Atmospheric deposition, retention, and stream export of dioxins and PCBs in a pristine boreal catchment

Bergknut, Magnus; Laudon, Hjalmar; Jansson, Stina; Larsson, Anna; Gocht, Tilman; Wiberg, Karin

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2011.02.050

Cited by 42 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…In addition, increased soil temperatures following clear-cutting accelerate mineralization and nitrification in the soil (Paavolainen and Smolander 1998;Smolander et al 2001) and nutrients are released from decomposing logging residues (Palviainen et al 2004). Clear-cutting may also increase total or dissolved organic carbon (TOC, DOC) export (Lamontagne et al 2000;Schelker et al 2012Schelker et al , 2014, which have implications for catchment carbon budgets (Schelker et al 2012), the structure of aquatic food webs (Jansson et al 2000), the acid-base chemistry of surface waters (Buffam et al 2008), and the mobility, toxicity, and bioavailability of trace metals and organic pollutants (Porvari et al 2003;Bergknut et al 2011). The impacts on water quality are long-term and they are generally at its greatest during the first years after clear-cutting (Rosén et al 1996;Ahtiainen and Huttunen 1999;Palviainen et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A method to estimate the impact of clear-cutting on nutrient concentrations in boreal headwater streams

Palviainen

Finér

Laurén

et al. 2015

Ambio

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Large-scale forestry operations, like clearcutting, may impair surface water quality if not done with environmental considerations in mind. Catchment and country level estimates of nutrient loads from forestry are generally based on specific export values, i.e., changes in annual exports due to the implemented forestry operations expressed in kg ha -1 . We introduce here a specific concentration approach as a method to estimate the impact of clear-cutting on nutrient concentrations and export in headwater streams. This new method is potentially a more dynamic and flexible tool to estimate nutrient loads caused by forestry, because variation in annual runoff can be taken into account in load assessments. We combined water quality data from eight boreal headwater catchment pairs located in Finland and Sweden, where the effect of clear-cutting on stream water quality has been studied experimentally. Statistically significant specific concentration values could be produced for total nitrogen, nitrate, ammonium, and phosphate. The significant increases in the concentrations of these nutrients occurred between 2 and 6 years after clearcutting. Significant specific concentration values could not be produced for total phosphorus and total organic carbon with the whole dataset, although in some single studies significant increases in their concentrations after clear-cutting were observed. The presented method enables taking into account variation in runoff, temporal dynamics of effects, and the proportional size of the treated area in load calculations. The number of existing studies considering large site-specific variation in responses to clear-cutting is small, and therefore further empirical studies are needed to improve predictive capabilities of the specific concentration values.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A method to estimate the impact of clear-cutting on nutrient concentrations in boreal headwater streams

Palviainen

Finér

Laurén

et al. 2015

Ambio

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“…Klaminder et al, 2011a), copper (Brooks et al, 2007;Shank et al, 2004), lead (Klaminder et al, 2006) and cesium (Tegen and Dorr, 1996) as well as persistent organic pollutants (e.g. Bergknut et al, 2011). In addition, DOC cycling strongly influences base cation dynamics and exports in forest ecosystems (Raulund-Rasmussen et al, 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term patterns in dissolved organic carbon, major elements and trace metals in boreal headwater catchments: trends, mechanisms and heterogeneity

Oni

Bishop

et al. 2013

Biogeosciences

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The boreal landscape is a complex, spatio-temporally varying mosaic of forest and mire landscape elements that control surface water hydrology and chemistry. Here, we assess long-term water quality time series from three nested headwater streams draining upland forest (C2), peat/mire (C4) and mixed (C7) (forest and mire) catchments. Acid deposition in this region is low and is further declining. Temporal trends in weather and runoff (1981–2008), dissolved organic carbon concentration [DOC] (1993–2010) and other water quality parameters (1987–2011) were assessed. There was no significant annual trend in precipitation or runoff. However, runoff increased in March and declined in May. This suggested an earlier snowmelt regime in recent years. Significant monotonic increasing trends in air temperature and length of growing season suggested a decrease in snowfall and less spring runoff. Stream [DOC] was positively correlated with some trace metals (copper, iron and zinc) and negatively with several other chemical parameters (e.g. sulfate, conductivity, calcium). Both sulfate and conductivity showed declining trends, while a significant increase was observed in pH during winter and spring. Calcium and magnesium showed monotonic decreasing trends. The declining trajectories of stream base cation and sulfate concentrations during other times of the year were not accompanied by changes in pH and alkalinity. These results indicate subtle effects of recovery from acidification. Water temperature increased significantly both annually and in most months. A simultaneous monotonic increase in iron (Fe) and [DOC] in autumn suggests co-transport of Fe-DOC in the form of organometallic complexes. A monotonic increase in UV absorbance in most months without co-occurring changes in DOC trend suggests a shift in DOC quality to a more humic-rich type. The observed increase in soil solution [DOC] and subtle trends in stream [DOC] suggest that climate rather than recovery from acidification is the dominant driver of DOC trends in the Svartberget catchment

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“…Carrera et al (2001) used field data to show that the importance of snowfall in delivering contaminants to remote alpine regions varied significantly between mountain regions in Europe. In a separate study, measurements showed that two thirds of the total deposition of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) to a Northern Swedish watershed occurred during months with average temperatures below freezing, with highest values observed during months with snowfall (Bergknut et al, 2011). It should be noted that in the case of water-soluble organic species, snow scavenging is actually less efficient than rain scavenging .…”

Section: The Role Of Snowfall In Contaminant Delivery To Surfaces -Comentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lafrenière et al (2006) noted that organic contaminant concentrations in early melt water from a remote alpine area were much higher than in the snowpack, and even the more hydrophobic compounds were highly concentrated in melt water. Bergknut et al (2011) noted that as much as 71 % of the annual export of PCBs and 79 % of that of the PCDD/Fs from a Boreal catchment in Northern Sweden occurred during the snowmelt induced spring flood, a percentage exceeding considerably the contribution that the spring freshet makes to the annual flow of water (52 % to 66 %). The higher percentage for the contaminant export was attributed to significant amounts of melt water reaching streams through overland flow.…”

Section: The Role Of Seasonal Snowmelt In Modifying Organic Contaminamentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of the global cryosphere in the fate of organic contaminants

et al. 2013

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Abstract. The cryosphere is an important component of global organic contaminant cycles. Snow is an efficient scavenger of atmospheric organic pollutants while a seasonal snowpack, sea ice, glaciers and ice caps are contaminant reservoirs on time scales ranging from days to millennia. Important physical and chemical processes occurring in the various cryospheric compartments impact contaminant cycling and fate. A variety of interactions and feedbacks also occur within the cryospheric system, most of which are susceptible to perturbations due to climate change. In this article, we review the current state of knowledge regarding the transport and processing of organic contaminants in the global cryosphere with an emphasis on the role of a changing climate. Given the complexity of contaminant interactions with the cryosphere and limitations on resources and research capacity, interdisciplinary research and extended collaborations are essential to close identified knowledge gaps and to improve our understanding of contaminant fate under a changing climate.

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Atmospheric deposition, retention, and stream export of dioxins and PCBs in a pristine boreal catchment

Cited by 42 publications

References 37 publications

A method to estimate the impact of clear-cutting on nutrient concentrations in boreal headwater streams

A method to estimate the impact of clear-cutting on nutrient concentrations in boreal headwater streams

Long-term patterns in dissolved organic carbon, major elements and trace metals in boreal headwater catchments: trends, mechanisms and heterogeneity

The role of the global cryosphere in the fate of organic contaminants

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