4.3 Study limitations
Our estimates of hyporheic respiration allometry are based on a largely mechanistic model which incorporates numerous assumptions. We also note that our approach simplifies some important, yet complex, watershed characteristics that influence hyporheic respiration. First, our cumulative respiration rates are time-averaged, and likely smooth over hot moments of respiration within different portions of the basin, or potentially across the entire basin. Additionally, we did not explicitly incorporate stream intermittency, which can dramatically alter how nutrients and associated biogeochemical processes like respiration change not only across space but through time (Newcomer et al. 2018; Coulson et al. 2022). Together, integration of spatial and temporal information, and explicitly investigating the role of variable inundation on disconnecting and reconnecting portions of the watershed will lead to a more realistic representation of watershed biogeochemistry, and more accurate predictions of allometric scaling of hyporheic respiration across spatial and temporal scales under shifting climate regimes.