Manipulation of Snow in Small Headwater Catchments at Storgama, Norway: Effects on Leaching of Total Organic Carbon and Total Organic Nitrogen

Projected increases in winter temperature due to future climate change may cause decreased snow accumulation at lower and intermediate altitudes in northern temperate regions. The resulting changes in soil temperature and water regime may affect the leaching of total organic carbon (TOC) and total o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ambio 2008-02, Vol.37 (1), p.38-47
Main Authors: Austnes, Kari, Kaste, Øyvind, Vestgarden, Live Semb, Mulder, Jan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Carbon
Carbon - analysis
Climate
Climate change
Ecosystem
Experiments
Forest soils
Fresh Water - chemistry
Frost
Hydrology
Insulation
Leaching
Nitrogen
Nitrogen - analysis
Norway
Organic carbon
Organic nitrogen
Pedogenesis
Precipitation
Rain
Runoff
s
Seasons
Snow - chemistry
Snow accumulation
Snow cover
Snow depth
Snow removal
Snowmelt
Soil
Soil air
Soil depth
Soil science
Soil solution
Soil temperature
Soil water regimes
Soils
Temperature
Temperature effects
Time series
Vegetation
Vegetation cover
Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
Watersheds
Winter
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Summary:Projected increases in winter temperature due to future climate change may cause decreased snow accumulation at lower and intermediate altitudes in northern temperate regions. The resulting changes in soil temperature and water regime may affect the leaching of total organic carbon (TOC) and total organic nitrogen (TON). We manipulated the snow cover of small headwater catchments in a montane heathland area of southern Norway to quantify its effect on concentrations and fluxes of TOC and TON in runoff. Manipulations included snow removal, to promote soil frost, and insulation, to prevent soil frost. Snow removal resulted in increased TOC and TON concentrations, but decreased fluxes. Insulation caused a slight decrease in concentrations and fluxes of TOC. Our experiments show that a change in snow depth, and thus soil temperature, is not likely to have serious effects on TOC and TON leaching in the montane heathland area studied.
ISSN:0044-7447
1654-7209
DOI:10.1579/0044-7447(2008)37[38:MOSISH]2.0.CO;2