The Puszcza Knyszyńska springs are an important element of the environment, conditioning the high geo- and biodiversity in the region. These springs are layered outflows that drain the waters of the Quaternary level. More than 200 outflows have been cataloged, and 80 of them have measured/estimated yields and analyses of their water qualities. During periods of low water levels, the discharge efficiency most often fluctuated within a range of 0.5–2.0 dm3·s–1. In light of the applicable legal standards, the tested waters were of excellent quality. They belonged to the two hydrochemical types HCO3-Ca and HCO3-Ca-Mg, indicating the Quaternary aquifer’s homogeneity in the post-glacial areas. Small concentrations of most of the chemical parameters of water were found in the forest springs. Larger transformations in the chemical composition of water occurred in the outflows located in agricultural land and rural areas. A characteristic feature of the chemical composition of the water in the region’s lowland springs was an increased concentration of biogenic compounds (nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon compounds), both organic and inorganic. The average concentration of dissolved organic carbon in the water of the lowland springs in summer exceeded 4 mg·dm−3. In some outflows, most often of a swamp nature or located in peat areas, the concentration of dissolved organic carbon even exceeded a dozen or so mg·dm−3.
The aim of the study was to determine the morphological characteristics of selected spring-heads in the Knyszyńska Primeval Forest and to identify lithological conditions in areas where groundwater flows to the surface. During the study, detailed bed level measurements of the spring-head areas were conducted. Lidar laser data obtained from the Central Department of Geodetic and Cartographic Documentation in Warsaw were also used for the analysis of morphometry. Based on the data, the detailed contour maps were created in the Surfer 12 programme and the basic parameters of the morphometry of the studied springs were determined. To detect lithological conditions, granulometric analyses were conducted and the filtration coefficient of aquifers in the individual spring-heads was calculated using Hazen and USBSC empirical models. Due to the morphological situation, the examined objects were classified as sub-slope and riverbank spring-heads. In terms of shape, spring-head alcoves are classified as basin-shaped, bowl-shaped and spindle-shaped alcoves. Different morphological processes prevail in each of these types. Basin-shaped alcoves are formed mainly by lateral erosion, bowlshaped alcoves by seepage erosion, landsliding and accumulation in the bottom, spindle-shaped alcoves by seepage erosion, headward erosion, breaking and collapsing. In the investigated outflows of groundwater aquifers are sands and glacifluvial sands with gravel of varying grain size. The lithological variation of aquifers in the spring-heads, directly affects the rate of groundwater filtration in different parts of the alcoves, which in turn leads to different morphogenetic processes and results in changes in the morphology of the spring-head alcoves.
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