Abstract.
The capacity of stream channels to retain leaf litter (retentiveness) was measured in 21 reaches of the Agüera basin (northern Spain) at different discharges, using plastic strips as leaf analogs. Strips were calibrated against seven local leaf species occurring in the area. Retention was highest for alder, followed by plastic strips, oak, beech, chestnut, eucalyptus, hazel, and sycamore. Inter-specific differences in retention were great, and not clearly related to leaf form or size. This result shows that a great deal of caution is necessary to compare results obtained by authors using different leaf species. The Agüera stream channels were highly retentive, especially in the headwaters. At baseflows, the average travel distance of strips was 3.6 m in 1st-order reaches, increasing to 16.6 m in 3rd-order streams. Travel distances of strips increased twofold in 3rd- and 2nd-order reaches and 5-fold in 1st-order streams during periods of high discharge. Leaf litter retentiveness was related to channel gradient, width, and substrate. Cobbles and wood showed high retention efficiencies, and the role of wood as a retention factor increased at high discharges. Retentiveness enhances storage and subsequent utilization of organic materials in forested streams, and thus should be taken into account when managing streams.
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Received: 10 July 2002; revised manuscript accepted: 18 March 2003
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ID="*"Corresponding author phone: +34 946 015 513; fax: +34 944 648 500; e-mail: gvblaars@lg.ehu.es¶ Published on Web: July 3, 2003
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Larrañaga, S., Díez, J., Elosegi, A. et al. Leaf retention in streams of the Agüera basin (northern Spain). Aquat. Sci. 65, 158–166 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-003-0623-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-003-0623-3