Consequences of nitrate leaching following stem-only harvesting of Swedish forests are dependent on spatial scale

• Published in: Environmental pollution (1987) 2010-12, Vol.158 (12), p.3552-3559
• Main Authors: Futter, M.N., Ring, E., Högbom, L., Entenmann, S., Bishop, K.H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Baltic; Environmental Monitoring; Estimates; Exact sciences and technology; Fish and Aquacultural Science; Fisk- och akvakulturforskning; Forest harvesting; Forestry - methods; Forests; Harvesting; Leaching; Marine environments; Mathematical models; Nitrate; Nitrates - analysis; Plant Stems - metabolism; Pollution; Pollution abatement; Soil Pollutants - analysis; Surface water; Sweden; Trees - physiology; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
• ISSN: 0269-7491; 1873-6424; 1873-6424
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2010.08.016

Short-term increases in soil solution nitrate (NO 3 −) concentration are often observed after forest harvest, even in N-limited systems. We model NO 3 − leaching below the rooting zone as a function of site productivity. Using national forest inventories and published estimates of N attenuation in rivers and the riparian zone, we estimate effects of stem-only harvesting on NO 3 − leaching to groundwater, surface waters and the marine environment. Stem-only harvesting is a minor contributor to NO 3 − pollution of Swedish waters. Effects in surface waters are rapidly diluted downstream, but can be locally important for shallow well-waters as well as for the total amount of N reaching the sea. Harvesting adds approximately 8 Gg NO 3–N to soil waters in Sweden, with local concentrations up to 7 mg NO 3–N l −1. Of that, ∼3.3 Gg reaches the marine environment. This is ∼3% of the overall Swedish N load to the Baltic. Forest harvesting in Sweden is a minor contributor to N pollution in the Baltic.