Links between N deposition and nitrate export from a high-elevation watershed in the Colorado Front Range
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Abstract
Long-term patterns of stream nitrate export and atmospheric N deposition were evaluated over three decades in Loch Vale, a high-elevation watershed in the Colorado Front Range. Stream nitrate concentrations increased in the early 1990s, peaked in the mid-2000s, and have since declined by over 40%, coincident with trends in nitrogen oxide emissions over the past decade. Similarities in the timing and magnitude of N deposition provide evidence that stream chemistry is responding to changes in atmospheric deposition. The response to deposition was complicated by a drought in the early 2000s that enhanced N export for several years. Other possible explanations, including forest disturbance, snow depth, or permafrost melting, could not explain patterns in N export. Our results show that stream chemistry responds rapidly to changes in N deposition in high-elevation watersheds, similar to the response observed to changes in sulfur deposition.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Links between N deposition and nitrate export from a high-elevation watershed in the Colorado Front Range |
| Series title | Environmental Science & Technology |
| DOI | 10.1021/es502461k |
| Volume | 48 |
| Issue | 24 |
| Year Published | 2014 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | American Chemical Society |
| Contributing office(s) | Colorado Water Science Center |
| Description | 8 p. |
| First page | 14258 |
| Last page | 14265 |
| Country | United States |
| State | Colorado |
| Other Geospatial | Colorado Front Range |
| Online Only (Y/N) | N |
| Additional Online Files (Y/N) | N |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |