Research article - Peer-reviewed, 2021
Brownification on hold: What traditional analyses miss in extended surface water records
Eklof, Karin; von Bromssen, Claudia; Amvrosiadi, Nino; Folster, Jens; Wallin, Marcus B.; Bishop, KevinAbstract
Widespread increases in organic matter (OM) content of surface waters, as measured by color and organic carbon (OC), are a major issue for aquatic ecosystems. Long-term monitoring programs revealed the issue of "browni-fication", with climate change, land cover changes and recovery from acidification all suspected to be major drivers or contributing factors. While many studies have focused on the impact and drivers, fewer have followed up on whether brownification is continuing. As time-series of OM data lengthen, conventional data-analysis approaches miss important information on when changes occur. To better identify temporal OM patterns during three decades (1990-2020) of systematic monitoring, we used generalized additive models to analyze 164 time-series from watercourses located across Sweden. Increases in OC that were widespread during 1990-2010 ceased a decade ago, and most color increases ceased 20 years ago. These findings highlight the need to reassess the understanding of brownification's spatial and temporal extent, as well as the tools used to analyze lengthening time series.Keywords
Brownification; Organic matter; Absorbance; Watercourses; Long-term trends; Generalized additive mixed modelPublished in
Water Research2021, volume: 203, article number: 117544
Publisher: PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
Authors' information
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Energy and Technology
Amvrosiadi, Nino
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment
Amvrosiadi, Nino
RISE Research Institutes of Sweden
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment
Associated SLU-program
Lakes and watercourses
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG14 Life below water
UKÄ Subject classification
Oceanography, Hydrology, Water Resources
Publication Identifiers
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2021.117544
URI (permanent link to this page)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/113761