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Change in the acid-base status of an appalachian mountain catchment following forest defoliation by the gypsy moth

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Abstract

Infestation by the gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) can alter biogeochemical conditions in affected catchments. Stream-water concentration data obtained over the period of 1980–1993 for White Oak Run, a stream in Shenandoah National Park, Va., indicate that change in catchment acid-base status is associated with forest defoliation by the moth larva. Stream-water concentration changes following defoliation included increasing concentrations of strong-acid anions, base-cations, and hydrogen ion, as well as decreasing concentrations of acid-neutralization capacity (ANC) and sulfate. The largest change was in the concentration of nitrate; annual discharge-weighted mean concentrations increased from predefoliation levels consistently less than 5 μeq L−1 to postdefoliation levels greater than 50 μeq L−1. An intensification of acidification was indicated by record-high hydrogen ion concentrations and record-low ANC concentrations. The long-term biogeochemical implications of the infestation are uncertain due to the nonlinearity of the observed responses and unknown patterns of recovery and recurrence.

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Author notes

  1. K. N. Eshleman

    Present address: Center for Environmental and esturine Studies, University of Maryland Systems, Frostburg, MD

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, 22903, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    J. R. Webb, B. J. Cosby, F. A. Deviney Jr., K. N. Eshleman & J. N. Galloway

Authors
  1. J. R. Webb
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  2. B. J. Cosby
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  3. F. A. Deviney Jr.
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  4. K. N. Eshleman
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  5. J. N. Galloway
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Webb, J.R., Cosby, B.J., Deviney, F.A. et al. Change in the acid-base status of an appalachian mountain catchment following forest defoliation by the gypsy moth. Water Air Soil Pollut 85, 535–540 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00476884

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00476884

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