Drying and rewetting of riverbed sediments results in cold to neutral biogeochemical moments

Drying and rewetting of riverbed sediments results in cold to neutral biogeochemical moments | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Drying and rewetting of riverbed sediments results in cold to neutral biogeochemical moments James Stegen, Vanessa Garayburu-Caruso, Maggi Laan, Laura Coulson, and 6 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6711373/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract River corridors play a key role in global biogeochemical cycling, with riverbed sediments often accounting for over 90% of ecosystem respiration. Sediment respiration has been mostly studied in perennial streams, despite over 60% of streams globally being non-perennial. Previous experiments observed that sediment respiration response to rewetting varies from hot moments (i.e., bursts of increased respiration) to cold moments (i.e., decreased respiration), necessitating further research to understand the range of responses across diverse stream ecosystems. Here, we focused on O2 consumption as a key process tied to microbial respiration. We conducted manipulative wet/dry experiments with riverbed sediments from 50 streams within the contiguous United States. Results show that drying and rewetting sediments leads to cold or neutral moments of O2 consumption rates, rather than hot moments. We found that sediment texture and microbial activity were key factors influencing responses to rewetting. We propose a conceptual model, integrating across studies, whereby both hot and cold moments can exist simultaneously upon rewetting by considering both dry-state and perennially-inundated reference points. Future studies should test this by accounting for both reference points for holistic understanding of biogeochemical impacts of non-perennial flow on sediment respiration. Earth and environmental sciences/Biogeochemistry/Carbon cycle Earth and environmental sciences/Hydrology Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology/Freshwater ecology Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences/Environmental chemistry/Geochemistry Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files ECAPhysicalNatGeoSI.pdf Supplementary Information Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6711373","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":471998991,"identity":"12d02223-54c2-476c-87c5-1e3294c6e6d9","order_by":0,"name":"James 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Sediment respiration has been mostly studied in perennial streams, despite over 60% of streams globally being non-perennial. Previous experiments observed that sediment respiration response to rewetting varies from hot moments (i.e., bursts of increased respiration) to cold moments (i.e., decreased respiration), necessitating further research to understand the range of responses across diverse stream ecosystems. Here, we focused on O2 consumption as a key process tied to microbial respiration. We conducted manipulative wet/dry experiments with riverbed sediments from 50 streams within the contiguous United States. Results show that drying and rewetting sediments leads to cold or neutral moments of O2 consumption rates, rather than hot moments. We found that sediment texture and microbial activity were key factors influencing responses to rewetting. 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