Atmospheric deposition and soil water chemistry in Swedish forests since 1985 – Effects of reduced emissions of sulphur and nitrogen

• Published in: Science of The Total Environment
• Main Authors: Pihl Karlsson, G., Akselsson, C., Hellsten, S., Karlsson, P. E.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2024
• Subjects: Soil Science; Acidification; Nitrogen leaching; Recovery; SWETHRO; Northern Sweden
• Online Access: https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/76e6bdef-b68b-4446-8765-726871c3950b; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169734

Trends for the atmospheric deposition of sulphur (S) and inorganic nitrogen (inorg-N) to forests and changes in the forest soil water chemistry in Sweden have been assessed since 1985, with special focus on the last 25 years, based on measurements within the Swedish Throughfall Monitoring Network (SWETHRO). The reductions in the deposition of S and inorg-N in the southern part of Sweden corresponded relatively well with the pollutant emission reductions for S and inorg-N from both EU27 + UK and Sweden during 1996/97–2021/22. For northern Sweden the deposition of S and inorg-N decreased to a lesser extent than both European and Swedish emissions. The bulk deposition of NO3-N has decreased more than the deposition of NH4-N over the last 25-year period, which is consistent with the much larger emission reductions for NOx compared to NH3 from EU27 + UK and Sweden. The S concentrations in the soil water, at 50 cm below soil surface, have decreased during the last 25 years, however somewhat less than the S deposition. At sites with low ANC and pH in the beginning of the period, the increase in ANC was generally greater and the increase in pH was smaller, but at sites with high pH and ANC above zero, the increase in pH was dominant, in line with the nonlinear relationship between pH and ANC in the soil water. The incidence of elevated concentrations of NO3-N in the soil water was highest in southwest Sweden, ranging between 4 and 19 % of all measuring occasions since 1985/86. The reduced deposition of N over the 35-year period was not reflected in the incidence of elevated concentrations of NO3-N in the soil water over time.