Cleaner air reveals growing influence of climate on dissolved organic carbon trends in northern headwaters

de Wit, Heleen A.; Stoddard, John L.; Monteith, Donald T. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3219-1772; Sample, James E.; Austnes, Kari; Couture, Suzanne; Fölster, Jens; Higgins, Scott N.; Houle, Daniel; Hruška, Jakub; Krám, Pavel; Kopáček, Jiří; Paterson, Andrew M.; Valinia, Salar; Van Dam, Herman; Vuorenmaa, Jussi; Evans, Chris D. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7052-354X. 2021 Cleaner air reveals growing influence of climate on dissolved organic carbon trends in northern headwaters. Environmental Research Letters, 16 (10), 104009. 13, pp. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac2526

Before downloading, please read NORA policies.

Preview

Text N531190JA.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Download (2MB) | Preview

Abstract/Summary

Surface water browning, the result of increasing concentrations of dissolved organic matter (DOM), has been widespread in northern ecosystems in recent decades. Here, we assess a database of 426 undisturbed headwater lakes and streams in Europe and North America for evidence of trends in DOM between 1990 and 2016. We describe contrasting changes in DOM trends in Europe (decelerating) and North America (accelerating), which are consistent with organic matter solubility responses to declines in sulfate deposition. While earlier trends (1990–2004) were almost entirely related to changes in atmospheric chemistry, climatic and chemical drivers were equally important in explaining recent DOM trends (2002–2016). We estimate that riverine DOM export from northern ecosystems increased by 27% during the study period. Increased summer precipitation strengthened upward dissolved organic carbon trends while warming apparently damped browning. Our results suggest strong but changing influences of air quality and climate on the terrestrial carbon cycle, and on the magnitude of carbon export from land to water.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac2526
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Soils and Land Use (Science Area 2017-) Water Resources (Science Area 2017-)
ISSN:	1748-9326
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.
Additional Keywords:	sulfate deposition, carbon cycle, precipitation, catchment DOC export, surface water browning, organic matter solubility
NORA Subject Terms:	Ecology and Environment
Date made live:	06 Oct 2021 09:38 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/531190

Actions (login required)

View Item

Document Downloads

More statistics for this item...