Journal
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
Volume 16, Issue 10, Pages -Publisher
IOP Publishing Ltd
DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/ac2526
Keywords
sulfate deposition; carbon cycle; precipitation; catchment DOC export; surface water browning; organic matter solubility
Funding
- NERC through the UK Centre for Ecology Hydrology
- Department of the Environment (Northern Ireland)
- Environment Agency (EA)
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
- Forestry Commission (FC)
- Natural Resources Wales (NRW)
- Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA)
- Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH)
- Welsh Government
- Scottish Government through Marine Scotland Science Pitlochry
- Queen Mary University of London
- Environmental Change Research Centre, University College London
- Natural Environment Research Council LOCATE project [NE/N018087/1]
- US Environmental Protection Agency
- NERC [NE/N018087/1] Funding Source: UKRI
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Recent decades have seen widespread browning of surface water in northern ecosystems, with contrasting trends in DOM observed in Europe (decelerating) and North America (accelerating), linked to declines in sulfate deposition. Climate and chemical drivers have become equally important in explaining recent DOM trends, with a 27% increase in riverine DOM export estimated during the study period.
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.
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