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Shifts in controls on the temporal coherence of throughfall chemical flux in Acadia National Park, Maine, USA

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Abstract

Major ion and mercury (Hg) inputs to terrestrial ecosystems include both wet and dry deposition (total deposition). Estimating total deposition to sensitive receptor sites is hampered by limited information regarding its spatial heterogeneity and seasonality. We used measurements of throughfall flux, which includes atmospheric inputs to forests and the net effects of canopy leaching or uptake, for ten major ions and Hg collected during 35 time periods in 1999–2005 at over 70 sites within Acadia National Park, Maine to (1) quantify coherence in temporal dynamics of seasonal throughfall deposition and (2) examine controls on these patterns at multiple scales. We quantified temporal coherence as the correlation between all possible site pairs for each solute on a seasonal basis. In the summer growing season and autumn, coherence among pairs of sites with similar vegetation was stronger than for site-pairs that differed in vegetation suggesting that interaction with the canopy and leaching of solutes differed in coniferous, deciduous, mixed, and shrub or open canopy sites. The spatial pattern in throughfall hydrologic inputs across Acadia National Park was more variable during the winter snow season, suggesting that snow re-distribution affects net hydrologic input, which consequently affects chemical flux. Sea-salt corrected calcium concentrations identified a shift in air mass sources from maritime in winter to the continental industrial corridor in summer. Our results suggest that the spatial pattern of throughfall hydrologic flux, dominant seasonal air mass source, and relationship with vegetation in winter differ from the spatial pattern of throughfall flux in these solutes in summer and autumn. The coherence approach applied here made clear the strong influence of spatial heterogeneity in throughfall hydrologic inputs and a maritime air mass source on winter patterns of throughfall flux. By contrast, vegetation type was the most important influence on throughfall chemical flux in summer and autumn.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this research was provided by the Canon National Parks Science Scholars Program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-PRIMENet, the National Park Service Natural Resources Challenge, and the U.S. Geological Survey. We thank K. Tonnessen, D. Manski, B. Breen, and B. Gawley of the National Park Service for continued support of the long-term research at Acadia. We thank the University of Maine laboratories, particularly M. Handley, C. Devoy, and T. Hyssong, for laboratory analyses and support. We thank the many field and laboratory crews—especially K. Mahaffey, H. Caron, A. Grygo, J. Tillotson, T. Hyssong, C. Schmitt, and K. Johnson—who assisted with sampling and analyses. T. Haines and K. Johnson provided 1999–2000 mercury throughfall data. B. Halteman provided statistical support. We thank J. Magnuson for early suggestions, which guided analysis of the data. Reviews provided by S. Norton and three anonymous reviewers improved the manuscript. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the U.S. Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research and School of Forest Resources, University of Maine, 5710 Norman Smith Hall, Orono, ME, 04469-5710, USA

    Sarah J. Nelson

  2. School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, 2, Ireland

    Katherine E. Webster

  3. U.S. Geological Survey, Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Maine, 5755 Nutting Hall, Orono, ME, 04469-5755, USA

    Cynthia S. Loftin

  4. Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Box AB, Millbrook, NY, 12545, USA

    Kathleen C. Weathers

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  1. Sarah J. Nelson
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Correspondence to Sarah J. Nelson.

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Nelson, S.J., Webster, K.E., Loftin, C.S. et al. Shifts in controls on the temporal coherence of throughfall chemical flux in Acadia National Park, Maine, USA. Biogeochemistry 116, 147–160 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-013-9884-7

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