Long-term patterns of stream nitrate export and atmospheric N deposition were evaluated over three decades in Loch Vale, a high-elevation watershed in the Colorado Front Range. Stream nitrate concentrations increased in the early 1990s, peaked in the mid-2000s, and have since declined by over 40%, coincident with trends in nitrogen oxide emissions over the past decade. Similarities in the timing and magnitude of N deposition provide evidence that stream chemistry is responding to changes in atmospheric deposition. The response to deposition was complicated by a drought in the early 2000s that enhanced N export for several years. Other possible explanations, including forest disturbance, snow depth, or permafrost melting, could not explain patterns in N export. Our results show that stream chemistry responds rapidly to changes in N deposition in high-elevation watersheds, similar to the response observed to changes in sulfur deposition.
CITATION STYLE
Mast, M. A., Clow, D. W., Baron, J. S., & Wetherbee, G. A. (2014). Links between N deposition and nitrate export from a high-elevation watershed in the Colorado front range. Environmental Science and Technology, 48(24), 14258–14265. https://doi.org/10.1021/es502461k
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