Major element chemistry in alpine snow along a north-south transect in the Eastern Alps

Nickus, Ulrike; Kühn, Michael; Novo, A.; Rossi, Gustavo Carlos

doi:10.1016/s1352-2310(98)00231-3

Cited by 25 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Turning to concentrations of N within the snowpack, these did not vary among terraces showing that snow quality was homogeneous across the site within a set altitudinal range (*1,800-m.a.s.l.). Snow inorganic N concentrations in the area of the Lautaret Pass during winter 2006 were consistent with other studies (Edwards et al 2007;Hiltbrunner et al 2005;Kuhn 2001;Nickus et al 1998;Williams et al 2009). They probably originated from local pasture Fig.…”

Section: Limited Atmospheric N Deposition Occurred With Snowsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…We observed a shift favouring the relative dominance of dissolved organic-N forms in the snowpack towards the front area. Snow-N inputs were relatively low (*0.2-0.3-kg N ha -1 ) when compared with other alpine and subalpine sites worldwide (Aber et al 2003;Sievering et al 1996;Williams et al 2009), though they remained close to values from the Swiss Alps (Hiltbrunner et al 2005;Nickus et al 1998). In fact, we measured 0.2-0.3-kg N ha -1 in the snow between February and April which, therefore, represented just a small portion of the total annual N deposition (dry and wet) which is reported to range between approximately 12 and 22 kg N ha -1 year -1 at the regional scale (Hiltbrunner et al 2005).…”

Section: Limited Atmospheric N Deposition Occurred With Snowmentioning

confidence: 73%

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The effects of snow-N deposition and snowmelt dynamics on soil-N cycling in marginal terraced grasslands in the French Alps

et al. 2011

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International audienceAtmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition increasingly impacts remote ecosystems. At high altitudes, snow is a key carrier of water and nutrients from the atmosphere to the soil. Medium-sized subalpine grassland terraces are characteristic of agricultural landscapes in the French Alps and influence spatial and temporal snow pack variables. At the Lautaret Pass, we investigated snow and soil characteristics along mesotopographic gradients across the terraces before and during snowmelt. Total N concentrations in the snowpack did not vary spatially and were dominated by organic N forms either brought by dry deposition trapped by the snow, or due to snow-microbial immobilization and turnover. As expected, snowpack depth, total N deposited with snow and snowmelt followed the terrace toposequence; more snow-N accumulated towards the bank over longer periods. However, direct effects of snow-N on soil-N cycling seem unlikely since the amount of nitrogen released into the soil from the snowpack was very small relative to soil-N pools and N mineralization rates. Nevertheless, some snow-N reached the soil at thaw where it underwent biotic and abiotic processes. In situ soil-N mineralization rates did not vary along the terrace toposequence but soil-N cycling was indirectly affected by the snowpack. Indeed, N mineralization responded to the snowmelt dynamic via induced temporal changes in soil characteristics (i.e. moisture and T°) which cascaded down to affect N-related microbial activities and soil pH. Soil-NH4 and DON accumulated towards the bank during snowmelt while soil-NO3 followed a pulse-release pattern. At the end of the snowmelt season, organic substrate limitation might be accountable for the decrease in N mineralization in general, and in NH4 + production in particular. Possibly, during snowmelt, other biotic or abiotic processes (nitrification, denitrification, plant uptake, leaching) were involved in the transformation and transfer of snow and soil-N pools. Finally, subalpine soils at the Lautaret Pass during snowmelt experienced strong biotic and abiotic changes and switched between a source and a sink of N

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Section: Limited Atmospheric N Deposition Occurred With Snowsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Limited Atmospheric N Deposition Occurred With Snowmentioning

confidence: 73%

The effects of snow-N deposition and snowmelt dynamics on soil-N cycling in marginal terraced grasslands in the French Alps

et al. 2011

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“…Concentrations of nitrate in 2006 and 2007 of around 11 leq L -1 at NWT are greater than most areas of the Alps in Europe (Nickus et al (1998) and similar to the value of about 10 leq L -1 reported by Kuhn (2001) for an area in eastern Alps that is impacted by local air pollution. These nitrate values at NWT are much greater than the 0.2 leq L -1 that Kang et al (2004) report for the Himalaya range and about double the 5.7 leq L -1 that they report for mountains in China.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Storage and release of solutes from a subalpine seasonal snowpack: soil and stream water response, Niwot Ridge, Colorado

2009

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Much of the research on the chemistry of snow and surface waters of the western US, Europe, and Asia has been conducted in high-elevation catchments above treeline. Here we provide information on the solute content of the seasonal snowpack at the Soddie site on Niwot Ridge, Colorado, a subalpine site near treeline. We focus on the storage and release of both inorganic and organic solutes to the soils underneath the snowpack, and subsequent effects on the chemical and nutrient content of the underlying soil solution and the adjacent headwater stream. The concentration of inorganic nitrogen (N) stored in the seasonal snowpack at the Soddie site of about 11 leq L -1 was on the upper end of values reported for the northern hemisphere when compared to most areas of the Alps, Himalayas, and Tien Shan mountain ranges, but consistent with other reports of snowpacks in the Rocky Mountains. The storage of inorganic N in the snowpack at maximum accumulation averaged about 17 meq m -2 , or 170 eq ha -1 (on the order of 2 kg-N ha -1 ). Solutes were released from storage in the form of an ionic pulse, with a maximum concentration factor of about four. In contrast to the seasonal snowpack, the dominant form of N in the soil solution was dissolved organic N. Thus, soils underlying the seasonal snowpack appear to assimilate inorganic N released from storage in the snowpack and convert it to organic N. A two component mixing model suggests that the majority of streamflow was this year's snowmelt that had infiltrated the subsurface and undergone subsequent biological and geochemical reactions. The inorganic N in surface waters at the headwaters of Como creek were always near or below detection limits, suggesting that this area at treeline is still N-limited.

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“…A summary of alpine work was given by Nickus et al (1997), high altitude, extrapolar sites are reported in Wagenbach et al (1988) and Lyons et al (1991) and a sample of other publications includes Morris and Thomas (1985), Sigg et al (1987), Williams and Melack (1991) and Barbaris and Betterton (1996), seasonal and regional distribution have been treated by Kuhn et al (1998) and Nickus et al (1998). These references indicate a generally low level of nutrient content in high alpine snow compared to central European lowlands, values of sulfate, nitrate or ammonium rarely exceeding 20 microequivalents per liter.…”

Section: Nutrient Profiles and Hydrographs In Real Snowmentioning

confidence: 99%

The nutrient cycle through snow and ice, a review

Kühn¹

2001

Aquat. sci.

118

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This paper reviews the merging of the nutrient cycle with the water cycle in the seasonal alpine snow cover, emphasizing physical processes at the snowpack and snow grain scale. Nutrients are incorporated into snowflakes growing in the atmosphere, they are part of the dry deposition from the atmosphere to the snowpack and they reach the snow as plant litter. The physical processes of the accumulation of nutrients and their redistribution in and on the snow grains and in the pore space of the snow matrix are described.The first flush of meltwater that reaches the soil carries a solution of nutrients and acids in a concentration several times higher than bulk values, an effect that increases with the age of the snow and the number of melt/freeze cycles and is more pronounced for sulfate than for chloride. Species that are attached to insoluble particles will be concentrated near the snow surface and will display peak concentrations in the final fraction of meltwater.

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Major element chemistry in alpine snow along a north-south transect in the Eastern Alps

Cited by 25 publications

References 7 publications

The effects of snow-N deposition and snowmelt dynamics on soil-N cycling in marginal terraced grasslands in the French Alps

The effects of snow-N deposition and snowmelt dynamics on soil-N cycling in marginal terraced grasslands in the French Alps

Storage and release of solutes from a subalpine seasonal snowpack: soil and stream water response, Niwot Ridge, Colorado

The nutrient cycle through snow and ice, a review

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