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Long-Term Trends in Stream Nitrate Concentrations and Losses Across Watersheds Undergoing Recovery from Acidification in the Czech Republic

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Abstract

Stream nitrogen (N) export and nitrate \((\text {NO}^-_3) \) concentration were measured at 14 forested watersheds (GEOMON network) in the Czech Republic between 1994 and 2005. In the last several decades, emissions of sulfur (S) and N compounds have decreased throughout much of Europe. In the Czech Republic, atmospheric deposition of S has decreased substantially since the beginning of 1990s, whereas N deposition remains largely unchanged at most sites. The mean dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) streamwater export ranged from 0.2 to 12.2 kg ha−1 y−1 at the GEOMON sites. Despite decades of elevated N deposition, 44–98% of DIN inputs to these watersheds were retained or denitrified, and many watersheds showed seasonal variation in nitrate concentrations. Dissolved organic N export was quantified in 1 year only and ranged from 0.05 to 3.5 kg ha−1 y−1. Spatial variability in DIN export among watersheds was best explained by spatial variability in average acidic deposition, particularly S deposition (R 2 = 0.81, P < 0.001); DIN input and forest floor carbon:nitrogen (C/N) also provided significant explanatory power. DIN export was strongly influenced by the forest floor C/N ratio and depth of the forest floor soils (R 2 = 0.72, P < 0.001). The only variable that predicted variations in forest floor C/N (R 2 = 0.32, P < 0.05) among watersheds was S deposition. Forest floor depth was also related to deposition variables, with S deposition providing the most explanatory power (R 2 = 0.50, P < 0.01). Variation in forest floor depth was also associated with climatic factors (precipitation and temperature). Temporal variability in DIN export was primarily associated with changes in acidic deposition over time; S deposition explained 41% of variability in DIN exports among all watersheds and years. Extensive acidification of forested watersheds was associated with the extraordinarily high S inputs to much of the Czech Republic during earlier decades. We hypothesize that recovery from acidification has led to improved tree health as well as enhanced microbial activity in the forest floor. As these watersheds move into a new regime with dramatically lower sulfur inputs, we expect continued declines in nitrate output.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Vlaďka Chlupáčková, Zuzana Górecká, Petra Janotová, Jarmila Brychnáčová and Věra Zoulková for water analyses, Ivana Jačková and Pratistha Bhandari for soil processing and analyses, Markéta Půlkrábková and Jaroslav Skořepa for data processing and Stefanie Obermajerová for technical help. We would like to thank Michelle Daley for help with forest floor sampling. This research was supported by a joint U.S. (NSF: DEB-0108385)—Czech project (Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic—Kontakt: ME 658). Water sample collection and analysis were supported by a grant from the Ministry of Environment of the Czech Republic (VaV 1D/2/16/II/04), by the 6th Framework EU project EUROLIMPACS (GOCE-CT-2003-505540) and by the research plan of the Czech Geological Survey (MZP0002579801). Additional support was provided by a postdoctoral grant from the Czech Science Foundation No. 526/07/P349.

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  1. Department of Environmental Geochemistry and Biogeochemistry, Czech Geological Survey, Klárov 3, Prague, 118 21, Czech Republic

    Filip Oulehle, Pavel Krám, Jakub Hruška, Tomáš Navrátil, František Buzek & Daniela Fottová

  2. Department of Natural Resources, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, 03824, USA

    William H. McDowell

  3. Department of Soil & Crop Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, 77843, USA

    Jacqueline A. Aitkenhead-Peterson

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  1. Filip Oulehle
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Oulehle, F., McDowell, W.H., Aitkenhead-Peterson, J.A. et al. Long-Term Trends in Stream Nitrate Concentrations and Losses Across Watersheds Undergoing Recovery from Acidification in the Czech Republic. Ecosystems 11, 410–425 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-008-9130-7

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