| Title | Response of sulphur dynamics in European catchments to decreasing sulphate deposition |
| Abstract | Following the decline in sulphur deposition in Europe, sulphate dynamics of catchments and the reversibility of anthropogenic acidification of soils and freshwaters became of major interest. Long-term trends in sulphate concentrations and fluxes in precipitation/throughfall and freshwater of 20 European catchments were analysed to evaluate catchment response to decreasing sulphate deposition. Sulphate deposition in the catchments studied declined by 38-82% during the last decade. Sulphate concentrations in all freshwaters decreased significantly, but acidification reversal was clearly delayed in the German streams. In Scandinavian streams and Czech/Slovakian lakes sulphate concentrations responded quickly to decreased input. Sulphate fluxes in run-off showed no clear trend in Germany and Italy but decreased in Scandinavia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The decrease, however, was less than the decline in input fluxes. While long-term sulphate output fluxes from catchments were generally correlated to input fluxes, most catchments started a net release of sulphate during the early 1990s. Release of stored sulphate leads to a delay of acidification reversal and can be caused by four major processes. Desorption and excess mineralisation were regarded as the most important for the catchments investigated, while oxidation and weathering were of lesser importance for the long-term release of sulphate. Input from weathering has to be considered for the Italian catchments. Sulphate fluxes in German catchments, with deeply weathered soils and high soil storage capacity, responded more slowly to decreased deposition than catchments in Scandinavia and the Czech Republic/Slovakia, which have thin soils and relatively small sulphate storage. For predictions of acidification reversal, soil characteristics, sulphur pools and their dynamics have to be evaluated in future research. |
| Source | Hydrology and earth system sciences 5 (3), pp. 311–325 |
| Keywords | Acidification reversalCatchmentsDepositionEuropeLakeStreamSulphate releaseSulphur |
| Journal | Hydrology and earth system sciences |
| Editor | Copernicus Publ., Göttingen, Germania |
| Year | 2001 |
| Type | Articolo in rivista |
| Authors | Prechtel, Annette; Alewell, C.; Armbruster, Martin; Bittersohl, Jochen; Cullen, J. M.; Evans, Chris D.; Helliwell, Rachel C.; Kopá?ek, Ji?í; Marchetto, Aldo; Matzner, Egbert; Meesenburg, Henning; Moldan, Filip; Moritz, Klaus; Veselý, Josef; Wright, Richard F. |
| Text | 323253 2001 Scopus 2 s2.0 6644226256 Acidification reversal Catchments Deposition Europe Lake Stream Sulphate release Sulphur Response of sulphur dynamics in European catchments to decreasing sulphate deposition Prechtel, Annette; Alewell, C.; Armbruster, Martin; Bittersohl, Jochen; Cullen, J. M.; Evans, Chris D.; Helliwell, Rachel C.; Kopa ek, Ji i; Marchetto, Aldo; Matzner, Egbert; Meesenburg, Henning; Moldan, Filip; Moritz, Klaus; Veselý, Josef; Wright, Richard F. Universitat Bayreuth; Technische Universitat Dresden; Bavarian Environmental Agency; Centre for Ecology Hydrology; The Macaulay Institute; Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic; Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche; Forest Res. Inst. of Lower Saxony; IVL Svenska Miljoinstitutet; Czech Geological Survey, Prague; Norsk institutt for vannforskning Following the decline in sulphur deposition in Europe, sulphate dynamics of catchments and the reversibility of anthropogenic acidification of soils and freshwaters became of major interest. Long term trends in sulphate concentrations and fluxes in precipitation/throughfall and freshwater of 20 European catchments were analysed to evaluate catchment response to decreasing sulphate deposition. Sulphate deposition in the catchments studied declined by 38 82% during the last decade. Sulphate concentrations in all freshwaters decreased significantly, but acidification reversal was clearly delayed in the German streams. In Scandinavian streams and Czech/Slovakian lakes sulphate concentrations responded quickly to decreased input. Sulphate fluxes in run off showed no clear trend in Germany and Italy but decreased in Scandinavia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The decrease, however, was less than the decline in input fluxes. While long term sulphate output fluxes from catchments were generally correlated to input fluxes, most catchments started a net release of sulphate during the early 1990s. Release of stored sulphate leads to a delay of acidification reversal and can be caused by four major processes. Desorption and excess mineralisation were regarded as the most important for the catchments investigated, while oxidation and weathering were of lesser importance for the long term release of sulphate. Input from weathering has to be considered for the Italian catchments. Sulphate fluxes in German catchments, with deeply weathered soils and high soil storage capacity, responded more slowly to decreased deposition than catchments in Scandinavia and the Czech Republic/Slovakia, which have thin soils and relatively small sulphate storage. For predictions of acidification reversal, soil characteristics, sulphur pools and their dynamics have to be evaluated in future research. 5 Published version http //www.scopus.com/record/display.url eid=2 s2.0 6644226256 origin=inward Paper hess_5_311_2001.pdf Articolo in rivista Copernicus Publ. 1027 5606 Hydrology and earth system sciences Hydrology and earth system sciences Hydrol. earth syst. sci. Hydrology and earth system sciences. HESS Gottingen. Print Hydrology and earth system sciences Print aldo.marchetto MARCHETTO ALDO RECOVER 2010 Predicting recovery in acidified freshwaters by the year 2010 and beyond. TA.P02.014.002 Impatto dei cambiamenti globali sugli ecosistemi acquatici |
