Nitrogen export from a boreal stream network following forest harvesting : seasonal nitrate removal and conservative export of organic forms
Clear-cutting is today the primary driver of large-scale forest disturbance in boreal regions of Fennoscandia. Among the major environmental concerns of this practice for surface waters is the increased mobilization of nutrients, such as dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) into streams. But while DIN...
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Umeå universitet, Institutionen för ekologi, miljö och geovetenskap
2016
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ftumeauniv:oai:DiVA.org:umu-117412 2023-10-09T21:51:27+02:00 Nitrogen export from a boreal stream network following forest harvesting : seasonal nitrate removal and conservative export of organic forms Schelker, J. Sponseller, Ryan Ring, E. Högbom, L. Löfgren, S. Laudon, H. 2016 application/pdf http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-117412 https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-1-2016 eng eng Umeå universitet, Institutionen för ekologi, miljö och geovetenskap Biogeosciences, 1726-4170, 2016, 13:1, s. 1-12 http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-117412 doi:10.5194/bg-13-1-2016 ISI:000369524000001 Scopus 2-s2.0-85000692669 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Ecology Ekologi Article in journal info:eu-repo/semantics/article text 2016 ftumeauniv https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-1-2016 2023-09-22T13:58:51Z Clear-cutting is today the primary driver of large-scale forest disturbance in boreal regions of Fennoscandia. Among the major environmental concerns of this practice for surface waters is the increased mobilization of nutrients, such as dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) into streams. But while DIN loading to first-order streams following forest harvest has been previously described, the downstream fate and impact of these inputs is not well understood. We evaluated the downstream fate of DIN and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) inputs in a boreal landscape that has been altered by forest harvests over a 10-year period. The small first-order streams indicated substantial leaching of DIN, primarily as nitrate (NO3-) in response to harvests with NO3- concentrations increasing by similar to 15-fold. NO3- concentrations at two sampling stations further downstream in the network were strongly seasonal and increased significantly in response to harvesting at the mid-sized stream, but not at the larger stream. DIN removal efficiency, E-r, calculated as the percentage of "forestry derived" DIN that was retained within the stream network based on a mass-balance model was highest during the snowmelt season followed by the growing season, but declined continuously throughout the dormant season. In contrast, export of DON from the landscape indicated little removal and was essentially conservative. Overall, net removal of DIN between 2008 and 2011 accounted for similar to 65% of the total DIN mass exported from harvested patches distributed across the landscape. These results high-light the capacity of nitrogen-limited boreal stream networks to buffer DIN mobilization that arises from multiple clear-cuts within this landscape. Further, these findings shed light on the potential impact of anticipated measures to increase forest yields of boreal forests, such as increased fertilization and shorter forest rotations, which may increase the pressure on boreal surface waters in the future. Article in Journal/Newspaper Fennoscandia Umeå University: Publications (DiVA) Biogeosciences 13 1 1 12 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Umeå University: Publications (DiVA) |
op_collection_id |
ftumeauniv |
language |
English |
topic |
Ecology Ekologi |
spellingShingle |
Ecology Ekologi Schelker, J. Sponseller, Ryan Ring, E. Högbom, L. Löfgren, S. Laudon, H. Nitrogen export from a boreal stream network following forest harvesting : seasonal nitrate removal and conservative export of organic forms |
topic_facet |
Ecology Ekologi |
description |
Clear-cutting is today the primary driver of large-scale forest disturbance in boreal regions of Fennoscandia. Among the major environmental concerns of this practice for surface waters is the increased mobilization of nutrients, such as dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) into streams. But while DIN loading to first-order streams following forest harvest has been previously described, the downstream fate and impact of these inputs is not well understood. We evaluated the downstream fate of DIN and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) inputs in a boreal landscape that has been altered by forest harvests over a 10-year period. The small first-order streams indicated substantial leaching of DIN, primarily as nitrate (NO3-) in response to harvests with NO3- concentrations increasing by similar to 15-fold. NO3- concentrations at two sampling stations further downstream in the network were strongly seasonal and increased significantly in response to harvesting at the mid-sized stream, but not at the larger stream. DIN removal efficiency, E-r, calculated as the percentage of "forestry derived" DIN that was retained within the stream network based on a mass-balance model was highest during the snowmelt season followed by the growing season, but declined continuously throughout the dormant season. In contrast, export of DON from the landscape indicated little removal and was essentially conservative. Overall, net removal of DIN between 2008 and 2011 accounted for similar to 65% of the total DIN mass exported from harvested patches distributed across the landscape. These results high-light the capacity of nitrogen-limited boreal stream networks to buffer DIN mobilization that arises from multiple clear-cuts within this landscape. Further, these findings shed light on the potential impact of anticipated measures to increase forest yields of boreal forests, such as increased fertilization and shorter forest rotations, which may increase the pressure on boreal surface waters in the future. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Schelker, J. Sponseller, Ryan Ring, E. Högbom, L. Löfgren, S. Laudon, H. |
author_facet |
Schelker, J. Sponseller, Ryan Ring, E. Högbom, L. Löfgren, S. Laudon, H. |
author_sort |
Schelker, J. |
title |
Nitrogen export from a boreal stream network following forest harvesting : seasonal nitrate removal and conservative export of organic forms |
title_short |
Nitrogen export from a boreal stream network following forest harvesting : seasonal nitrate removal and conservative export of organic forms |
title_full |
Nitrogen export from a boreal stream network following forest harvesting : seasonal nitrate removal and conservative export of organic forms |
title_fullStr |
Nitrogen export from a boreal stream network following forest harvesting : seasonal nitrate removal and conservative export of organic forms |
title_full_unstemmed |
Nitrogen export from a boreal stream network following forest harvesting : seasonal nitrate removal and conservative export of organic forms |
title_sort |
nitrogen export from a boreal stream network following forest harvesting : seasonal nitrate removal and conservative export of organic forms |
publisher |
Umeå universitet, Institutionen för ekologi, miljö och geovetenskap |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-117412 https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-1-2016 |
genre |
Fennoscandia |
genre_facet |
Fennoscandia |
op_relation |
Biogeosciences, 1726-4170, 2016, 13:1, s. 1-12 http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-117412 doi:10.5194/bg-13-1-2016 ISI:000369524000001 Scopus 2-s2.0-85000692669 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-1-2016 |
container_title |
Biogeosciences |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1 |
op_container_end_page |
12 |
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1779314550914416640 |