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Aluminum Output Fluxes from Forest Ecosystems in Europe: A Regional Assessment
Author(s) -
Dise N. B.,
Matzner E.,
Armbruster M.,
MacDonald J.
Publication year - 2001
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/jeq2001.3051747x
Subject(s) - ecosystem , environmental science , forest ecology , environmental resource management , environmental protection , ecology , biology
Data from 89 forested catchments and plots across Europe were used to define empirical relationships between aluminum leaching and input fluxes of major ions, output fluxes of major ions, ecosystem parameters such as soil pH, and combinations of these. Forests that release dissolved Al to seepage or surface waters are located primarily in areas receiving the highest loading of acid rain, and the output flux of Al shows the highest correlations to the throughfall flux of inorganic nitrogen, the output fluxes of NO − 3 , H + , and SO 2− 4 , and the mineral soil pH. If the speciation of Al is taken to be Al 3+ (an overestimate), Al is released in a nearly 1:1 molar charge ratio with the sum of NO − 3 and SO 2− 4 in runoff or seepage water over a wide range of base‐poor bedrock types and acid deposition across Europe. The empirical data point to a threshold range of N deposition of 80 to 150 mmol c N m −2 yr −1 and a (less clearly defined) range of S deposition of 100 to 200 mmol c SO 2− 4 m −2 yr −1 above which Al released from forests exceeds 100 mmol c Al m −2 yr −1 Within this threshold range, the sites that release little or no dissolved Al are those that continue to assimilate input N and/or have high soil pH (>4.5).