Final Integrated Report: Establishing Paired Gauged Watersheds at Acadia National Park for Long-term Research on Acidic Deposition, Nitrogen Saturation, Forest Health, and Mercury Biogeochemistry (1998-2002)
Kahl JS, Fernandez I, Norton S, Wiersma GB, Jacobson G, Nelson S, Amirbahman A, Bank M, Eckhoff J, Elvir J, Good H, Haines T, Johnson K, Lent R, Loftin C, Nielsen M, Parker J, Peckenham J, Ruck P, Schauffler M, Stoddard J, Breen R, Gawley B, Manski D, Roman C, Rustad L, Tonnessen K, Weathers K, Cronan C, White A. 2003. Final Integrated Report: Establishing Paired Gauged Watersheds at Acadia National Park for Long-term Research on Acidic Deposition, Nitrogen Saturation, Forest Health, and Mercury Biogeochemistry (1998-2002). Orono, ME
The following manuscripts are included in this report: Summary: Establishing paired gauged watersheds at Acadia National Park for long-term research on acidic deposition, nitrogen saturation, forest health, and mercury biogeochemistry (1998-2002); The following is taken from portions of the executive summary: 'This report covers the inception of long-term ecological research using two forested, gauged watersheds at Acadia National Park (Acadia NP), with initial funding from the US Environmental Protection Agency, US Geological Survey, and the National Park Service. The goal is to create a baseline of watershed data upon which to build future research. Several other research projects have already built their contributions on the infrastructure of the gauged watersheds. The major environmental stressors at Acadia NP are generally regional rather than local, in part because the park occupies the uplands of Mount Desert Island. This topographic position means that regional, and even global issues are focal issues of concern for ecosystems at Acadia NP, including long-range transport of pollutants and climate change. The focus of this research is atmospheric deposition of acids, nitrogen (N), and mercury (Hg), and their ecological consequences.' 'Justification. There are many scientific and management uncertainties that led agencies to be interested in this research. At the start of this research, we lacked an explanation of the high accumulation rates of Hg in sediment and peat cores compared to wet-only deposition, and had not explained why Acadia has some of the highest Hg concentrations in biota in the world. We did not understand the changes in watershed response to the changes in atmospheric deposition in recent decades. We were not sure if N saturation was an issue for the forests, freshwaters, or estuaries of Acadia NP. Because of the regional scale of these issues, results of this research will be applicable well beyond the borders of Acadia NP. The forest types encompassed by this research are common throughout New England, and the fire history of Acadia NP (fire being ætypicalÆ of the historical New England landscape), combine to offer unique research opportunities that apply to Acadia NP management concerns but have relevance to the region and beyond. Project design. The experimental design for this study is a paired watershed study with a reference watershed and a ætreatmentÆ watershed that resulted from severe wildfire in 1947. Much of the Cadillac Brook Watershed burned in 1947; the Hadlock Brook watershed did not burn, and our investigations suggest that it has not experienced a major fire for hundreds of years. Although this research program is new, its design and site selection were based on watershed evaluations and modern water chemistry data from collections that began in 1982. The objectives of this research were to determine if N and Hg pools were substantively reduced in the treated watershed by the fire of 1947 and subsequent vegetation changes, such that total N and Hg biogeochemistry has been altered. By studying these hypothesized contrasts between the treated and reference watersheds, we believed we could learn about ecosystem mechanisms governing the cycling of N and Hg, ultimately leading to better predictions of future exposure to biota and overall ecosystem health. N loading to estuaries was addressed by periodic sampling of estuary tributaries as æsatelliteÆ locations, whose N-loading will be extrapolated from occasional sampling by using the more intensively monitored main watersheds as index sites.' See digital file for complete abstracts.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Kahl, Jeffrey; Fernandez, Ivan; Norton, Stephen; Wiersma, G.; Jacobson, George; Nelson, Sarah; Amirbahman, Aria; Bank, Michael; Eckhoff, Janet; Elvir, Jose; Good, Heather; Haines, Terry; Johnson, Ken; Lent, Robert; Loftin, Cynthia; Nielsen, Martha; Parker, Jennifer; Peckenham, John; Ruck, Phillip; Schauffler, Molly; Stoddard, John; Breen, Robert; Gawley, Bill; Manski, David; Roman, Charles; Rustad, Lindsey; Tonnessen, Kathy; Weathers, Kathleen; Cronan, Christopher; White, Alan
- Date of Issue
- 2003-02
- Units
- ACAD
- Keywords
- Ammonium (NH4), Aquatic, Bear Brook Watershed, Cadillac Brook Watershed, Calcium (Ca), Charcoal, Chlorine (Cl), Deposition, Dry Deposition, Fire History, Foliar Damage, Forest, Forest Communities, Forest Types, Hadlock Brook watershed, Leaf Litter, Magnesium (Mg), McFarland Hill, ME (BBWM), Mercury (Hg), Mount Desert Island, Nitrates (NO3), Nitrogen (N), NOx, Nutrients, Paleogeography, pH, Plants (Plantae), Pollen, Potassium (K), Precipitation, primenet, Rivers & Streams, Sediment, Sediment Cores, Sediment Stratigraphy, Sodium (Na), SOx, Sulfates (SO4), USGS BRD project, Vegetation, Vegetation Change, vegetation history, Water Quality, Watersheds, Wet Deposition