Water (Oct 2019)
Is the Hyporheic Zone Relevant beyond the Scientific Community?
- Jörg Lewandowski,
- Shai Arnon,
- Eddie Banks,
- Okke Batelaan,
- Andrea Betterle,
- Tabea Broecker,
- Claudia Coll,
- Jennifer D. Drummond,
- Jaime Gaona Garcia,
- Jason Galloway,
- Jesus Gomez-Velez,
- Robert C. Grabowski,
- Skuyler P. Herzog,
- Reinhard Hinkelmann,
- Anja Höhne,
- Juliane Hollender,
- Marcus A. Horn,
- Anna Jaeger,
- Stefan Krause,
- Adrian Löchner Prats,
- Chiara Magliozzi,
- Karin Meinikmann,
- Brian Babak Mojarrad,
- Birgit Maria Mueller,
- Ignacio Peralta-Maraver,
- Andrea L. Popp,
- Malte Posselt,
- Anke Putschew,
- Michael Radke,
- Muhammad Raza,
- Joakim Riml,
- Anne Robertson,
- Cyrus Rutere,
- Jonas L. Schaper,
- Mario Schirmer,
- Hanna Schulz,
- Margaret Shanafield,
- Tanu Singh,
- Adam S. Ward,
- Philipp Wolke,
- Anders Wörman,
- Liwen Wu
Affiliations
- Jörg Lewandowski
- Department Ecohydrology, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Shai Arnon
- Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion 84990, Israel
- Eddie Banks
- National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training (NCGRT), College of Science & Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
- Okke Batelaan
- National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training (NCGRT), College of Science & Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
- Andrea Betterle
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
- Tabea Broecker
- Chair of Water Resources Management and Modeling of Hydrosystems, Technische Universität Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany
- Claudia Coll
- Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry (ACES), Stockholm University, 11418 Stockholm, Sweden
- Jennifer D. Drummond
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
- Jaime Gaona Garcia
- Department Ecohydrology, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Jason Galloway
- Department Ecohydrology, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Jesus Gomez-Velez
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37205, USA
- Robert C. Grabowski
- School of Water, Energy and Environment, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UK
- Skuyler P. Herzog
- O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
- Reinhard Hinkelmann
- Chair of Water Resources Management and Modeling of Hydrosystems, Technische Universität Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany
- Anja Höhne
- Department Ecohydrology, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Juliane Hollender
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
- Marcus A. Horn
- Department of Ecological Microbiology, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
- Anna Jaeger
- Department Ecohydrology, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Stefan Krause
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
- Adrian Löchner Prats
- Naturalea Conservació, SL, 08211 Castellar del Vallès, Spain
- Chiara Magliozzi
- School of Water, Energy and Environment, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UK
- Karin Meinikmann
- Department Ecohydrology, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Brian Babak Mojarrad
- Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 10044 Stockholm, Sweden
- Birgit Maria Mueller
- Department Ecohydrology, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Ignacio Peralta-Maraver
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Roehampton, London SW15 4JD, UK
- Andrea L. Popp
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
- Malte Posselt
- Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry (ACES), Stockholm University, 11418 Stockholm, Sweden
- Anke Putschew
- Department of Environmental Science and Technology, Chair Water Quality Engineering, Technische Universität Berlin, Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin, Germany
- Michael Radke
- Institute for Hygiene and Environment, Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, 20539 Hamburg, Germany
- Muhammad Raza
- IWW Water Centre, 45476 Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany
- Joakim Riml
- Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 10044 Stockholm, Sweden
- Anne Robertson
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Roehampton, London SW15 4JD, UK
- Cyrus Rutere
- Department of Ecological Microbiology, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
- Jonas L. Schaper
- Department Ecohydrology, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Mario Schirmer
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
- Hanna Schulz
- Department Ecohydrology, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Margaret Shanafield
- National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training (NCGRT), College of Science & Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
- Tanu Singh
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
- Adam S. Ward
- O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
- Philipp Wolke
- Department Ecohydrology, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Anders Wörman
- Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 10044 Stockholm, Sweden
- Liwen Wu
- Department Ecohydrology, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/w11112230
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 11,
no. 11
p. 2230
Abstract
Rivers are important ecosystems under continuous anthropogenic stresses. The hyporheic zone is a ubiquitous, reactive interface between the main channel and its surrounding sediments along the river network. We elaborate on the main physical, biological, and biogeochemical drivers and processes within the hyporheic zone that have been studied by multiple scientific disciplines for almost half a century. These previous efforts have shown that the hyporheic zone is a modulator for most metabolic stream processes and serves as a refuge and habitat for a diverse range of aquatic organisms. It also exerts a major control on river water quality by increasing the contact time with reactive environments, which in turn results in retention and transformation of nutrients, trace organic compounds, fine suspended particles, and microplastics, among others. The paper showcases the critical importance of hyporheic zones, both from a scientific and an applied perspective, and their role in ecosystem services to answer the question of the manuscript title. It identifies major research gaps in our understanding of hyporheic processes. In conclusion, we highlight the potential of hyporheic restoration to efficiently manage and reactivate ecosystem functions and services in river corridors.
Keywords
- hyporheic zone
- hyporheic exchange flow
- surface water–groundwater exchange
- ecosystem services
- nutrient turnover
- refuge
- hyporheos
- removal of trace organic compounds
- emerging pollutants
- self-purification capacity
