Selected publications

The authors' aim was to evaluate the magnitude and drivers of stream CO2 flux variations at the water-air interface between day and night across European streams. The majority of streams had higher CO2 fluxes during night. However, no consistent driver could be identified across streams. Measuring night-time fluxes is necessary to not underestimate global CO2 emissions from inland waters.

The authors aimed at describing community composition of methanogenic and methanotrophic microorganisms at large spatial scale and at linking their abundances to potential sediment methane production and oxidation rates. Diversity of methanogenic archaea was higher in warmer streams and diversity of methanotrophic communities was higher at southern sampling sites and in larger streams. 

How do estimates for runoff contributions in glaciated catchments differ when estimated with different methods? A meta-analysis of 143 studies shows that the definition of runoff contributions is crucial, leading to rain and snow contributions to runoff estimated with a tracer-based approach being on average 9-14% lower than when determined by hydrological modelling. 

The authors introduced a novel numerical modelling framework that provides reactive parameter estimates of contaminant transformation reactions with high parameter identifiability and informs dominant transformation pathways for joint parent daughter simulations in river sediments. The findings highlight that the daughter reaction rate may be underestimated if its parent transformation is ignored.

The authors studied Isotopes in Berlin’s Panke catchment to understand stream flow sources. Groundwater dominated the upper catchment, but ~90% of flow in the lower catchment was treated waste water. High flows were generated from urban drains. The stream has unnatural hydrological and chemical regimes with restoration needed for improved ecology. 

The authors investigated the seasonal dynamics in prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbiomes in three common fen types in Northern Germany. The eukaryotic microbiomes showed significant changes in their community structures across the seasons in contrast to largely unaffected prokaryotic microbiomes. The dynamics in eukaryotic microbiomes in the rewetted sites differed between fen types.

Rewetted peatlands have the potential to fulfil the restoration goals including those targeting climate change mitigation, water quality protection, and species conservation. However, due to heavy soil changes their restoration cannot be expected in short-term. Data analyser of several hundred natural and degraded peatlands have shown that it might last decades before they become fully recovered.

The authors used an isotope-based ecohydrologic model to assess the hydrological impacts of “re-wilding” in the Scottish Highlands by increasing Scots Pine forests for biodiversity conservation. They found forests will “use” more water through evapotranspiration which may initially decrease summer low flows and summer floods, though a natural hydrological regime will be restored after ~100 years.