Spatiotemporal Variation of Benthic Macroinvertebrates in Some Tropical Forest Streams of the Nyong Catchment (Cameroon)

With the aim of assessing the benthic macroinvertebrates’ diversity, a study was carried out in some tropical forest streams of the Nyong River catchment in Cameroon from February 2019 to February 2020. A total of 167 samples were carried out from 13 stations during 13 months. Some environmental variables were measured. These parameters varied more or less from station to station but significantly at the temporal level. In this study, 13,690 benthic macroinvertebrates belonging to 4 phyla, 7 classes, 16 orders and 93 families were collected. The benthic macroinvertebrates were more abundant and more diversified in the stations whose waters are well oxygenated and present a moderate current compared to the stations with a very weak current. The diversity varied significantly from 1.33 ± 0.14 bits/ind to 2.00 ± 0.35 bits/ind and the high values were found in stations with multiple substrates and well-oxygenated waters. Temporally, the diversity varied significantly from 1.10 ± 0.16 bits/ind in NM sampling station in February 2020 to 1.87 ± 0.1 bits/ind in the OB sampling station in September. In addition, the settlement was more abundant during the short dry season, more precisely during the month of August (1471 individuals) but richer during the long dry season during the month of February (54 families). The distribution of the abundances of the benthic fauna in the different stations made it possible to identify five typological groups using the rarefaction curves, the ascending hierarchical classification and the principal component analyses. Each of these five groups is characterized by a specific taxonomic richness, composition and abundance.

Dynamics of iron and aluminum storages in a subtropical forest headwater stream

The forest headwater streams are important hubs for connecting terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems,with plant litter and sediments as the major carriers for material migrations;however,until now we knew little about the dynamics of trace elements such as iron(Fe)and aluminum(Al)in forest headwater streams.Here,we quantitatively identified the spatiotemporal dynamics of Fe and Al storages in plant litter and sediments and their influencing factors in a subtropical forest headwater stream,and assessed the potential pollution risk.The results showed that:(1)the mean concentrations of Fe and Al in plant litter(sediments)were 5.48 and 8.46(7.39 and 47.47)g·kg^(-1),and the mean storages of Fe and Al in plant litter(sediments)were 0.26 and 0.43(749.04 and 5030.90)g·m^(-2),respectively;(2)the storages of Fe and Al in plant litter and sediments significantly fluctuated from January to December,and showed a decreasing pattern from the source to mouth;and(3)storages of Fe and Al had no significant correlation with riparian forest type and the present of tributary and the Fe and Al storages in plant litter were mainly affected by water temperature and water alkalinity,and their storages in sediments were mainly affected by water temperature and frequency of rainfall;and(4)there were no anthropogenic pollution in Fe and Al in the forest headwater stream.Our study revealed the primary factors of concentrations and storages of Fe and Al in plant litter and sediments in a forest headwater stream,which will improve our understanding of the role of headwater streams in forest nutrient storage and cycling along with hydrological processes.

Factors Impacting Water Quality of a Small Stream in a Mountain Forest

Recent improvements to sewerage systems have meant that the relative contribution of point sources of pollution to the overall pollutant loads of streams has decreased markedly. Consequently, the potential increase in non-point source pollution means that it may be necessary to focus more on pollution loads from non-point sources in the future. This study examined pollution loads from non-point sources in streams flowing through forested areas. In addition, the relationship between runoff and pollution loads was also clarified. The small streams in the Tohoku University Botanical Gardens, in Sendai city, Japan, were sampled during a dry weather period and their water quality parameters were characterized. Chemical Oxygen Demand （COD） concentration increased with distance downstream, possibly because the soils in downstream areas contained high amounts of organic matter. Conversely, the concentration of nitrate nitrogen （NO3-N） decreased with distance downstream, probably because upstream soils were generally in an oxidized state while those further downstream were reduced. COD concentration increased with air temperature, while NO3-N levels decreased with an increase in air temperatures.