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| Prechtel, A; Alewell, C; Armbruster, M; Bittersohl, J; Cullen, JM; Evans, CD; Heliwell, R; Kopácek, J; Marchetto, A; Matzner, E; Meesenburg, H; Moldan, F; Moritz, K; Vesely, J; Wright, R: Response of sulphur dynamics in European catchments to decreasing sulphate deposition, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 5, 311-325 (2001) | |
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
freshwaters 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 longterm
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.
Keywords: acidification reversal, sulphur, sulphate release, Europe, catchments, deposition, lake, stream |
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