Stream food webs in tropical mountains rely on allochthonous carbon regardless of land use.

The relative importance of allochthonous and autochthonous carbon (C) as sources of energy for tropical stream food webs remains an open question. Allochthonous C might be the main energy source for small and shaded forest streams, while autochthonous C is more likely to fuel food webs draining land uses with less dense vegetation. We studied food webs in cloud forest streams draining watersheds with forests, coffee plantations, and pastures. Our goal was to assess the effects of those land uses on the C source and structure of stream food webs. The study took place in tropical montane streams in La Antigua Watershed, in eastern Mexico. We selected three streams per land use and sampled biofilm and leaf litter as the main food resources, and macroinvertebrates and aquatic vertebrates from different trophic guilds. Samples were analyzed for δ13C and δ15N isotopes. Using a Bayesian mixing model, we estimated the proportional assimilation of autochthonous and allochthonous carbon by each guild. We found that consumers were mostly using allochthonous C in all streams, regardless of watershed land use. Our findings indicate that montane cloud forest streams are dominated by allochthony even in watersheds dominated by pastures. Abundant precipitation in this life zone might facilitate the movement of allochthonous C into streams. While food webs of streams from coffee plantations and pastures also rely on allochthonous resources, other impacts do result in important changes in stream functioning.

Land use scenarios, seasonality, and stream identity determine the water physicochemistry of tropical cloud forest streams.

Background: Land use is a major factor determining stream water physicochemistry. However, most streams move from one land use type to another as they drain their watersheds. Here, we studied three land use scenarios in a tropical cloud forest zone in Mexico. We addressed three main goals, to: (1) assess how land use scenarios generate different patterns in stream physicochemical characteristics; (2) explore how seasonality (i.e., dry, dry-to-wet transition, and wet seasons) might result in changes to those patterns over the year; and (3) explore whether physicochemical patterns in different scenarios resulted in effects on biotic components (e.g., algal biomass). Methods: We studied Tropical Mountain Cloud Forest streams in La Antigua watershed, Mexico. Streams drained different three scenarios, streams with (1) an upstream section draining forest followed by a pasture section (F-P), (2) an upstream section in pasture followed by a forest section (P-F), and (3) an upstream forest section followed by coffee plantation (F-C). Physicochemistry was determined at the upstream and downstream sections, and at the boundary between land uses. Measurements were seasonal, including temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, and pH. Water was analyzed for suspended solids, alkalinity, silica, chloride, sulfate, magnesium, sodium, and potassium. Nutrients included ammonium, nitrate, and phosphorus. We measured benthic and suspended organic matter and chlorophyll. Results: Streams presented strong seasonality, with the highest discharge and suspended solids during the wet season. Scenarios and streams within each scenario had distinct physicochemical signatures. All three streams within each scenario clustered together in ordination space and remained close to each other during all seasons. There were significant scenario-season interactions on conductivity (F = 9.5, P < 0.001), discharge (F = 56.7, P < 0.001), pH (F = 4.5, P = 0.011), Cl- (F = 12.2, P < 0.001), SO42- (F = 8.8, P < 0.001) and NH4+ (F = 5.4, P = 0.005). Patterns within individual scenarios were associated with stream identity instead of land use. Both P-F and F-C scenarios had significantly different physicochemical patterns from those in F-P in all seasons (Procrustes analysis, m12 = 0.05-0.25; R = 0.86-0.97; P < 0.05). Chlorophyll was significantly different among scenarios and seasons (F = 5.36, P = 0.015, F = 3.81, P = 0.42, respectively). Concentrations were related to physicochemical variables more strongly during the transition season. Conclusion: Overall, land use scenarios resulted in distinctive water physicochemical signatures highlighting the complex effects that anthropogenic activities have on tropical cloud forest streams. Studies assessing the effect of land use on tropical streams will benefit from assessing scenarios, rather than focusing on individual land use types. We also found evidence of the importance that forest fragments play in maintaining or restoring stream water physicochemistry.

Reduced dry season transpiration is coupled with shallow soil water use in tropical montane forest trees.

Tropical montane cloud forests (TMCF) are ecosystems particularly sensitive to climate change; however, the effects of warmer and drier conditions on TMCF ecohydrology remain poorly understood. To investigate functional responses of TMCF trees to reduced water availability, we conducted a study during the 2014 dry season in the lower altitudinal limit of TMCF in central Veracruz, Mexico. Temporal variations of transpiration, depth of water uptake and tree water sources were examined for three dominant, brevi-deciduous species using micrometeorological, sap flow and soil moisture measurements, in combination with oxygen and hydrogen stable isotope composition of rainfall, tree xylem, soil and stream water. Over the course of the dry season, reductions in crown conductance and transpiration were observed in canopy species (43 and 34%, respectively) and mid-story trees (23 and 8%), as atmospheric demand increased and soil moisture decreased. Canopy species consistently showed more depleted isotope values compared to mid-story trees. However, MixSIAR Bayesian model results showed that the evaporated (enriched) soil water pool was the main source for trees despite reduced soil moisture. Additionally, while increases in tree water uptake from deeper to shallower soil water sources occurred, concomitant decreases in transpiration were observed as the dry season progressed. A larger reduction in deep soil water use was observed for canopy species (from 79 ± 19 to 24 ± 20%) compared to mid-story trees (from 12 ± 17 to 10 ± 12%). The increase in shallower soil water sources may reflect a trade-off between water and nutrient requirements in this forest.