Abstract
Forest management activities in boreal and hemiboreal environments have been found to increase the concentration of carbon, nutrients, and methylmercury (MeHg) in runoff water, thus contributing to environmental quality issues. We evaluated carbon, nutrient, and MeHg concentrations in water at eight small, forested catchments on organic soils in Latvia, subject to ditch cleaning and beaver dam removal. These management-induced disturbances were classified into a major, minor, or no disturbance classes. The concentrations of dissolved organic carbon and total nitrogen were elevated in disturbed catchments (both major and minor) compared to the catchments with no disturbance. The concentrations of MeHg in the water displayed a clear seasonal variation with higher concentrations in spring and summer, but there were no significant differences in MeHg concentrations between catchments with major, minor, and no disturbances. However, the higher concentrations of SO42− in the disturbed catchments compared to those undisturbed may promote MeHg formation if the conditions become more reduced further downstream. While most former studies of forest management effects on water quality have focused on forest harvest, our research contributes to the currently rather scarce pool of data on the impact of less-studied management operations, such as ditch cleaning and beaver dam removal, on carbon, nutrient, and MeHg concentrations in runoff water.
Highlights
The transformation towards a more circular, bio-based economy relying on renewable resources will increase the demand for bioenergy and likely cause alterations in land-use practices, including the intensification of forestry [1]
The main concerns connected to the impact of land management practices including forestry on water quality are related to the increase in concentrations and runoff of carbon (e.g., [3,4]), nutrients (e.g., [5,6,7,8,9,10]), and mercury (Hg) (e.g., [11,12,13,14,15])
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) plays a key role in the biogeochemistry and ecology of surface waters, and its transport from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems is primarily related to runoff and DOC
Summary
The transformation towards a more circular, bio-based economy relying on renewable resources will increase the demand for bioenergy and likely cause alterations in land-use practices, including the intensification of forestry [1]. Organic carbon (OC) concentrations and water colour have been reported to increase in surface waters in the boreal and nemoral zones of Europe and North America. This so-called “brownification” of water bodies can affect aquatic food web structures [17,18], have implications for drinking water treatment [19,20], and mobilize pollutants and metals attached to organic molecules [21,22]
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