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Predicting export of dissolved organic carbon from forested catchments in glaciated landscapes with shallow soils
Author(s) -
Creed I. F.,
Beall F. D.,
Clair T. A.,
Dillon P. J.,
Hesslein R. H.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
global biogeochemical cycles
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.512
H-Index - 187
eISSN - 1944-9224
pISSN - 0886-6236
DOI - 10.1029/2008gb003294
Subject(s) - wetland , hydrology (agriculture) , transect , environmental science , surface runoff , drainage basin , soil water , total organic carbon , streams , dissolved organic carbon , physical geography , geology , soil science , ecology , geography , oceanography , geotechnical engineering , computer network , cartography , computer science , biology
This study presents a simple model of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) loading to surface waters that is applicable to headwater catchments in forested regions on glaciated landscapes. Average annual DOC export was highly variable among the 33 experimental catchments along an east‐west transect, ranging from 0.90 to 13.74 g C/m 2 /a. It was hypothesized that the proportion of wetlands within the catchments would explain the majority of variation in average annual DOC export. To test this hypothesis, digital terrain analysis was used to derive wetlands automatically under both open and closed forest canopies by identifying the probability of a grid cell being a depression and/or flat. Using a 10 m digital elevation model (DEM) derived from readily available sources, the proportion of wetlands explained 63% of the variance in average annual DOC export among the 33 experimental catchments. Inclusion of regional climatic indicators, including the number of growing degree days (with a base of 10°C) and the runoff coefficient, increased explanation of variance from 63% to 89%, once catchments with lakes (>5% of catchment area) adjacent to the catchment outlets were removed. This study shows that DOC export can be predicted accurately from headwater catchments in forested regions on glaciated landscapes using a simple model based on the proportion of wetlands and easily calculated climatic variables.

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