---
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: gold
_id: '22438'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: The topography of a landscape regulates the spatial distribution of water
    and energy fluxes, which are main drivers of vegetation and soil carbon and nutrient
    dynamics. Despite the recognized role of topography in mediating such processes,
    quantifying and predicting the spatial distribution of carbon and nutrient fluxes
    and stocks in highly heterogeneous landscapes remains challenging. The main limitations
    stem from the prevalence of largely decoupled modeling approaches which fail to
    concurrently account for ecohydrological and biogeochemical processes as well
    as the lack of adequate frameworks describing the links among topography, water
    and energy balances, and soil biogeochemical dynamics. Here, we extend the capabilities
    of the mechanistic ecohydrological model Tethys-Chloris-Biogeochemistry (T&C-BG)
    by including a soil carbon and nutrient routing module in the distributed model
    version. The newly developed T&C-BG-2D model is validated against long-term hydrological
    and biogeochemical measurements from the Hafren catchment in Wales (UK) and the
    Erlenbach catchment in the Swiss pre-Alps. The model successfully captures carbon
    and nutrient concentrations and dynamics in these catchments, with relative differences
    between simulated and observed median values of between −4% and −0.3% for dissolved
    organic carbon, and between 1% and 20% for ammonia. A sensitivity analysis in
    the Erlenbach basin suggests that elevation explains over 80% of the observed
    spatial patterns, followed by topographic wetness index (12.6%), aspect (2.9%),
    and curvature (2.1%). These findings underscore topography's critical role in
    shaping water, carbon, and nutrient dynamics, which cannot be reflected in plot-scale
    simulations neglecting spatial interactions and topographic effects.
article_number: e2025WR040260
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Taiqi
  full_name: Lian, Taiqi
  last_name: Lian
- first_name: Simone
  full_name: Fatichi, Simone
  id: cf8e546b-a9b0-11f0-a43b-aa89ed1b56d6
  last_name: Fatichi
- first_name: Manfred
  full_name: Stähli, Manfred
  last_name: Stähli
- first_name: Sara
  full_name: Bonetti, Sara
  last_name: Bonetti
citation:
  ama: Lian T, Fatichi S, Stähli M, Bonetti S. Assessing spatial patterns of carbon
    and nutrient dynamics in catchments of complex topography. <i>Water Resources
    Research</i>. 2025;61(10). doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2025wr040260">10.1029/2025wr040260</a>
  apa: Lian, T., Fatichi, S., Stähli, M., &#38; Bonetti, S. (2025). Assessing spatial
    patterns of carbon and nutrient dynamics in catchments of complex topography.
    <i>Water Resources Research</i>. American Geophysical Union. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2025wr040260">https://doi.org/10.1029/2025wr040260</a>
  chicago: Lian, Taiqi, Simone Fatichi, Manfred Stähli, and Sara Bonetti. “Assessing
    Spatial Patterns of Carbon and Nutrient Dynamics in Catchments of Complex Topography.”
    <i>Water Resources Research</i>. American Geophysical Union, 2025. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2025wr040260">https://doi.org/10.1029/2025wr040260</a>.
  ieee: T. Lian, S. Fatichi, M. Stähli, and S. Bonetti, “Assessing spatial patterns
    of carbon and nutrient dynamics in catchments of complex topography,” <i>Water
    Resources Research</i>, vol. 61, no. 10. American Geophysical Union, 2025.
  ista: Lian T, Fatichi S, Stähli M, Bonetti S. 2025. Assessing spatial patterns of
    carbon and nutrient dynamics in catchments of complex topography. Water Resources
    Research. 61(10), e2025WR040260.
  mla: Lian, Taiqi, et al. “Assessing Spatial Patterns of Carbon and Nutrient Dynamics
    in Catchments of Complex Topography.” <i>Water Resources Research</i>, vol. 61,
    no. 10, e2025WR040260, American Geophysical Union, 2025, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2025wr040260">10.1029/2025wr040260</a>.
  short: T. Lian, S. Fatichi, M. Stähli, S. Bonetti, Water Resources Research 61 (2025).
das_tickbox: '1'
date_created: 2026-07-27T12:30:23Z
date_published: 2025-10-01T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-08-03T13:54:32Z
day: '01'
ddc:
- '550'
doi: 10.1029/2025wr040260
extern: '1'
intvolume: '        61'
issue: '10'
language:
- iso: eng
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: https://doi.org/10.1029/2025WR040260
month: '10'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
publication: Water Resources Research
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 1944-7973
  issn:
  - 0043-1397
publication_status: published
publisher: American Geophysical Union
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Assessing spatial patterns of carbon and nutrient dynamics in catchments of
  complex topography
tmp:
  image: /images/cc_by.png
  legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
  name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
  short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: ba8df636-2132-11f1-aed0-ed93e2281fdd
volume: 61
year: '2025'
...