Assessment of ozone effects on nitrate export from Hubbard Brook Watershed 6

Environ Pollut. 2006 May;141(1):8-21. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2005.08.030. Epub 2005 Oct 7.

Abstract

The impact of the air pollution ozone on soil N dynamics and temporal and spatial patterns of streamflow nitrate flux at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest Watershed 6 during the 1964-1994 period was assessed using aggregated (one-cell) and spatially explicit (208-cell) versions of the SImple NItrogen Cycle (SINIC) model. Simulated ozone effects included reductions in stomatal conductance and plant N demand. Model uncertainty was evaluated using Monte Carlo simulations. Ambient ozone was estimated to cause an additional 0.042 gN/m2 per year of nitrate export, 12% of the mean annual streamflow nitrate flux. The 95% credible interval of this estimate was 0.002-0.083 gN/m2 per year, or 0.72-27.3% of the annual flux. The large uncertainty in this estimate suggests that it may be difficult to identify ozone effects on nitrate export utilizing long term data from a single site.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Air Pollutants*
  • Computer Simulation
  • Environmental Monitoring / methods
  • Forestry
  • Fresh Water
  • Models, Statistical
  • New York
  • Nitrates*
  • Oxidants, Photochemical*
  • Ozone*
  • Soil Pollutants*
  • Time
  • Water Movements
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical*

Substances

  • Air Pollutants
  • Nitrates
  • Oxidants, Photochemical
  • Soil Pollutants
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical
  • Ozone