Contrasting stream nitrate and sulfate response to recovery from experimental watershed acidification

Patel, Kaizad F.; Fernandez, Ivan J.; Nelson, Sarah J.; Malcomb, Jacob; Norton, Stephen A.

doi:10.1007/s10533-020-00711-5

Contrasting stream nitrate and sulfate response to recovery from experimental watershed acidification

Journal Article · Tue Nov 03 00:00:00 EST 2020 · Biogeochemistry

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-020-00711-5· OSTI ID:1756012

^[1]; ^[2]; ^[3]; ^[4]; Norton, Stephen A. ^[2]

Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Univ. of Maine, Orono, ME (United States)
Univ. of Maine, Orono, ME (United States); Appalachian Mountain Club, Gorham, NH (United States)
Univ. of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA (United States)

Improvements in air quality have led to ecosystem recovery from acidic deposition, but the mechanisms and trajectories of this recovery are not fully understood. Here, we present long-term stream response and recovery data for paired watersheds at the Bear Brook Watershed in Maine (BBWM) during declining ambient SO₄ and NO₃ in precipitation. East Bear (EB) received ambient deposition from 1989 to 2018; West Bear (WB) received artificially elevated N+S from 1989 to 2016. The WB treatment was discontinued after 2016, the beginning of the recovery from both the experimental N+S and ambient decline. Stream SO₄ in WB gradually declined after the treatment ended, from ~147 µeq L^-1 in 2010-16 to ~126 µeq L^-1 in 2017-18. The declining S inputs induced desorption of SO₄ from soil phase surfaces, with stream loss far exceeding precipitation input. At the current rate of recovery, it will be many decades before the WB stream returns to pre-treatment SO₄ concentrations. In contrast, NO₃ is only weakly adsorbed in soil, and WB stream NO₃ concentrations rapidly declined from ~39 µeq L^-1 in 2010-16 to ~5 µeq L^-1 in 2017-18, comparable to the N-limited EB stream. The acid anions are strongly coupled to base cation chemistry in streams, and there was a distinct hysteretic response of Ca and Mg to the chronic acidification, as (Ca+Mg) increased rapidly during the initial years, followed by declining values due to depletion of the soil exchange complex. This 30-year monitoring study (1989-2019) provides insights into recovery mechanisms from acidic deposition and highlights the role of abiotic processes in soil that mediate nutrient cycling and retention. Finally, documenting the rapid response of N alongside the slower recovery for S identifies the temporal resolution necessary for other whole-watershed recovery studies.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE; USGS

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-76RL01830

OSTI ID:: 1756012

Report Number(s):: PNNL-SA--153161

Journal Information:: Biogeochemistry, Journal Name: Biogeochemistry Journal Issue: 2-3 Vol. 151; ISSN 0168-2563

Publisher:: SpringerCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
58 GEOSCIENCES
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Contrasting stream nitrate and sulfate response to recovery from experimental watershed acidification

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