Long-term changes in aluminum fractions of drainage waters in two forest catchments with contrasting lithology.

Aluminum (Al) chemistry was studied in soils and waters of two catchments covered by spruce (Picea abies) monocultures in the Czech Republic that represent geochemical end-members of terrestrial and aquatic sensitivity to acidic deposition. The acid-sensitive Lysina catchment, underlain by granite, was compared to the acid-resistant Pluhův Bor catchment on serpentine. Organically-bound Al was the largest pool of reactive soil Al at both sites. Very high median total Al (Alt) concentrations (40 micromol L(-1)) and inorganic monomeric Al (Ali) concentrations (27 micromol L(-1)) were observed in acidic (pH 4.0) stream water at Lysina in the 1990s and these concentrations decreased to 32 micromol L(-1) (Alt) and 13 micromol L(-1) (Ali) in the 2000s. The potentially toxic Ali fraction decreased in response to long-term decreases in acidic deposition, but Ali remained the largest fraction. However, the organic monomeric (Alo) and particulate (Alp) fractions increased in the 2000s at Lysina. In contrast to Lysina, marked increases of Alt concentrations in circum-neutral waters at Pluhův Bor were observed in the 2000s in comparison with the 1990s. These increases were entirely due to the Alp fraction, which increased more than 3-fold in stream water and up to 8-fold in soil water in the A horizon. Increase of Alp coincided with dissolved organic carbon (DOC) increases. Acidification recovery may have increased the content of colloidal Al though the coagulation of monomeric Al.

[1]  J. Hruška,et al.  Tree species (Picea abies and Fagus sylvatica) effects on soil water acidification and aluminium chemistry at sites subjected to long-term acidification in the Ore Mts., Czech Republic. , 2005, Journal of inorganic biochemistry.

[2]  R. Playle,et al.  The Bioavailability and Toxicity of Aluminum in Aquatic Environments , 1999 .

[3]  C. Driscoll,et al.  The chemistry of aluminum in the environment , 1990, Environmental geochemistry and health.

[4]  C. Driscoll,et al.  Acidic deposition: Decline in mobilization of toxic aluminium , 2002, Nature.

[5]  P. Krám,et al.  Aluminium chemistry of the root zone of forest soil affected by acid deposition at the Lysina catchment, Czech Republic , 1994 .

[6]  P. Krám,et al.  The biogeochemistry of basic cations in two forest catchments with contrasting lithology in the Czech Republic , 1997 .

[7]  P. Krám,et al.  Geoecology of a Forest Watershed Underlain by Serpentine in Central Europe , 2009 .

[8]  J. Innes.  Forest Health: Its Assessment and Status , 1993 .

[9]  C. Driscoll,et al.  Partitioning Light Attenuation in an Acidic Lake , 1985 .

[10]  D. Kurz,et al.  Acidification and recovery of soil at a heavily impacted forest catchment (Lysina, Czech Republic)—SAFE modeling and field results , 2007 .

[11]  S. Hamburg,et al.  Estimating Soil Nitrogen and Carbon Pools in a Northern Hardwood Forest Ecosystem , 1988 .

[12]  H. Laudon,et al.  Retrospective analyses and future predictions of snowmelt-induced acidification: example from a heavily impacted stream in the Czech Republic. , 2005, Environmental science & technology.

[13]  P. Cudlín,et al.  Relationship between Norway Spruce Status and Soil Water Base Cations/Aluminum Ratios in the Czech Republic , 2001 .

[14]  C. Exley.  A biogeochemical cycle for aluminium? , 2003, Journal of inorganic biochemistry.

[15]  P. Krám,et al.  Modelling long-term changes in stream water and soil chemistry in catchments with contrasting vulnerability to acidification (Lysina and Pluhuv Bor, Czech Republic) , 2003 .

[16]  B. Lazerte,et al.  Measurement of aqueous aluminum species: comparison of dialysis and ion-exchange techniques. , 1988, Environmental science & technology.

[17]  A. Page.  Methods of soil analysis. Part 2. Chemical and microbiological properties. , 1982 .

[18]  G. Guibaud,et al.  Aluminium speciation in the Vienne river on its upstream catchment (Limousin region, France). , 2005, Journal of inorganic biochemistry.

[19]  C. Driscoll,et al.  Comparison between pyrocatechol violet and 8-hydroxyquinoline procedures for determining aluminum fractions , 1992 .

[20]  C. Driscoll,et al.  Biogeochemistry of aluminum in a forest catchment in the Czech Republic impacted by atmospheric inputs of strong acids , 1995 .

[21]  G. Sposito.  The Environmental Chemistry of Aluminum , 1995 .

[22]  C. Driscoll,et al.  Long-term trends in soil solution and stream water chemistry at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest: relationship with landscape position , 2004 .

[23]  W. McDowell,et al.  Increased dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in Central European streams is driven by reductions in ionic strength rather than climate change or decreasing acidity. , 2009, Environmental science & technology.

[24]  C. Eagar,et al.  Calcium addition at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest reduced winter injury to red spruce in a high-injury year , 2006 .

[25]  P. Krám,et al.  Rapid regional recovery from sulfate and nitrate pollution in streams of the western Czech Republic--comparison to other recovering areas. , 2005, Environmental pollution.

[26]  P. Krám.  Biogeochemistry of forest catchments in the Czech Republic with contrasting lithology under conditions of acidic deposition , 1997 .

[27]  A. Richardson,et al.  Response of sugar maple to calcium addition to northern hardwood forest. , 2006, Ecology.

[28]  J. Herrmann.  Aluminum is Harmful to Benthic Invertebrates in Acidified Waters, but at What Threshold(s)? , 2001 .

[29]  William H. McDowell,et al.  Long-Term Trends in Stream Nitrate Concentrations and Losses Across Watersheds Undergoing Recovery from Acidification in the Czech Republic , 2008, Ecosystems.