We examined the hypothesis that the extent of vegetation cover governs the fluxes of nutrients from boreal and subarctic river catchments to the sea. Fluxes of total organic carbon (TOC) and dissolved inorganic nitrogen, phosphorus, and dissolved silicate (DIN, DIP, and DSi, respectively) are described from 19 river catchments and subcatchments (ranging in size from 34 to 40,000 km2) in northern Sweden with a detailed analysis of the rivers Luleälven and Kalix%lven. Fluxes of TOC, DIP, and DSi increase by an order of magnitude with increasing proportion of forest and wetland area, whereas DIN did not follow this pattern but remained constantly low. Principal component analysis on landscape variables showed the importance of almost all land cover and soil type variables associated with vegetation, periglacial environment, soil and bedrock with slow weathering rates, boundary of upper tree line, and percentage of lake area. A cluster analysis of the principal components showed that the river systems could be separated into mountainous headwaters and forest and wetland catchments. This clustering was also valid in relation to river chemistry (TOC, DIP, and DSi) and was confirmed with a redundancy analysis, including river chemistry and principal components as environmental variables. The first axis explains 89% of the variance in river chemistry and almost 100% of the variance in the relation between river chemistry and landscape variables. These results suggest that vegetation change during interglacial periods is likely to have had a major effect on inputs of TOC, DIP, and DSi into the past ocean.
A B S T R A C T Possible future changes in Baltic Sea acidÁbase (pH) and oxygen balances were studied using a catchmentÁsea coupled model system and numerical experiments based on meteorological and hydrological forcing datasets and scenarios. By using objective statistical methods, climate runs for present climate conditions were examined and evaluated using Baltic Sea modelling. The results indicate that increased nutrient loads will not inhibit future Baltic Sea acidification; instead, the seasonal pH cycle will be amplified by increased biological production and mineralization. All examined scenarios indicate future acidification of the whole Baltic Sea that is insensitive to the chosen global climate model. The main factor controlling the direction and magnitude of future pH changes is atmospheric CO 2 concentration (i.e. emissions). Climate change and land-derived changes (e.g. nutrient loads) affect acidification mainly by altering the seasonal cycle and deep-water conditions. Apart from decreasing pH, we also project a decreased saturation state of calcium carbonate, decreased respiration index and increasing hypoxic area Á all factors that will threaten the marine ecosystem. We demonstrate that substantial reductions in fossil-fuel burning are needed to minimise the coming pH decrease and that substantial reductions in nutrient loads are needed to reduce the coming increase in hypoxic and anoxic waters.
Nature of the problem (science/management/policy) Freshwater ecosystems play a key role in the European nitrogen (N) cycle, both as a reactive agent that transfers, stores and processes • N loadings from the atmosphere and terrestrial ecosystems, and as a natural environment severely impacted by the increase of these loadings. Approaches Th is chapter is a review of major processes and factors controlling N transport and transformations for running waters, standing waters, • groundwaters and riparian wetlands.
Abstract. Nitrate input to a river is largely controlled by land use in its catchment. We compared the information carried by the isotopic signatures of nitrate in 12 Baltic rivers, in relation to the vegetation cover, land use, and fertilization of agricultural land of their catchments. We found isotope values in nitrate ranging from −2 to 14‰ for δ 15 N and 8 to 25‰ for δ 18 O. The annual variability of riverine nitrate isotope signatures is presented in detail for one Nordic, the Kemijoki, and two southern rivers, the Vistula and Oder. Nordic rivers with relatively pristine vegetation in their catchments show not only low δ 15 N values and high δ 18 O-NO − 3 but also lower annual variability than rivers draining densely populated land. Seasonal signals were found in all the rivers. We used load weighted nitrate isotope data and data from the three major N sources (farmland/sewage, atmospheric deposition and from runoff of pristine soils) to theoretically estimate the shares of nitrate from these sources. The results of an isotope mixing model (IMM-1) agree reasonably well with the same estimates for agricultural land derived from a Global Land Cover (GLC) data base, with a deviation varying from −16% to +26%. The comparison with an emission model (EM) reveals relatively good agreements for intensively used catchments (−18 to +18% deviation). Rather unsatisfactory agreement was found between the IMM-1 and GLC calculations for pristine catchments (−36 to +50% deviation). Advantages and limitations of the tested model are discussed.
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