Long-term trends of water chemistry in mountain streams in Sweden – slow recovery from acidification

Abstract

Abstract. The water chemistry of streams and precipitation in the province of Jämtland, northern Sweden has been monitored since the 1980s to study long-term trends, occurrence of acid episodes, and effects of liming. The acidity and sulphur in precipitation increased in the 1970s, followed by a loss of ANC and low pH in the streams. Sulphur deposition begun to decrease in the 1980s, until approximately 2000, after which the decrease levelled out. The stream water sulphate followed the precipitation trend but decreased more slowly and since the late 1990s a subtle increase was observed. The sulphate concentrations in the snow have generally been higher than or equal to the stream sulphate levels. Since 2005, stream sulphate has sometimes exceeded snow sulphate, indicating desorption of stored soil sulphate, possibly because of climate related changes in run-off routes through the soil profiles, following shorter periods of frost. Up to 2000, TOC increased by approximately 0.1 mg L−1 yr−1. The mean trends in sulphate and TOC from approximately 1990 until today are generally opposite. Acidic episodes with pH 4.0 at flow peaks occurred frequently in the unlimed streams, despite relatively well buffered waters at base flow. To evaluate the main causes for the loss of ANC, the changes in major ions during high flow were calculated. The most important contribution resulted from dilution of base cations, with contribution from organic anions. Sulphate also had some influence, as it was somewhat enriched or only slightly diluted during high flow. Wetland liming started in 1985 after which the earlier observed extreme peak values of Fe, Mn and Al, did not return. The studied area is remote from emission sources in Europe, but the critical load of acidity is still exceeded. The long-term recovery observed in the unlimed streams is thus slow, and severe acidic episodes still occur.