Mass balances of mercury and nitrogen in burned and unburned forested watersheds at Acadia National Park, Maine, USA
Nelson SJ, Johnson KB, Kahl JS, Haines TA, Fernandez IJ. 2007. Mass balances of mercury and nitrogen in burned and unburned forested watersheds at Acadia National Park, Maine, USA. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 126(1-3):69-80
Precipitation and streamwater samples were collected from November 1999 to November 2000 in two watersheds at Acadia National Park, Maine, and analyzed for mercury (Hg) and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN, nitrate plus ammonium). We hypothesized that Hg deposition would be higher at Hadlock Brook (the reference watershed, 10.2 mu g/m(2)/year) than Cadillac (9.4 mu g/m(2)/year) because of the greater scavenging efficiency of the softwood vegetation in Hadlock. We also hypothesized the Hg and DIN export from Cadillac Brook would be lower than Hadlock Brook because of elemental volatilization during the fire, along with subsequently lower rates of atmospheric deposition in a watershed with abundant bare soil and bedrock, and regenerating vegetation. Consistent with these hypotheses, Hg export was lower from Cadillac Brook watershed (0.4 mu g/m(2)/year) than from Hadlock Brook watershed (1.3 mu g/m(2)/year). DIN export from Cadillac Brook (11.5 eq/ha/year) was lower than Hadlock Brook (92.5 eq/ha/year).
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Nelson, S.; Johnson, K.; Kahl, J.; Haines, T.; Fernandez, I.
- Units
- ACAD , ARD
- Keywords
- Acadia National Park, Air, ARD_Park-Air-Info_Collection, Assessment, Atmosphere, Cadillac Brook, Community Structure, Contaminants, Deposition, deposition quality, Disturbance, Evaluation, FIRE, Forest, Forest Communities, Geochemistry, Hadlock Brook, Health, Historic Vegetation, Inventory, Mass Balance, Mercury, Mercury (Hg), Monitoring, Monitoring, Mount Desert Island, Nitrogen, Nitrogen (N), Plants (Plantae), Precipitation, Soil, Terrestrial, Terrestrial: forested, Toxics, Vascular Plants