The impacts of a watershed CaCO3 treatment on stream and wetland biogeochemistry in the Adirondack Mountains

  • Christopher P. Cirmo
  • Charles T. Driscoll
Chapter

Abstract

Temporal and longitudinal variations in the chemistry of two tributary streams of Woods Lake in the Adirondack Mountains of New York were monitored before and after a watershed CaCO3 application. One subcatchment of the lake had a large beaver pond and wetland at its headwaters, while the second was free-flowing. Treatment of both subcatchments with CaCO3 resulted in an immediate increase in acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) associated with Ca2+ release. The extent and duration of the response to the treatment were greater in the wetland-impacted stream. Aluminum was retained and complexed with organic solutes generated within the beaver-pond. In the free-flowing stream, NO 3 - concentration increased significantly after the manipulation; this pattern was not evident in the wetland-impacted stream. Net retention of SO 4 2- was evident in the beaver pond prior to and following treatment, and this response was enhanced after the watershed liming. Comparisons of beaver pond inlet/outlet concentrations, mass balance calculations, and in-pond profiles of chemical parameters revealed patterns of retention of SO 4 2- , NO 3 - and Al, and release of Fe2+, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and NH 4 + in the wetland during the summer before CaCO3 treatment. Post-treatment releases of Ca2+ from the near-sediment zone in the beaver pond corresponded to anoxic periods in mid- to late-summer and under ice in winter. These findings demonstrate the importance of increased microbial processing of organic matter, along with high partial pressure of CO2 (PCO2 ) in facilitating the dissolution of the applied CaCO3. Dissolved silica (H4SiO4) was retained in the wetland during the summer prior to treatment but was released after the manipulation. This phenomenon may reflect the dissolution of diatom frustules or silicate minerals in the wetland at higher pH and DOC concentrations. Within two years of the CaCO3 treatment 60% of the CaCO3 applied to the beaver pond and surrounding wetland was dissolved and transported from the pond, in contrast to only 2.2% of the CaCO3 applied to the upland subcatchment draining into the wetland. These results, coupled with high quantities of exchangeable Ca2+ found in sediments and on Sphagnum mosses in the pond, demonstrate the importance of hydrologic source areas and wetlands in facilitating the dissolution of added CaCO3, and in regulating the production of chemical species important in ANC generation.

Key words

acid neutralizing capacity biogeochemistry liming Sphagnum watershed wetland 

Abbreviations

ANC

acid neutralizing capacity

DIC

dissolved inorganic carbon

DOC

dissolved organic carbon

EWLS

Experimental Watershed Liming Study

PCO2

partial pressure of carbon dioxide

SI

saturation index

This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Aber JD, Nadelhoffer KJ, Stuedler P & Melillo JM (1989) Nitrogen saturation in northern forest ecosystems. Bioscience 39: 378–386CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. Aller RC (1980) Diagenetic processes near the sediemnt-water interface on Long Island Sound I. Decomposition and nutrient element geochemistry (S,N,P). Advances in Geophysics 22: 237–350CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  3. Andrus RE (1986) Some aspects of Sphagnum ecology. Can. J. Bot. 64: 416–426CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  4. American Public Health Association (1985) Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater. American Public Health Association, New York, NYGoogle Scholar
  5. Apple LL (1985) Riparian habitat restoration and beaver. In: Riparian Ecosystems and Their Management: Reconciling Conflicting Uses. General Technical Report RM-120 (pp 489–490). Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, USDA Forest Service, Tucson AZGoogle Scholar
  6. Bailey SW, Driscoll CT & Hombeck JW (1995) Acid-base chemistry and aluminum transport in an acidic watershed and pond in New Hampshire. Biogeochemistry 28: 69–91CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Bayley SE, Vitt DH, Newbury RW, Beaty KG, Behr R & Miller C (1987) Experimental acidification of a Sphagnum dominated peatland: first year results. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 44: 194–205CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. Bennett PC, Siegel DI, Hill BM & Glaser PH (1991) Fate of silicate minerals in a peat bog. Geology 19: 328–331CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Berner RA (1980) Early Diagenesis. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJGoogle Scholar
  10. Bukaveckas P (1988) Effects of calcite treatment on primary producers in acidified Adirondack lakes - response of macrophyte communities. Lake Reserv. Manage. 4: 107–113CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. Bunzl K, Schmidt W & Sansoni B (1976) Kinetics of ion exchange in soil organic matter. IV. Adsorption and desorption of Pb+2, Cu+2, Cd+2, Zn+2 and Ca+2 by peat. J. Soil Sci. 27: 32–41CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. Cappo KA, Blume LJ, Raab GA, Bartz JK & Engels JL (1987) Analytical Methods Manual for the Direct/Delayed Response Project Soil Survey, EPA 600/8-87/020. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, Las Vegas, NVGoogle Scholar
  13. Chapnick SD, Moore WS & Nealson KH (1982) Microbially mediated manganese oxidation in a freshwater lake. Limnol. Oceanogr. 27: 1004–1014CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. Cirmo CP & Driscoll CT (1993) Beaver pond biogeochemistry: acid neutralizing capacity generation in a headwater wetland. Wetlands 13: 277–292CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  15. Clymo RS (1963) Ion exchange in Sphagnum and its relation to bog ecology. Ann. Bot. (N.S.) 27:309–324Google Scholar
  16. Clymo RS (1973) The growth of Sphagnum: some effects of environment. J. Ecol. 61: 849–869CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  17. Cook RB, Kelly CA, Schindler DW & Turner DA (1986). Mechanisms of hydrogen ion neutralization in an experimentally acidified lake. Limnol. Oceanogr. 31: 134–148CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  18. Craigie JS & Maass WSG (1966) The cation exchanger in Sphagnum spp. Ann. Bot. (London, N.S.) 30: 153–154Google Scholar
  19. Curran RP, Spada DM & Roy KM (1991) Wetland impacts from lake liming. Nat. Wetlands Newsletter 13: 12–13Google Scholar
  20. Dahm CN, Trotter EH, & Sedell JR (1987) Role of anerobic zones and processes in stream ecosystem productivity. In: Averett RC & McKnight DM (Eds) Chemical Quality of Water and the Hydrolgic Cycle (pp 157–178). Lewis Publishers, Inc., Chelsea, MIGoogle Scholar
  21. Davis JE & Goldstein RA (1988) Simulated response of an acidic Adirondack lake watershed to various liming mitigation strategies. Water Resour. Res. 24: 525–532CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  22. DePinto JV, Scheffe RD, Booty WG & Young TC (1989) Predicting reacidification of calcite treated acid lakes. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 46: 323–332CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  23. DeVito KJ, Dillon PJ & LaZerte BD (1989) Phosphorus and nitrogen retention in five Precambrian shield wetlands. Biogeochemistry 8: 185–204CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  24. Driscoll CT (1984) A procedure for the fractionation of aqueoius aluminum in dilute acidic waters. Int. J. Env. Anal. Chem. 16: 267–284CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  25. Driscoll CT, Cirmo CP, Fahey TJ, Blette VL, Bums DJ, Gubala CP, Newton RM, Raynal DJ, Schofield CL, Yavitt JB & Porcella DB (1996) The Experimental Watershed Liming Study (EWLS): Comparison of lake/watershed base neutralization strategies. Biogeochemistry 32: 143–174 (this volume)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  26. Driscoll CT, Fordham GF, Ayling WA & Oliver LM (1989a) Short term changes in the chemistry of trace metals following calcium carbonate treatment of acidic lakes. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 46: 249–257CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  27. Driscoll CT, Fuller RD &Schecher WD (1989b) The role of organic acids in the acidification of surface waters in the eastern United States. Water Air Soil Pollut. 43: 21–40CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  28. Driscoll CT, Lehtinen MD & Sullivan TJ (1994) Modeling the acid-base chemistry of organic solutes in Adirondack, NY lakes. Water Resour. Res. 30: 297–306CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  29. Driscoll CT & van Dreason R (1993) Seasonal and long-term temporal patterns in the chemistry of Adirondack Lakes. Water Air Soil Pollut. 67: 319–344CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  30. Driscoll CT, Wyskowski BJ, Cosentini CC & Smith ME (1987) Processes regulating temporal and longitudinal variations in the chemistry of a low-order stream in the Adirondack region of New York. Biogeochemistry 3: 225–241CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  31. Eberhardt LL & Thomas JM (1991) Designing environmental field studies. Ecol. Monogr. 61: 53–73CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  32. Ford TE & Naiman RJ (1988) Alteration of carbon cycling by beaver: methane evasion rates from boreal forest streams and rivers. Can. J. Zool. 66: 529–533CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  33. Francis MM, Naiman RJ and Melillo JM (1985) Nitrogen fixation in subarctic streams influenced by beaver (Castor canadensis). Hydrobiol. 121: 193–202CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  34. Geary R and Driscoll CT (1996) Forest soil solutions: acid/base chemistry and response to calcite treatment. Biogeochemistry 32: 195–220 (this volume)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  35. Gorham E, Bayley SE & Schindler DW (1984) Ecological effects of acid deposition on peatlands: a neglected field of acid rain research. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 41: 1256–1268CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  36. Gorham E, Eisenreich SJ, Ford J & Santelmann MV (1985) The chemistry of bog waters. In: Stumm W (Ed) Chemical Processes in Lakes (pp 339–363). John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New YorkGoogle Scholar
  37. Grieve IC (1990) Effects of catchment liming and afforestation on the concentration and fractional composition of aluminium in the Loch Fleet catchment, SW Scotland. J. Hydrol. 115:385–396Google Scholar
  38. Gubala CP & Driscoll CT (1991) The chemical responses of acidic Woods Lake, NY, to two different treatments with calcium carbonate. Water Air Soil Pollut. 59: 7–22CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  39. Hemond HF (1990) Acid neutralizing capacity, alkalinity and acid-base status of natural waters containing organic acids. Environ. Sci. Technol. 24: 1486–1489CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  40. Hiebert FK & Bennett PC (1992) Microbial control of silicate weathering in organic-rich ground water. Science 258: 278–281PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  41. Hurlbert SH (1984) Pseudoreplication and the design of ecological field experiments. Ecol. Monogr. 54:187-211CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  42. Ivarson KC (1977) Changes in decomposition rate, microbial population and carbohydrate content of an acid peat bog after liming and reclamation. Can. J. Soil Sci. 57: 129–137CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  43. Jenkins A, Waters D & Donald A (1991) An assessment of terrestrial liming strategies in upland Wales. J. Hydrol. 124: 243–261CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  44. Johnston CA & Naiman RJ (1990) Aquatic patch creation in relation to beaver population trends. Ecology 71: 1617–1621CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  45. Kelly CA, Rudd JWM, CookRB & Schindler DW (1982) The potential importance of bacterial processes in regulating rate of lake acidification. Limnol. Oceanogr. 27: 868–882CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  46. Kerekes J, Beauchamp S, Torden R & Pollock T (1986) Sources of sulphate and acidity in wetlands and lakes of Nova Scotia. Water Air Soil Pollut. 31: 207–214CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  47. Kilham P (1982) Biochemistry of bog ecosystems and chemical ecology of Sphagnum. Mich. Bot. 21: 159–168Google Scholar
  48. LaZerte B (1993) The impact of drought and acidification on the chemical exports from a minerotrophic coniifer swamp. Biogeochemistry 18: 153–175CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  49. Lovley DR & Phillips EJP (1986) Organic matter mineralization with reduction of ferric iron in anaerobic sediments. App. Environ. Microbiol. 51: 683–689Google Scholar
  50. Maret JJ, Parker M & Fanny TE (1987) The effect of beaver ponds on the non-point source water quality of a stream in southwestern Wyoming. Water Res. 21: 263–268CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  51. MatznerE, KhannaPK, Meiwas KJ & Ulrich B (1983) Effects of fertilization on the fluxes of chemical elements through different forest ecosystems. Plant and Soil 74: 343–358CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  52. Moore PD & Bellamy DJ (1974) Peatlands. Springer-Verlag, Inc., New York, NYGoogle Scholar
  53. Naiman RJ, Johnston CA & Kelley JC (1988) Alteration of North American streams by beaver. BioScience 38: 753–762CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  54. Naiman RJ, Manning T & Johnston CA (1991) Beaver population fluctuations and tropospheric methane emissions in boreal wetlands. Biogeochemistry 12: 1–15CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  55. Naiman RJ & Melillo JM (1984) Nitrogen budget of a subarctic stream altered by beaver (Castor canadensis). Oecologia 62: 150–155CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  56. Newton RM, Weintraub J & April R (1987) The relationship between suface water chemistry and geology in the North Branch of the Moose River. Biogeochemistry 3: 21–35CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  57. New York State Atmospheric Deposition Monitoring Network (1991) Wet Deposition, Nick’s Lake, 1991. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Air Resources, Albany, NYGoogle Scholar
  58. Nisbet EG (1989) Some northern sources of atmospheric methane: production, history and future implications. Can. J. Earth Sci. 26: 1603–1611CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  59. Nye PH & Amelko AY (1987) Predicting the rate of dissolution of lime in soil. J. Soil Sci. 38: 641–649CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  60. Parker M (1986) Beaver, water quality, and riparian systems. In: Proceedings: Wyoming Water and Streamside Zone Conference (pp 88-94). Wyoming Water Research Center, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WYGoogle Scholar
  61. Parker M., Wood FJ Jr., Smith BH & Elder RG (1985) Erosional downcutting in lower order riparian ecosystems: Have historical changes been caused by removal of beaver? In: Riparian Ecosystems and Their Management: Reconciling Conflicting Uses (pp 35–38). General Technical Report RM-120, Rocky Mountain Range and Forest Experiment Station, USDA Forest Service, Tucson, AZGoogle Scholar
  62. Perdue EM (1990) Modeling the acid-base chemistry of organic acids in laboratory experiments and fresh waters. In: Perdue EM & Gjessing ET (Eds) Organic acids in aquatic ecosystems, Life Sciences Research Report 48, Dahlem Konferenzen, BerlinGoogle Scholar
  63. Persson T, Lundkvist H, Wiren A, Hyvonen R & Wessen B (1989) Effects of acidification and liming on carbon and nitrogen mineralization and soil organisms in mor humus. Water Air Soil Pollut. 45: 77–96Google Scholar
  64. Plummer LN, Parkhurst DL & Wigley TML (1979) Critical review of kinetics of calcite dissolution and precipitation. In: Jenne EA (Ed) Chemical Modeling in Aqueous Systems, ACS Symposium Series No. 93 (pp 537–573). American Chemical Society, Washington DCCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  65. Raddum GG, Brettum P, Matzow D, Nilssen JP, Skov A, Svealv T & Wright RF (1986) Liming the acid Lake Hovvatn, Norway: A whole ecosystem study. Water Air Soil Pollut. 31: 721–763CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  66. Reuter JH & Perdue EM (1977) Importance of heavy metal-organic matter interactions in natural waters. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 41: 325–334CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  67. Roulet NT & Ash R (1992) Low boreal wetlands as a source of atmospheric methane. J. Geophys.Res. 97: 3739–3749Google Scholar
  68. SAS Institute Inc. (1985) SAS Procedures Guide for Personal Computers, Version 6 Edition. Cary, NCGoogle Scholar
  69. Schecher WD & Driscoll CT (1995) ALCHEMI: A chemical equilibrium model to assess the acid-base chemistry and speciation of aluminum in dilute solutions. In: Loeppert R, Schwab AP & Goldberg S (Eds) Chemical Equilibrium and Reaction Models (pp 325–356). Soil Science Society of America, Madison, WIGoogle Scholar
  70. Schecher WD & McAvoy DC (1991) MINEQL+ version 2.2: A Chemical Equilibrium Program for Personal Computers, User’s Manual. Proctor and Gamble Co., Cincinnati, OHGoogle Scholar
  71. Schindler DW (1986) The significance of in-lake production of alkalinity. Water Air Soil Pollut. 30: 931–944CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  72. Schindler DW, Wagemann R, Cook RB, Ruszczyunski T & Prokopowich J (1980) Experimental acidification of Lake 223, Experimental Lakes Area: Background data and the first three years of acidification. Can. J.Fish. Aquat. Sci. 37: 342–354CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  73. Simmons JA, Yavitt JB & Fahey TJ (1996) Response of forest floor nitrogen dynamics to liming. Biogeochemistry 32: 221–244 (this volume)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  74. Spearing AM (1972) Cation exchange capacity and galacturonic acid content of several species of Sphagnum in Sand Ridge bog, central New York State. Bryologist 75: 154–158CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  75. Stoddard JL (1994) Long-Term Changes in Watershed Retention of Nitrogen: Its Causes and Aquatic Consequences. In: Baker LA (Ed) Environmental Chemistry of Lakes and Reservoirs, Advances in Chemistry Series No. 237, American Chemical Society, Washington, DCCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  76. Stumm W & Morgan JJ (1981) Aquatic Chemistry (2nd.ed.). John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, NYGoogle Scholar
  77. Sverdrup H., Rasmussen R & Bjerle I (1984) A simple model for the reacidification of limed lakes taking into account the simultaneous deactivation and dissolution of calcite in the sediments into account. Chemica Scripta 24: 53–66Google Scholar
  78. Szaro RC & DeBano LF (1985) The effect of streamflow modification on the development of a riparian ecosystem. In: Riparian Ecosystems and Their Management: Reconciling Conflicting Uses (pp 211–215). General Technical Report RM-120, Rocky Mountain Range and Forest Experiment Station, USDA Forest Service, Tucson, AZGoogle Scholar
  79. White JR & Driscoll CT (1987) Manganese cycling in an acidic Adirondack lake. Biogeochemistry 3: 87–103CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  80. Wieder RK, Lang GE & Granus VA (1987) Sulphur transformations in Sphagnum-derived peat during incubation. Soil Biol. Biochem. 19: 101–106CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  81. Wieder RK, Yavitt JB & Lang GE (1990) Methane production and sulfate reduction in two Appalachian peatlands. Biogeochemistry 10: 81–104CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  82. Woo MK & Waddington JM (1990) Effects of beaver dams on sub-arctic wetland hydrology. Arctic 43: 223–230Google Scholar
  83. Wood JA (1989) Peatland acidity budgets and the effects of acid deposition. Discussion Paper No. 5, Ecological Applications Research Division, Environment Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaGoogle Scholar
  84. Yavitt JB, Angell L, Fahey TJ, Cirmo CP & Driscoll CT (1992) Methane fluxes, concentrations and production in two Adirondack beaver impoundments. Limnol. Oceanogr. 37: 1057–1066CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  85. Yavitt JB & Fahey TJ (1996) Peatland porewater chemical responses to CaCO3 applications in wetlands next to Woods Lake, New York Biogeochemistry 32: 245–263 (this volume)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  86. Yavitt JB, Lang GE & Sexstone AJ (1990) Methane fluxes in wetland forest and soils, beaver ponds, and low-order streams of a temperate forest ecosystem. J. Geophys. Res. (Oceans) 95: 22463–22474CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  87. Yavitt JB & Newton RM (1990 /91) Liming effects on some chemical and biological parameters of soil (Spodosols and Histosols) in a hardwood forest watershed. Water Air Soil Pollut. 54: 529–544Google Scholar
  88. Young TC, DePinto JV, Rhea JR & Scheffe RD (1989) Calcite dose selection, treatment, efficiency and residual calcite fate after whole-lake neutralization. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 46:315–322CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Kluwer Academic Publishers 1996

Authors and Affiliations

  • Christopher P. Cirmo
    • 1
  • Charles T. Driscoll
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringSyracuse UniversitySyracuseUSA

Personalised recommendations