Laudon, Hjalmar
- Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Abstract
To determine if forestry affects stream water dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations, we conducted high frequency water sampling at a clear-cut catchment experiment in northern Sweden 1 year after harvesting. The overall finding was that harvesting significantly increased stream water DOC in these boreal forest catchments, at least during the growing season. The results indicate a DOC concentration increase of up to 50% during early summer on the two harvested catchments relative to the two control catchments. The analysis supports the hypothesis that a raised groundwater level following harvesting caused the increased DOC concentration during both hydrological episodes and low flow conditions. Harvesting resulted in a 70% increase in DOC export due to the combined effect of runoff and DOC concentration during the June-October study period. Given the extent of forestry activity in the boreal landscape, these results demonstrate that tree harvesting will affect the water quality of the region.
Published in
AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment
2009, volume: 38, number: 7, pages: 381-386
Publisher: SPRINGER
SLU Authors
Schelker, Jakob
- Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Bishop, Kevin
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Sörensen, Rasmus
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Ågren, Anneli
- Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Global goals (SDG)
SDG6 Clean water and sanitation
UKÄ Subject classification
Environmental Sciences and Nature Conservation
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1579/0044-7447-38.7.381
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/61596