Abstract
To investigate the potential effects of changing precipitation on a deciduous forest ecosystem, an experiment was established on Walker Branch Watershed, Tennessee that modified the amount of throughfall at −33%, ambient (no change), and +33% using a system of rain gutters and sprinklers. We hypothesized that the drier treatments would cause: 1) disproportionate changes in soil water flux, 2) increased total ionic concentrations in soil solution that would in tum cause 3) decreased SO 2−4 /Cl− ratios, 4) decreased HCO3 − concentrations, and 5) increased ratios of Al to (Ca2+ + Mg2+) and of (Ca2+ + Mg2+) to K+. Hypothesis 1 was supported by simulation results. Hypotheses 2 and 3 were supported in part by field results, although interpretation of these was complicated by pre-treatment biases. Hypotheses 4 and 5 were not supported by the field results. Comparisons of field data and Nutrient Cycling Model (NuCM) simulations were favorable for most ions except Cl− and K+. The disparities may be due to underestimation of soil buffering in the case of Cl− and overestimation of soil buffering in the case of K+ in the model. Long-term simulations with NuCM suggest that reducing water inputs will slow the rate of soil acidification and P loss, but will not materially affect growth or ecosystem N status.
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© 1998 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Johnson, D.W., Hanson, P.J., Todd, D.E., Susfalk, R.B., Trettin, C.F. (1998). Precipitation Change and Soil Leaching: Field Results and Simulations from Walker Branch Watershed, Tennessee. In: Wieder, R.K., Novák, M., Černý, J. (eds) Biogeochemical Investigations at Watershed, Landscape, and Regional Scales. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0906-4_24
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0906-4_24
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