Abstract
Due to increased whole-tree harvesting in Swedish forestry, concern has been raised that a depletion of nutrients in forest soil will arise. The Swedish Forest Agency recommends compensation fertilization with wood ash to ensure that unwanted effects are avoided in the nutrient balance of the forest soil and in the quality of surface water. In this investigation, the chemistry of two first-order streams, of which one was subjected to a catchment scale treatment with 3 tonnes of self-hardened wood ash/ha in the fall of 2004, was monitored during 2003–2006. Large seasonal variations in stream water chemistry made changes due to ash application difficult to detect, but evaluating the ash treatment effects through comparison of the stream water of the treated catchment with the reference was possible via statistical tools such as randomized intervention analysis in combination with cumulative sum charts. The wood ash application did not yield any significant effect on the pH in the stream water and hence did not affect the bicarbonate system. However, dissolved organic carbon increased, a previously unreported effect of WAA, bringing about an increase of organic anions in the stream water. The wood ash application also induced significant increases for Ca, Mg, K, Si, Cl and malonate, of which K was most prominent. Although significant, the changes induced by the wood ash application were all small compared to the seasonal variations. As a tool to counteract acidification of surface waters, WAA seems to have limited initial effects.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anon. (2008) Rekommendationer vid uttag av avverkningsrester och askåterföring. In. vol 2/2008. Swedish Forest Agency.
Arnell N (2002) Hydrology and global environmental change. Pearson, Essex
Arvidsson, H., & Lundkvist, H. (2003). Effects of crushed wood ash on soil chemistry in young Norway spruce stands. Forest Ecology and Management, 176(1–3), 121–132.
Augusto, L., Bakker, M. R., & Meredieu, C. (2008). Wood ash applications to temperate forest ecosystems—Potential benefits and drawbacks. Plant and Soil, 306(1–2), 181–198.
Bylund, D., Norstrom, S. H., Essen, S. A., & Lundstrom, U. S. (2007). Analysis of low molecular mass organic acids in natural waters by ion exclusion chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Journal of Chromatography A, 1176(1–2), 89–93.
Carpenter, S. R., Frost, T. M., Heisey, D., & Kratz, T. K. (1989). Randomized intervention analysis and the interpretation of whole-ecosystem experiments. Ecology, 70(4), 1142–1152.
Chowdhury, R. K., & Beecham, S. (2010). Australian rainfall trends and their relation to the southern oscillation index. Hydrological Processes, 24(4), 504–514.
Clarke, N., Danielsson, L. G., & Sparen, A. (1992). The determination of quickly reacting aluminum in natural-waters by kinetic discrimination in a flow system. International Journal of Environmental Analytical Chemistry, 48(2), 77–100.
Eriksson HM (1998a) Short-term effects of granulated wood ash on forest soil chemistry in SW and NE Sweden. Scand. J. Forest Res.: 43–55
Eriksson J (1998b) Dissolution of hardened wood ashes in forest soils: Studies in a column experiment. Scand. J. Forest Res.: 23–32
Evans, C. D., Monteith, D. T., & Cooper, D. M. (2005). Long-term increases in surface water dissolved organic carbon: Observations, possible causes and environmental impacts. Environmental Pollution, 137(1), 55–71.
Fransman, B., & Nihlgård, B. (1995). Water chemistry in forested catchments after topsoil treatment with liming agents in South Sweden. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 85(2), 895–900.
Geibe, C. E., Holmström, S. J. M., van Hees, P. A. W., & Lundström, U. S. (2003). Impact of lime and ash applications on soil solution chemistry of an acidified podzolic soil. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution: Focus, 3(4), 77–96.
Hindar, A., Wright, R. F., Nilsen, P., Laessen, T., & Hogberget, R. (2003). Effects on stream water chemistry and forest vitality after whole-catchment application of dolomite to a forest ecosystem in southern Norway. Forest Ecology and Management, 180(1–3), 509–525.
Holmström, S. J. M., Riise, G., Strand, L. T., Geibe, C., van Hees, P. A. W., Wu, Q., et al. (2003). Effects of lime and ash treatments on DOC fractions and low molecular weight organic acids in soil solutions of acidified podzolic soils. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution: Focus, 3(4), 97–120.
Hruska, J., Johnson, C. E., & Kram, P. (1996). Role of organic solutes in the chemistry of acid-impacted bog waters of the western Czech Republic. Water Resources Research, 32(9), 2841–2851.
Jacobson, S., Högbom, L., Ring, E., & Nohrstedt, H. Ö. (2004). Effects of wood ash dose and formulation on soil chemistry at two coniferous forest sites. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 158(1), 113–125.
Kampata, J. M., Parida, B. P., & Moalafhi, D. B. (2008). Trend analysis of rainfall in the headstreams of the Zambezi River Basin in Zambia. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, 33(8–13), 621–625.
Lundström, U. S., Bain, D. C., Taylor, A. F. S., van Hees, P. A. W., Geibe, C. E., Holmström, S. J. M., et al. (2003). Effects of acidification and its mitigation with lime and wood ash on forest soil processes in southern Sweden. A joint multidisciplinary study. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution: Focus, 3(4), 167–188.
Löfgren, S., Cory, N., Zetterberg, T., Larsson, P. E., & Kronnäs, V. (2009). The long-term effects of catchment liming and reduced sulphur deposition on forest soils and runoff chemistry in southwest Sweden. Forest Ecology and Management, 258(5), 567–578.
Monteith, D. T., Stoddard, J. L., Evans, C. D., de Wit, H. A., Forsius, M., Hogasen, T., et al. (2007). Dissolved organic carbon trends resulting from changes in atmospheric deposition chemistry. Nature, 450(7169), 537–U539.
Nieminen, M., Piirainen, S., & Moilanen, M. (2005). Release of mineral nutrients and heavy metals from wood and peat ash fertilizers: Field studies in Finnish forest soils. Scand J. Forest Res., 20(2), 146–153.
Nilsson, S. I., Andersson, S., Valeur, I., Persson, T., Bergholm, J., & Wiren, A. (2001). Influence of dolomite lime on leaching and storage of C, N and S in a Spodosol under Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.). Forest Ecology and Management, 146(1–3), 55–73.
Norström, S., Vestin, J., Bylund, D., & Lundström, U. (2010). Influences of dissolved organic carbon on stream water chemistry in two forested catchments in central Sweden. Biogeochemistry, 101(1), 229–241.
Olsson, B. A., Bengtsson, J., & Lundkvist, H. (1996). Effects of different forest harvest intensities on the pools of exchangeable cations in coniferous forest soils. Forest Ecology and Management, 84(1–3), 135–147.
Perkiömäki, J., & Fritze, H. (2002). Short and long-term effects of wood ash on the boreal forest humus microbial community. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 34(9), 1343–1353.
Ring, E., Jacobson, S., & Nohrstedt, H. Ö. (2006). Soil-solution chemistry in a coniferous stand after adding wood ash and nitrogen. Can. J. For. Res.-Rev. Can. Rech. For., 36(1), 153–163.
Saarsalmi, A., Mälkönen, E., & Piirainen, S. (2001). Effects of wood ash fertilization on forest soil chemical properties. Silva. Fenn., 35(3), 355–368.
Steenari, B. M., Karlsson, L. G., & Lindqvist, O. (1999). Evaluation of the leaching characteristics of wood ash and the influence of ash agglomeration. Biomass Bioenerg., 16(2), 119–136.
Steenari, B. M., & Lindqvist, O. (1997). Stabilisation of biofuel ashes for recycling to forest soil. Biomass Bioenerg., 13(1–2), 39–50.
Steenari BM, Marsic N, Karlsson LG, Tomsic A, Lindqvist O (1998) Long-term leaching of stabilized wood ash. Scand. J. Forest Res.: 3–16
Sverdrup, H., & Rosen, K. (1998). Long-term base cation mass balances for Swedish forests and the concept of sustainability. Forest Ecology and Management, 110(1–3), 221–236.
Tulonen, T., Arvola, L., & Ollila, S. (2002). Limnological effects of wood ash application to the subcatchments of boreal, humic lakes. Journal of Environmental Quality, 31(3), 946–953.
Vestin, J. L. K., Norstrom, S. H., Bylund, D., & Lundstrom, U. S. (2008). Soil solution and stream water chemistry in a forested catchment II: Influence of organic matter. Geoderma, 144(1–2), 271–278.
Acknowledgements
This study was financed from the European Regional Development Fund, and Sveaskog provided the study area. Kei Nambu, Andreas Aronsson, Per-Erik Mellander, Martin Eriksson, Agnes Hedenström and Katarina Brorsson are thanked for their energetic help with field and laboratory work. Matt X. Richardson is greatly acknowledged for providing assistance with language and proof reading.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Norström, S.H., Bylund, D., Vestin, J.L.K. et al. Initial Effects of Wood Ash Application on the Stream Water Chemistry in a Boreal Catchment in Central Sweden. Water Air Soil Pollut 221, 123–136 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-011-0775-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-011-0775-z