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Ion Enrichment of Snowmelt Water by Processes within a Podzolic Soil
Author(s) -
Hazlett P.W.,
English M.C.,
Foster N.W.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq1992.00472425002100010015x
Subject(s) - snowmelt , meltwater , leaching (pedology) , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental science , forest floor , surface runoff , soil water , mineralization (soil science) , snow , environmental chemistry , geology , soil science , chemistry , ecology , geomorphology , geotechnical engineering , biology
Ion concentrations in snowmelt runoff, forest‐floor percolate and mineral‐soil percolate collected in a tolerant hardwood forest at the Turkey Lakes Watershed, ON, were determined during the spring snowmelt of 1986. The results were examined to assess the modification of snowmelt water after contact with the forest soil. Concentrations of NO 3 − increased from 17 to 201 µmol c L −1 and SO 4 2− increased from 25 to 107 µmol c L −1 as meltwater passed through the organic layers and the upper mineral‐soil horizons. Mineralization of organic N and S, and desorption of SO 4 2− from the soil, provide sources of these ions for leaching during the snowmelt period. Ion‐exchange reactions in the forest floor and upper mineral soil resulted in a decrease in H + and an increase in Ca 2+ concentration in solution. In the steep topography of this forested basin, the altered snowmelt solutions are rapidly transported downslope towards the aquatic system by lateral flow. Processes within the forest soil may therefore play an important role in determining the effects of snowmelt water on surface water chemistry in the spring.