Patterns and predictability in the intra-annual organic carbon variability across the boreal and hemiboreal landscape.

Factors affecting total organic carbon (TOC) concentrations in 215 watercourses across Sweden were investigated using parameter parsimonious regression approaches to explain spatial and temporal variabilities of the TOC water quality responses. We systematically quantified the effects of discharge, seasonality, and long-term trend as factors controlling intra-annual (among year) and inter-annual (within year) variabilities of TOC by evaluating the spatial variability in model coefficients and catchment characteristics (e.g. land cover, retention time, soil type). Catchment area (0.18-47,000 km2) and land cover types (forests, agriculture and alpine terrain) are typical for the boreal and hemiboreal zones across Fennoscandia. Watercourses had at least 6 years of monthly water quality observations between 1990 and 2010. Statistically significant models (p<0.05) describing variation of TOC in streamflow were identified in 209 of 215 watercourses with a mean Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency index of 0.44. Increasing long-term trends were observed in 149 (70%) of the watercourses, and intra-annual variation in TOC far exceeded inter-annual variation. The average influences of the discharge and seasonality terms on intra-annual variations in daily TOC concentration were 1.4 and 1.3 mg l(-1) (13 and 12% of the mean annual TOC), respectively. The average increase in TOC was 0.17 mg l(-1)year(-1) (1.6% year(-1)). Multivariate regression with over 90 different catchment characteristics explained 21% of the spatial variation in the linear trend coefficient, less than 20% of the variation in the discharge coefficient and 73% of the spatial variation in mean TOC. Specific discharge, water residence time, the variance of daily precipitation, and lake area, explained 45% of the spatial variation in the amplitude of the TOC seasonality. Because the main drivers of temporal variability in TOC are seasonality and discharge, first-order estimates of the influences of climatic variability and change on TOC concentration should be predictable if the studied catchments continue to respond similarly.

Evaluating common drivers for color, iron and organic carbon in Swedish watercourses.

The recent browning (increase in color) of surface waters across much of the northern hemisphere has important implications for light climate, ecosystem functioning, and drinking water treatability. Using log-linear regressions and long-term (6-21 years) data from 112 Swedish watercourses, we identified temporal and spatial patterns in browning-related parameters [iron, absorbance, and total organic carbon (TOC)]. Flow variability and lakes in the catchment were major influences on all parameters. Co-variation between seasonal, discharge-related, and trend effects on iron, TOC, and absorbance were dependent on pH, landscape position, catchment size, latitude, and dominant land cover. Large agriculture-dominated catchments had significantly larger trends in iron, TOC, and water color than small forest catchments. Our results suggest that while similarities exist, no single mechanism can explain the observed browning but show that multiple mechanisms related to land cover, climate, and acidification history are responsible for the ongoing browning of surface waters.

Riparian zone influence on stream water dissolved organic carbon concentrations at the Swedish integrated monitoring sites.

Short-term variability in stream water dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations is controlled by hydrology, climate and atmospheric deposition. Using the Riparian flow-concentration Integration Model (RIM), we evaluated factors controlling stream water DOC in the Swedish Integrated Monitoring (IM) catchments by separating out hydrological effects on stream DOC dynamics. Model residuals were correlated with climate and deposition-related drivers. DOC was most strongly correlated to water flow in the northern catchment (Gammtratten). The southern Aneboda and Kindla catchments had pronounced seasonal DOC signals, which correlated weakly to flow. DOC concentrations at Gårdsjön increased, potentially in response to declining acid deposition. Soil temperature correlated strongly with model residuals at all sites. Incorporating soil temperature in RIM improved model performance substantially (20-62% lower median absolute error). According to the simulations, the RIM conceptualization of riparian processes explains between 36% (Kindla) and 61% (Aneboda) of the DOC dynamics at the IM sites.

Spatial variation of streamwater chemistry in two Swedish boreal catchments: implications for environmental assessment.

To evaluate the scale-dependent spatial variability of water chemistry within two Swedish boreal catchments (subcatchment areas 0.01-78 km2), samples were taken at every junction in the stream network during June 2000 and August 2002. The values of most chemical constituents spanned more than an order of magnitude, and the range was similar to that found in all of Northern Sweden by the national stream survey in 2000. According to the official assessment tools used in Sweden, the entire range of environmental status (for pH, absorbance, alkalinity, dissolved organic carbon (DOC)) and human acidification influence existed within these two study catchments. The water chemistry parameters were relatively stable at catchment areas greater than 15 km2. Sampling at that scale may be adequate if generalized values for the landscape are desired. However the chemistry of headwaters, where much of the stream length and aquatic ecosystem is found would not be characterized. Map parameters correlated to the variability in a key chemical parameter, DOC, but the best predictive map parameters differed markedly between catchments. This study highlights the importance of accounting for headwater spatial variability in environmental assessments of running waters, even in relatively pristine areas. The nature of drainage networks with many headwaters and progressively fewer downstream watercourses makes this a considerable challenge.