Abstract
Acidification has impaired the biota in thousands of lakes and rivers in Sweden. A state-financed liming programme for lakes and rivers was initiated in the 1980s. Liming has to be adjusted so that critically low levels of acidity are avoided at all times of the year. This means that the amount of continually applied lime has to be adjusted to the discharge of water. Liming of small rivers is a particularly difficult challenge, as the discharge may increase dramatically in just a day.
The small acidified river Stridbäcken in northern Sweden has been limed with a lime doser since 1993. The effects of liming are monitored through sampling the water chemistry, benthic fauna and fish in a target area, as well as in a reference area unaffected by liming upstream from the lime doser. The monitoring programme is designed to overcome the problems related to liming with a doser in small streams. This means that sampling is concentrated in periods with high flows, caused by snowmelt and heavy rains. It also means that the benthic fauna is sampled in spring, which best reflects the biological response to the impact of the spring flood.
The water chemistry monitoring results show that the efficiency of the liming has increased as the technical standards of the lime doser have been improved. Critically low pH-values occur less frequently, and the required amount of lime has decreased. Liming has made it possible for sea trout to spawn in the river again and for acid-sensitive benthic animal species to recolonise. No corresponding biological changes have been observed in the unlimed reference area.
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Acknowledgements
Jorun Storeng and Mats Näslund at the Nordmaling Municipality administration have dutifully managed the lime doser in Stridbäcken and also collected water samples. Thanks to Iwan Zetterqvist, Kent Holm, Lars Argelius, Terje Lysnes and Ulf Olofsson for contributing to the technical development of the lime doser. Thanks to all personnel at the County Administration in Västerbotten who have performed the biological monitoring and analysed water samples throughout the years, and to ALcontrol, Pelagia and Hushållningssällskapet, who have analysed water samples and examined benthic fauna during the last years. Thanks to Erik Degerman for comments on the manuscript.
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Ahlström, J., Johansson, M. (2010). Monitoring the Effects of Acidification and Liming on Water Quality in a Boreal Stream: The River Stridbäcken in Northern Sweden. In: Hurford, C., Schneider, M., Cowx, I. (eds) Conservation Monitoring in Freshwater Habitats. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9278-7_22
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9278-7_22
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