I thought there would be more work done on the topic; there doesn't seem to be very many papers.
*A critical review of the effect of water storage reservoirs on organic matter decomposition in rivers
Environmental Reviews, 29-Oct-2016
by: Mbaka, John
abstract Organic matter decomposition is vital in sustaining river food webs. However, little is known about the effect of water storage reservoirs on organic matter decomposition in rivers. In this paper, we reviewed and analyzed 37 studies that investigated the effect of man-made reservoirs on organic matter decomposition in rivers. Most studies focused on decomposition of tree leaf litter (54.1%) and macrophytes litter (43.2%), while fewer studies evaluated decomposition of wood (2.7%). Based on qualitative analysis, the effect of small weirs on organic matter decomposition is local and the effect on most habitat variables is minimal. Mean effect sizes (Hedge ́s d) for organic matter decomposition were −1.98 for small weirs, −1.31 for small reservoirs and −0.66 for large reservoirs. In conclusion, this review demonstrates that in general reservoirs have a negative effect on litter decomposition. Litter decomposition, an important ecosystem process, is sensitive to impacts of reservoirs in different types of rivers.
You're right, they are mainly just across a single year :)
Hello Prof. Scott,
Kindly check this
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/12/3523/pdf
Hi All, Thanks for the responses so far (and thanks for recommending a paper I co-authored!). More specifically, I'm looking for decomposition-related papers that span multiple years. Best, Scott
Interesting question. I agree that interannual variability hasn't been taken into account in previous study designs. Considering that litter decomposition in streams takes one to two months in most biomes, it will need a lot of courage to do it repeatedly. It is an interesting question, nevertheless.
Dear Scott, please have a look on this paper I published in FWB, it may be useful to you!
Article High within‐stream replication is needed to predict litter f...
Hi Scott. Not a particularly useful answer I'm afraid, but I am in the (slow) process of putting together a small contribution on tropical stream leaf decomp. in Dominica across two subsequent summer periods. Can keep you posted when I get to it.
Good question - I have also looked into this myself and not found much. I don't have any measurements but I'm author on a paper that found evidence of change/variation at larger spatial scales over a 6 year period from model applications: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hydroa.2020.100056
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