Thirty Years of Chemical Changes in Alpine Acid-Sensitive Lakes in the Alps

Rogora, Michela; Colombo, Luca; Lepori, Fabio; Marchetto, Aldo; Steingruber, Sandra; Tornimbeni, Ombretta

doi:10.1007/s11270-013-1746-3

Cited by 33 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…It is hypothesized that the increasing SO 4 2− trend in the Italian lakes results from enhanced mineral weathering induced by the direct and indirect effects of climate change. 47 Similarly, the long-term variability in ANC of the Italian rivers is mainly driven by weathering processes and factors influencing them (e.g., climate change driving less snow cover in the higher portions of the catchments and a greater export of base cations from weathering processes. 47 Such climate-induced geochemical processes were not represented in the model.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing Recovery from Acidification of European Surface Waters in the Year 2010: Evaluation of Projections Made with the MAGIC Model in 1995

Helliwell

Wright

Jackson-Blake

et al. 2014

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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In 1999 we used the MAGIC (Model of Acidification of Groundwater In Catchments) model to project acidification of acid-sensitive European surface waters in the year 2010, given implementation of the Gothenburg Protocol to the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP). A total of 202 sites in 10 regions in Europe were studied. These forecasts can now be compared with measurements for the year 2010, to give a "ground truth" evaluation of the model. The prerequisite for this test is that the actual sulfur and nitrogen deposition decreased from 1995 to 2010 by the same amount as that used to drive the model forecasts; this was largely the case for sulfur, but less so for nitrogen, and the simulated surface water [NO3(-)] reflected this difference. For most of the sites, predicted surface water recovery from acidification for the year 2010 is very close to the actual recovery observed from measured data, as recovery is predominantly driven by reductions in sulfur deposition. Overall these results show that MAGIC successfully predicts future water chemistry given known changes in acid deposition.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing Recovery from Acidification of European Surface Waters in the Year 2010: Evaluation of Projections Made with the MAGIC Model in 1995

Helliwell

Wright

Jackson-Blake

et al. 2014

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…However, a significant chemical recovery due to decreasing sulphate concentrations and increasing pH and alkalinity levels has occurred in most of the lakes in the monitoring area during the last 30 years (Rogora et al 2013). In addition to this, as total phosphorus values are below or at the detection limit (5 µg L −1 ), chlorophyll a values are < 2 µg L −1 (S. Steingruber pers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The annual precipitation taken from Robiei pluviometric station of MeteoSwiss was calculated considering the hydrological year to be from 1 October to 30 September, since the precipitation that falls in late autumn and winter in the form of snow affects the hydrology and chemistry of the next spring and summer (Rogora et al 2013). …”

Section: Sampling Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oligochaete assemblages of Swiss Alpine lakes

Dumnicka

Steingruber

Colombo

et al. 2014

Italian Journal of Zoology

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The present paper describes the oligochaete assemblages of 12 Swiss Alpine lakes (1700-2500 m above sea level) in Canton Ticino. The lake catchment geology is dominated by gneiss. The scarcity of carbonate rocks leads to a low buffering capacity, increasing the lakes' sensitivity to acidification. Because of their very low phosphorus concentrations, they are defined as ultraoligotrophic. Oligochaetes were identified from kick-samples taken from the outflow and littoral zone of the lakes one to three times per year in 1991-1994, 2003 and 2007, when the lake water chemistry was also characterized. Oligochaete assemblages consisted of 19 species in total, 18 of which were found in the littoral zone, and 10 in the outlets. Amongst them, Cernosvitoviella goodhui Healy, 1975 was recorded in Switzerland for the first time. Principal component analysis (PCA), performed excluding the highly alkaline Lake Bianco (pH = 7.8 and alkalinity = 566 µeq L −1 ) due to its atypical chemical composition, divided the remaining lakes into two groups with different sensitivity to acidity: the first group of four lakes was characterized by a higher average pH (6.4) and alkalinity (32 µeq L −1 ), whilst the second group of seven lakes was characterized by a lower average pH (5.7) and alkalinity (5 µeq L −1). Multivariate analysis performed on data collated from the littoral zone highlighted geo-lithology as a key driver in determining the species distribution among lakes. When applied to the lake outlet data, a similar distinction between acidic and calcareous waters was implied. Precipitation influenced the oligochaete assemblage in the littoral zone. During years with higher annual rainfall, the relative abundance of Enchytraeidae increased, probably because their semi-aquatic nature allows them to colonize the littoral zones that dry out periodically.

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“…They are mainly affected by direct and indirect human impacts, like global climatic change, eutrophication, acidification, nitrification, tourism, hydro-power generation, water abstraction, fish-stocking, and grazing (Catalan et al 2006, Marnezy 2008, Martinez-Sanz et al 2012, Rogora et al 2013. Generally, the severe environmental conditions characterizing these water bodies limit the presence of macroinvertebrates, simplifying their biological assemblages, which remain more complex and diverse along the littorals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%