Climatic control of nitrate loss from forested watersheds in the northeast United States
Environmental Science & Technology
By: M.J. Mitchell, C. T. Driscoll, J. S. Kahl, G.E. Likens, Peter S. Murdoch, and L.H. Pardo
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Abstract
Increased losses of nitrate from watersheds may accelerate the depletion of nutrient cations and affect the acidification and trophic status of surface waters. Patterns of nitrate concentrations and losses were evaluated in four forested watersheds (East Bear Brook Watershed, Lead Mountain, ME; Watershed 6, Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, White Mountains, NH; Arbutus Watershed, Huntington Forest, Adirondack Mountains, NY; Biscuit Brook, Catskill Mountains, NY) located across the northeastern United States. A synchronous pattern was observed in nitrate concentrations of drainage waters from these four sites from 1983 through 1993. Most notably, high concentrations and high drainage water losses followed an anomalous cold period (mean daily temperature -11.4 to -16 ??C in December 1989) for all four sites. After high nitrate losses during the snowmelt of 1990, nitrate concentrations and fluxes decreased at all sites. These results suggest that climatic variation can have a major effect on nitrogen flux and cycling and may influence temporal patterns of nitrate loss in a region.
Suggested Citation
Mitchell, M., Driscoll, C.T., Kahl, J.S., Likens, G., Murdoch, P., and Pardo, L., 1996, Climatic control of nitrate loss from forested watersheds in the northeast United States: Environmental Science & Technology, v. 30, no. 8, p. 2609-2612, https://doi.org/10.1021/es9600237.
ISSN: 1520-5851 (online)
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Climatic control of nitrate loss from forested watersheds in the northeast United States |
| Series title | Environmental Science & Technology |
| DOI | 10.1021/es9600237 |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue | 8 |
| Publication Date | July 25, 1996 |
| Year Published | 1996 |
| Language | English |
| Larger Work Type | Article |
| Larger Work Subtype | Journal Article |
| Larger Work Title | Environmental Science and Technology |
| First page | 2609 |
| Last page | 2612 |