IBT, Novo EMLM (2004) Regionalization of methane emissions in the Amazon basin with microwave remote sensing. Glob Chang Biol 10:530–544

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Melack JM, Novo EMLM, Forsberg BR, Piedade MTF, Maurice L (2009) Floodplain ecosystem processes. In: Gash J, Keller M, Silva-Dias P (eds) Amazonia and global change, Geophysical monograph series 186. American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, pp 525–541

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Miguez-Macho G, Fan Y (2012) The role of groundwater in the Amazon water cycle: 1. Influence on seasonal streamflow, flooding and wetlands. J Geophys Res 117. doi:10.1029/2012JD017539

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller JB, Gatti LV, d’Amelio MTS, Crotwell AM, Dlugokencky EJ, Bakwin P, Artaxo P, Tans PP (2007) Airborne measurements indicate large methane emissions from the eastern Amazon basin. Geophys Res Lett 34:L10809. doi:10.1029/2006GL029213

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mortillaro JM, Abril G, Moreira-Turcq P, Sobrinh R, Perez M, Meziane T (2011) Fatty acid and stables isotopes (δ13C, δ15N) signatures of particulate organic matter in the Lower Amazon River: seasonal contrasts and connectivity between floodplain lakes and the mainstem. Org Geochem 42:1159–1168

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mortillaro JM, Rigal F, Rybarczyk H, Bernardes M, Abril G, Meziane T (2012) Particulate organic matter distribution along the lower Amazon River: addressing aquatic ecology concepts using fatty acids. PLoS One 7:e46141. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0046141

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Negrón-Juárez RI, Chambers JQ, Guimaraes G, Zeng H, Raupp CFM, Marra DM, Ribeiro GH, Higuchi N, Nelson B (2010) Widespread Amazon forest tree mortality from a single cross-basin squall line event. Geophys Res Lett 37:L16701. doi:10.1029/2010GL043733

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neu V, Neill C, Krusche AV (2011) Gaseous and fluvial carbon export from an Amazon forest watershed. Biogeochemistry 105:133–147

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ortiz AC, Ashton A, Nepf H (2013) Mean and turbulent velocity fields near rigid and flexible plants and the implications for deposition. J Geophys Res Earth Surf 118. doi:10.1002/2013JF002858

    Google Scholar 

  • Paiva RCD, Buarque DC, Collischonn W, Bonnet MP, Frappart F, Calmant S, Mendes CAB (2013) Large-scale hydrologic and hydrodynamic modeling of the Amazon River basin. Water Resour Res 49:1226–1243

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Papa F, Guntner A, Frappart F, Prigent C, Rossow WB (2008) Variations of surface water extent and water storage in large river basins: a comparison of different global data sources. Geophys Res Lett 35:L11401. doi:10.1029/2008GL033857

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Papa F, Prigent C, Jimenez C, Aires F, Rossow WB (2010) Interannual variability of surface water extent at global scale, 1993–2004. J Geophys Res 115:D12111. doi:10.1029/2009JD012674

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pires GF, Costa MH (2013) Deforestation causes different subregional effects on the Amazon bioclimatic equilibrium. Geophys Res Lett 40:3618–3623

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Polsenaere P, Deborde J, Detandt G, Vidal LO, Pérez MAP, Marieu V, Abril G (2013) Thermal enhancement of gas transfer velocity of CO2 in an Amazon floodplain lake revealed by eddy covariance measurements. Geophys Res Lett 40:1734–1740

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Potter CS (1997) An ecosystem simulation model for methane production and emission from wetlands. Global Biogeochem Cycles 11:495–506

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Potter CS, Melack JM, Engle D (2016) Modeling carbon dynamics and methane emissions from Amazon floodplain ecosystems. Wetlands 11:501–511

    Google Scholar 

  • Prigent C, Papa F, Aires F, Rossow WB, Matthews E (2007) Global inundation dynamics inferred from multiple satellite observations, 1993–2000. J Geophys Res 112:D12107. doi:10.1029/2006JD007847

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prigent C, Papa F, Jimenez C, Rossow WB, Matthews E (2012) Changes in land surface water dynamics since the 1990s and relation to population pressures. Geophys Res Lett 39:L08403. doi:10.1029/2012GL051276

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rasera MFFL, Ballester MVR, Krusche AV, Salimon C, Montebelo LA, Alin SR, Victoria RL, Richey JE (2008) Estimating the surface area of small rivers in the southwestern Amazon and their role in CO2 outgassing. Earth Interact 12:1–16. doi:10.1175/2008EI257.1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rasera MFFL, Krusche AV, Richey JE, Ballester MVR, Victória RL (2013) Spatial and temporal variability of pCO2 and CO2 efflux in seven Amazonian rivers. Biogeochemistry 116:241–259

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Raymond PA, Hartmann J, Lauerwald R, Sobek S, McDonald C, Hoover M, Butman D, Striegl R, Mayorga E, Humborg C, Kortelainen P, Dürr H, Meybeck M, Ciais P, Guth P (2013) Global carbon dioxide emissions from inland waters. Nature 503:355–359

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reichstein M, Bahn M, Ciais P, Frank D, Mahecha MD, Seneviratne SI et al (2013) Climate extremes and the carbon cycle. Nature 500:287–295

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Remington S, Krusche AV, Richey JM (2011) Effects of DOM photochemistry on bacterial metabolism and CO2 evasion during falling water in a humic and a whitewater river in the Brazilian Amazon. Biogeochemistry 105:185–200

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Renó VF, Novo EMLM, Suemitsu C, Rennó CD, Silva TSF (2011) Assessment of deforestation in the lower Amazon floodplain using historical landsat MSS/TM imagery. Remote Sens Environ 115:3446–3456

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rice AL, Butenhoff CL, Shearer MJ, Teama D, Rosenstiel TN, Khalil AK (2010) Emissions of anaerobically produced methane by trees. Geophys Res Lett 37:L03807. doi:10.1029/2009GL041565

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Richey JE, Melack JM, Aufdenkampe AK, Ballester VM, Hess L (2002) Outgassing from Amazonian rivers and wetlands as a large tropical source of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Nature 416:617–620

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Richey JE, Krusche AV, Johnson MS, da Cunha HB, Ballester MV (2009) The role of rivers in the regional carbon balance. In: Gash J, Keller M, Silva-Dias P (eds) Amazonia and global change, Geophysical monograph series 186. American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, pp 489–504

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Riley WJ, Subin AM, Lawrence DM, Swenson SC, Torn MS, Meng L et al (2011) Barriers to predicting changes in global terrestrial methane fluxes: analyses using CLM4Me, a methane biogeochemistry model integrated in CESM. Biogeosciences 8:1925–1953. doi:10.5194/bg-8-1925-2011

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ringeval B, Noblet-Ducoudré N, Ciais P, Bousquet P, Prigent C, Papa F, Rossow WB (2010) An attempt to quantify the impact of changes in wetland extent on methane emissions on the seasonal and interannual time scales. Global Biogeochem Cycles 24:GB2003. doi:10.1029/2008GB003354

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Roland F, Vidal LO, Pacheco FS, Barros NO, Assireu A, Ometto HPHB, Cimbleris ACP, Cole JJ (2010) Variability of carbon dioxide flux from tropical (Cerrado) hydroelectric reservoirs. Aquat Sci 72:283–293

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenqvist A, Forsberg BR, Pimentel T, Rauste YA, Richey JE (2002) The use of spaceborne radar data to model inundation patterns and trace gas emissions in the central Amazon floodplain. Int J Remote Sens 23:1303–1328

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rudorff CM (2013) Flooding and carbon dynamics on the lower Amazon floodplain. Ph.D. Thesis, University of California, Santa Barbara

    Google Scholar 

  • Rudorff CM, Melack JM, MacIntyre S, Barbosa CCF, Novo EMLM (2011) Seasonal and spatial variability in CO2 emissions from a large floodplain lake in the lower Amazon. J Geophys Res Biogeosci 116:G04007. doi:10.1029/2011JG001699

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rudorff CM, Melack JM, Bates PD (2014a) Flooding dynamics on the lower Amazon floodplain: 1. Hydraulic controls on water elevation, inundation extent and river-floodplain discharge. Water Resour Res 50. doi:10.1002/2013WR014091

    Google Scholar 

  • Rudorff CM, Melack JM, Bates PD (2014b) Flooding dynamics on the lower Amazon floodplain: 2. Seasonal and interanual hydrological variability. Water Resour Res 50. doi:10.1002/2013WR014714

    Google Scholar 

  • Sawakuchi HO, Bastiviken D, Sawakuchi AEO, Krusche AV, Ballester MVR, Richey JE (2014) Methane emissions from Amazonian rivers and their contribution to the global methane budget. Glob Chang Biol. doi:10.1111/gcb.12646

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Silva TSF, Costa M, Melack JM (2009) Annual net primary production of macrophytes in the eastern Amazon floodplain. Wetlands 29:747–758

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silva TSF, Costa MPF, Melack JM (2010) Spatio-temporal variability of macrophyte cover and productivity in the eastern Amazon floodplain: a remote sensing approach. Remote Sens Environ 114:1998–2010

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silva TSF, Melack JM, Novo EML (2013) Responses of aquatic macrophyte cover and productivity to flooding variability on the Amazon floodplain. Glob Chang Biol 19:3379–3389

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stanley EH, Casson NJ, Christel ST, Others (2015) The ecology of methane in streams and rivers: patterns, controls, and global significance. Ecol Monogr. doi:10.1890/15-1027.1

    Google Scholar 

  • Victoria DC (2010) Simulacao hidrologica de bacias amazonicas utilizando o modelo de Capacidade de Infiltracao Variavel (VIC). PhD. Thesis, University of Sao Paulo, Piracicaba

    Google Scholar 

  • Vihermaa LE, Waldron S, Garnett MH, Newton J (2014) Old carbon contributes to aquatic emissions of carbon dioxide in the Amazon. Biogeosciences 11:3635–3645

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Villar E, Jhan C, Ronchail J, Guyot JL, Junquas C, Vauchel P, Casimiro L, Waldo S, Drapeau G, Pombosa Loza LR (2011) Climate variability and extreme drought in the upper Solimões River (Western Amazon Basin): understanding the exceptional 2010 drought. Geophys Res Lett 38:L13406. doi:10.1029/2011GL047862

    Google Scholar 

  • Waichman AV (1996) Autotrophic carbon sources for heterotrophic bacterioplankton in a floodplain lake of Central Amazon. Hydrobiologia 341:27–36

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Walter BP, Heimann M (2000) A process-based, climate-sensitive model to derive methane emissions from natural wetlands: application to five wetland sites, sensitivity to model parameters, and climate. Global Biogeochem Cycles 14:745–765

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ward ND, Keil RG, Medeiros PM, Brito DC, Cunha AC, Dittmar T, Yager PL, Krusche AV, Richey JE (2013) Degradation of terrestrially derived macromolecules in the Amazon River. Nat Geosci. doi:10.1038/ngeo1817

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson MD, Bates PD, Alsdorf A, Forsberg B, Horritt M, Melack J, Frappart F, Famglietti JS (2007) Modeling large-scale inundation of Amazonian seasonally flooded wetlands. Geophys Res Lett 34:L15404. doi:10.1029/2007GL030156

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Worbes M (1997) The forest ecosystem of the floodplains. In: Junk WJ (ed) The Central Amazon floodplain, Ecological studies. Springer, Berlin, pp 223–260

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Xavier L, Becker M, Cazenave A, Longuevergne L, Llovel W, Rotunno Filho OC (2010) Interannual variability in water storage over 2003–2008 in the Amazon Basin from GRACE space gravimetry, in situ river level and precipitation data. Remote Sens Environ 114:1626–1637

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yamazaki D, Kanae S, Kim H, Oki T (2011) A physically based description of floodplain inundation dynamics in a global river routing model. Water Resour Res 47:W04501. doi:10.1029/2010WR009726

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zeng N, Yoon JH, Marengo JA, Subramaniam A, Nobre CA, Mariotti A, Neelin JD (2008) Causes and impacts of the 2005 Amazon drought. Environ Res Lett 3. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/3/1/014002

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

S. MacIntyre, L. Hess, G. Abril, J. Richey, B.R. Forsberg, and L. Nagy provided helpful comments on the manuscript and its development. The writing and related research was supported by NASA’s Terrestrial Ecology Program.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA

    John M. Melack

  2. Earth Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA

    John M. Melack

Authors
  1. John M. Melack
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to John M. Melack .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, Brazil

    Laszlo Nagy

  2. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia, Manaus, Brazil

    Bruce R. Forsberg

  3. Instituto de Física, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Paulo Artaxo

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Melack, J.M. (2016). Aquatic Ecosystems. In: Nagy, L., Forsberg, B., Artaxo, P. (eds) Interactions Between Biosphere, Atmosphere and Human Land Use in the Amazon Basin. Ecological Studies, vol 227. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-49902-3_7

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation