Abstract
The forested catchment of Lange Bramke in the Harz Mountains (FRG) has been hydrologically monitored since 1948 when it was clear-cut. Today the catchment is covered by a 38-year-old Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst.) stand. Seepage water pathways through the catchment and ion cycling have been investigated in detail during the last 10 years. The results showed that seepage water through the root zone is vertical and unsaturated at the catchment slopes. The derived model of seepage water trajectories matches the observed chemical gradients between soil solution, headwater, groundwater, and runoff.
Acid deposition inside the valley of Lange Bramke is substantial with through-fall means of 45 kg ha-1yr-1 as SO4-S, 10 kg ha-1yr-1 as NO3-N, and 9.1 kg ha-1yr-1 as NH4-N. The fluxes of these ions are significantly higher at the wind-exposed ridge of the catchment. This additional input is probably due to cloudwater capture during winter months and amounts to 54% for SO4, 69% for NO3, and 37% for NH4.
Soil acidification at Lange Bramke is driven by base cation (Ca and Mg) accumulation in the biomass and accelerated leaching of these ions due to acid deposition. The profiles of exchangeable Ca and Mg with depth down to 3.5 m can be interpreted as transient stages of the current base cation depletion. The net export of Mg from the soil has resulted in severe symptoms of Mg-deficiency in the forest stand that were first observed in 1982.
Today about one-third of the trees at Lange Bramke and the adjacent catchment of Dicke Bramke are affected by forest decline. This decline is manifested in two symptom types that show a spatially different distribution locally in the Bramke Valley and regionally for the Harz Mountains. Changes in soil solution and runoff chemistry occurred prior to and concurrent with the development of these decline symptoms. Among the changes are increased Al and decreased Ca concentrations over the 10 years of measurement. The fine root biomass in the mineral soil is low where nitrate leaching occurs. Nitrate export with runoff water from both catchments has increased dramatically over the last 10 years. These data provide empirical evidence for linkages among acid deposition, forest decline and water acidification, respectively.
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Hauhs, M. (1989). Lange Bramke: An Ecosystem Study of a Forested Catchment. In: Adriano, D.C., Havas, M. (eds) Acidic Precipitation. Advances in Environmental Science, vol 1. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3616-0_9
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