Relations between topography, wetlands, vegetation cover and stream water chemistry in boreal headwater catchments in Sweden

Abstract

Abstract. A large part of the spatial variation of stream water chemistry is found in headwater streams and small catchments. To understand the dominant processes, taking place in small and heterogeneous catchments, spatial and temporal data with high resolution is needed. In most cases available map data has too low quality and resolution to successfully be used in environmental assessments and modelling. In this study 18 forested catchments (1–4 km2) were selected within a 120×50 km area in the county of Värmland in western Sweden. The aim was to test if topographic and vegetation variables derived from official datasets were correlated to stream water chemistry, represented by DOC, Al, Fe and Si content. A GIS was used to analyse the elevation characteristics, generate topographic indices and calculate the percentage of wetlands and a number of vegetation classes. The results clearly show that the topography has a major influence on the occurrence of wetlands, which has a major influence on stream water chemistry. There were very strong correlations between mean slope and percentage wetland, percentage wetland and DOC, mean slope and DOC and mean topographic wetness index and DOC. The conclusion was that official topographic data, despite uncertain or low quality and resolution, could be useful in the prediction of headwater chemistry in boreal forested catchments.