Spatial and temporal patterns of stream nutrient limitation in an Arctic catchment

Abstract Arctic stream biofilm responses to ongoing climate-related changes in physical and chemical conditions have major implications for food webs biogeochemical cycles. Yet, such effects rarely been studied outside summer months or at sub-catchment scales the Arctic. We used deployments of nutrient diffusing substrates (NDS) assess spatial (20 deployments) seasonal patterns (10 drivers limitation within an catchment. Results show that autotrophic processes was common during summer, but light inhibited biomass accrual under ice winter. Alongside single N, P C responses, co-limitation dominated overall pattern over time across However, primary limiting autotrophs changed from N parts catchment with higher concentrations. As studies are often conducted individual sites these may miss shifts productivity arise variable nutrient, temperature, regimes. Our results caution against focusing on one most important as we found this can shift seasonally small