Biogeosciences (Feb 2025)
Reviews and syntheses: Variable inundation across Earth's terrestrial ecosystems
- J. Stegen,
- J. Stegen,
- A. J. Burgin,
- M. H. Busch,
- J. B. Fisher,
- J. Ladau,
- J. Ladau,
- J. Abrahamson,
- L. Kinsman-Costello,
- L. Li,
- X. Chen,
- T. Datry,
- N. McDowell,
- C. Tatariw,
- A. Braswell,
- J. M. Deines,
- J. A. Guimond,
- P. Regier,
- K. Rod,
- E. K. P. Bam,
- E. Fluet-Chouinard,
- I. Forbrich,
- I. Forbrich,
- K. L. Jaeger,
- T. O'Meara,
- T. Scheibe,
- E. Seybold,
- J. N. Sweetman,
- J. Zheng,
- D. C. Allen,
- E. Herndon,
- B. A. Middleton,
- S. Painter,
- K. Roche,
- J. Scamardo,
- R. Vander Vorste,
- K. Boye,
- E. Wohl,
- M. Zimmer,
- K. Hondula,
- M. Laan,
- A. Marshall,
- K. F. Patel
Affiliations
- J. Stegen
- Earth & Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
- J. Stegen
- School of the Environment, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
- A. J. Burgin
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
- M. H. Busch
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
- J. B. Fisher
- Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University, Orange, CA, USA
- J. Ladau
- Arva Intelligence Inc., Houston, TX, USA
- J. Ladau
- University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- J. Abrahamson
- Center for Geospatial Analytics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
- L. Kinsman-Costello
- Biological Sciences Department, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
- L. Li
- Department of Geosciences, Penn State University, State College, PA, USA
- X. Chen
- Earth & Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
- T. Datry
- EcoFlowS Lab, National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE), Villeurbanne, France
- N. McDowell
- Earth & Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
- C. Tatariw
- Environmental Science Department, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ, USA
- A. Braswell
- Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
- J. M. Deines
- Energy & Environment Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
- J. A. Guimond
- Department of Applied Ocean Physics & Engineering, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA
- P. Regier
- Energy & Environment Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
- K. Rod
- Earth & Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
- E. K. P. Bam
- International Water Research Institute (IWRI), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Ben Guerir, Morocco
- E. Fluet-Chouinard
- Energy & Environment Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
- I. Forbrich
- The Ecosystems Center, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA, USA
- I. Forbrich
- Department of Environmental Sciences, The University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA
- K. L. Jaeger
- Washington Water Science Center, US Geological Survey, Tacoma, WA, USA
- T. O'Meara
- Biological and Environmental Systems Science Directorate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
- T. Scheibe
- Earth & Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
- E. Seybold
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
- J. N. Sweetman
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Penn State University, State College, PA, USA
- J. Zheng
- Earth & Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
- D. C. Allen
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Penn State University, State College, PA, USA
- E. Herndon
- Biological and Environmental Systems Science Directorate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
- B. A. Middleton
- Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, US Geological Survey, Lafayette, LA, USA
- S. Painter
- Biological and Environmental Systems Science Directorate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
- K. Roche
- Department of Civil Engineering, Boise State University, Boise, ID, USA
- J. Scamardo
- Department of Watershed Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA
- R. Vander Vorste
- Department of Biology, University of Wisconsin–La Crosse, La Crosse, WI, USA
- K. Boye
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, Menlo Park, CA, USA
- E. Wohl
- Geosciences Department, Warner College of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
- M. Zimmer
- Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- K. Hondula
- Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- M. Laan
- Earth & Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
- A. Marshall
- Geosciences Department, Warner College of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
- K. F. Patel
- Earth & Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-995-2025
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 22
pp. 995 – 1034
Abstract
The structure, function, and dynamics of Earth's terrestrial ecosystems are profoundly influenced by how often (frequency) and how long (duration) they are inundated with water. A diverse array of natural and human-engineered systems experience temporally variable inundation whereby they fluctuate between inundated and non-inundated states. Variable inundation spans extreme events to predictable sub-daily cycles. Variably inundated ecosystems (VIEs) include hillslopes, non-perennial streams, wetlands, floodplains, temporary ponds, tidal systems, storm-impacted coastal zones, and human-engineered systems. VIEs are diverse in terms of inundation regimes, water chemistry and flow velocity, soil and sediment properties, vegetation, and many other properties. The spatial and temporal scales of variable inundation are vast, ranging from sub-meter to whole landscapes and from sub-hourly to multi-decadal. The broad range of system types and scales makes it challenging to predict the hydrology, biogeochemistry, ecology, and physical evolution of VIEs. Despite all experiencing the loss and gain of an overlying water column, VIEs are rarely considered together in conceptual, theoretical, modeling, or measurement frameworks and approaches. Studying VIEs together has the potential to generate mechanistic understanding that is transferable across a much broader range of environmental conditions, relative to knowledge generated by studying any one VIE type. We postulate that enhanced transferability will be important for predicting changes in VIE function in response to global change. Here we aim to catalyze cross-VIE science that studies drivers and impacts of variable inundation across Earth's VIEs. To this end, we complement expert mini-reviews of eight major VIE systems with overviews of VIE-relevant methods and challenges associated with scale. We conclude with perspectives on how cross-VIE science can derive transferable understanding via unifying conceptual models in which the impacts of variable inundation are studied across multi-dimensional environmental space.
