EFFECTS OF RIVER DISCHARGE ON GROWTH OF PERIPHYTON IN SAND RIVER

Periphyton is known to be one of major primary producers for river ecosystem. While the growth of periphyton usually observed on the stone surface in gravel river, the large growth of periphyton is sometimes seen even in sand river with relatively small river discharge. In the present study, field observations and numerical simulations were performed to investigate the growth of periphyton in sand river. In the field observation, the growth of periphyton on fixed sand bed was measured weekly. The results of the field observations show that the large growth of periphyton occurs in sand river until the bed material sands have not moved. An integrated numerical simulation model is presented to describe the growth of periphyton at observed river reach, and a series of numerical simulations were performed to study the effect of river discharge on growth of periphyton in the sand river. The results of the numerical simulations show that the net primary production of periphyton decreases with the river discharge. These results suggest that the reduction of river discharge at ordinary water stage strongly affects the primary productivity of periphyton even in sand river.