| 1. |
- Björnerås, C., et al.
(författare)
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Widespread Increases in Iron Concentration in European and North American Freshwaters
- 2017
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Ingår i: Global Biogeochemical Cycles. - 0886-6236 .- 1944-9224. ; 31:10, s. 1488-1500
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent reports of increasing iron (Fe) concentrations in freshwaters are of concern, given the fundamental role of Fe in biogeochemical processes. Still, little is known about the frequency and geographical distribution of Fe trends or about the underlying drivers. We analyzed temporal trends of Fe concentrations across 340 water bodies distributed over 10 countries in northern Europe and North America in order to gain a clearer understanding of where, to what extent, and why Fe concentrations are on the rise. We found that Fe concentrations have significantly increased in 28% of sites, and decreased in 4%, with most positive trends located in northern Europe. Regions with rising Fe concentrations tend to coincide with those with organic carbon (OC) increases. Fe and OC increases may not be directly mechanistically linked, but may nevertheless be responding to common regional-scale drivers such as declining sulfur deposition or hydrological changes. A role of hydrological factors was supported by covarying trends in Fe and dissolved silica, as these elements tend to stem from similar soil depths. A positive relationship between Fe increases and conifer cover suggests that changing land use and expanded forestry could have contributed to enhanced Fe export, although increases were also observed in nonforested areas. We conclude that the phenomenon of increasing Fe concentrations is widespread, especially in northern Europe, with potentially significant implications for wider ecosystem biogeochemistry, and for the current browning of freshwaters.
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| 2. |
- Stålnacke, P., et al.
(författare)
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Trends in nutrient concentrations in Latvian rivers and the response to the dramatic change in agriculture
- 2003
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Ingår i: Journal of Hydrology. - 0022-1694 .- 1879-2707. ; 283:1-4, s. 184-205
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In recent years, the use of fertilisers in the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) has decreased at an unprecedented rate. The import of mineral fertilisers and feed stuff became almost non-existent, and extensive slaughtering of livestock reduced the amount of manure. In Latvia, the purchase of mineral fertilisers decreased by a factor of 15 between 1987 and 1996 and the number of livestock decreased with a factor of almost 4 during the same time period. Such abrupt and comprehensive changes in land use have never before occurred in the history of modern European agriculture. Here, the impact that this dramatic reduction has had on concentrations of nutrients in Latvian rivers is examined. To discern temporal changes, statistical analyses were undertaken on time series of nutrient concentrations and relationships between concentrations and runoff at 12 sampling sites in ten Latvian rivers covering drainage areas from 334 to 64,000 km2. Considering the study period 1987-1998, only four of the 12 sites showed statistically significant downward trends (one-sided test at the 5% level) in the dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN = NO3-N + NO2-N + NH4-N) data. There are probably two main explanations for the weak DIN trends. Firstly, long water-transit times in the soilwater and groundwater may have caused substantial time lag between changes in input and output of nitrate in the studied catchments. Secondly, the loss of DIN might have been dominated by mineralisation of large pools of organic nitrogen that have accumulated over several years. These inferences are supported by (i) a hydrograph recession analysis and (ii) indications of DIN transformation processes, presumably denitrification, in smaller streams and channels, based on measurements in small agricultural catchments (1-4 km2) in Estonia and Latvia. Formal testing of trends in phosphorus data revealed that marked drops occurred in riverine concentrations at six sites in 1987-1998. A joint analysis of concentration time series for all sampling sites for 1987-1998 showed weak statistical significance for downward trends in NH4-N, NO 3-N, and DIN (p ? 0.04) and substantial significance for PO 4-P (p < 0.01). Thus, the extensive decrease in agricultural intensity that began in the early 1990s has led to only a slow and limited (especially regarding nitrogen) response in Latvian rivers. The difference noted between nitrogen and phosphorus also suggests that factors other than reduced fertiliser application influenced the inertia of the water quality response. Our findings, along with those obtained in similar studies, show that large cuts in nutrient inputs do not necessarily cause an immediate response, particularly in medium-sized and large catchment areas.
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