Summary
Published in Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 63: 471-474
The acidification of forest soils and surface waters and their relatively poor recovery record following reductions in atmospheric sulphur emissions is a major ongoing environmental problem, particularly in northeastern North America. The slow recovery of surface water is widely hypothesized to result from depletion of reservoirs of base cations in soil. This is concordant with the theory that the acid-neutralizing capacity (ANC) of lakes is likely proportional to the size of the exchangeable base cation reservoirs present in surrounding watershed soils. However, data describing these linkages are still nonexistent in the literature. Here we show that lake ANC is highly predictable (r2 = 0.75) based on the size of the exchangeable Ca2+ reservoir in soil in 21 catchments representative of soil and lake conditions encountered in northeastern North America. This finding indirectly supports the hypothesis that the poor recovery of surface water from acidification is governed by the size of base cation reservoirs present in catchment soils. The size of the base cation reservoir in soil is thus a strong indicator of the acid–base status of both soils and surface waters.
Sector(s):
Forests
Categorie(s):
Scientific Article
Theme(s):
Ecosystems and Environment, Forest Ecology, Forestry Research, Forests
Departmental author(s):
Author(s)
HOULE, Daniel, Rock OUIMET, Suzanne COUTURE and Christian GAGNON
Year of publication :
2006
How to get the publication :
Keywords :
acid deposition, ANC, surface water, forest soils, soil nutrient capital, ecosystems and environment, écosystèmes et environnement, écologie écosystèmes et environnement, dépôt acide, CNA, eaux de surface, sol forestier, capital nutritif du sol
