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The evolution of the science of Bear Brook Watershed in Maine, USA

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Abstract

The Bear Brook Watershed in Maine (BBWM), USA is a paired watershed study with chemical manipulation of one watershed (West Bear = WB) while the other watershed (East Bear = EB) serves as a reference. Characterization of hydrology and chemical fluxes occurred in 1987–1989 and demonstrated the similarity of the ca. 10 ha adjacent forested watersheds. From 1989–2010, we have added 1,800 eq (NH4)2SO4 ha − 1 y − 1 to WB. EB runoff has slowly acidified even as atmospheric deposition of SO\(_{4}^{2-}\) has declined. EB acidification included decreasing pH, base cation concentrations, and alkalinity, and increasing inorganic Al concentration, as SO\(_{4}^{2-}\) declined. Organic Al increased. WB has acidified more rapidly, including a 6-year period of increasing leaching of base cations, followed by a long-term decline of base cations, although still elevated over pretreatment values, as base saturation declined in the soils. Sulfate in WB has not increased to a new steady state because of increased anion adsorption accompanying soil acidification. Dissolved Al has increased dramatically in WB; increased export of particulate Al and P has accompanied the acidification in both watersheds, WB more than EB. Nitrogen retention in EB increased after 3 years of study, as did many watersheds in the northeastern USA. Nitrogen retention in WB still remains at over 80%, in spite of 20+ years of N addition. The 20-year chemical treatment with continuous measurements of critical variables in both watersheds has enabled the identification of decadal-scale processes, including ecosystem response to declining SO\(_{4}^{-2}\) in ambient precipitation in EB and evolving mechanisms of treatment response in WB. The study has demonstrated soil mechanisms buffering pH, declines in soil base saturation, altered P biogeochemistry, unexpected mechanisms of storage of S, and continuous high retention of treatment N.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA

    S. A. Norton

  2. Department of Plant, Soil, and Environmental Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA

    I. J. Fernandez

  3. University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA

    J. S. Kahl

  4. U. S. Forest Service, Durham, NH, USA

    L. E. Rustad

  5. Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic

    Tomás Navrátil

  6. University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA

    H. Almquist

Authors
  1. S. A. Norton
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  2. I. J. Fernandez
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  3. J. S. Kahl
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  4. L. E. Rustad
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  5. Tomás Navrátil
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  6. H. Almquist
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Correspondence to S. A. Norton.

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Norton, S.A., Fernandez, I.J., Kahl, J.S. et al. The evolution of the science of Bear Brook Watershed in Maine, USA. Environ Monit Assess 171, 3–21 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-010-1528-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-010-1528-y

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