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Lookup NU author(s): Lucy Bolton, Emeritus Professor Malcolm Newson, Robert Spencer
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Many upland catchments in the UK have undergone afforestation; their characteristic waterlogged soils require extensive pre-plantation ground drainage to allow tree establishment. In peatland areas this can result in very highly coloured runoff and enhanced dissolved organic matter (DOM) export in rivers of naturally high concentrations. In 1966, the Coalburn Experimental Catchment, northern England, was established to investigate the impact of afforestation on an upland peat catchment. Here we report the variations in DOM spectrophotometric properties of streamflow in the catchment at canopy closure, especially with respect to potential carbon sources within the artificial drainage ditches. Drainage ditches are characterized by water that has higher absorption coefficients and which is more highly coloured than in the catchment tributaries. Ditched, afforested areas produce more highly-coloured runoff waters that are more fluorescent and absorbent normalized to carbon concentration compared to ditches in open moorland. Ditches that had been experimentally re-excavated have organic matter of different spectrophotometric character, with higher dissolved organic carbon concentration and less aromatic or lower molecular weight material. It is hypothesized that this is due to the exposure of bare peat faces within and adjacent to the ditches that are more susceptible to drying compared to vegetated areas. The large extent of this drainage network acts as both a rapid transport network increasing hydrological connectivity and a pool for the storage of DOM, which is of different spectrophotometric character under low flow conditions, depending on management conditions. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Author(s): Baker A, Bolton L, Newson M, Spencer RGM
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Hydrological Processes
Year: 2008
Volume: 22
Issue: 13
Pages: 2325-2336
ISSN (print): 0885-6087
ISSN (electronic): 1099-1085
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hyp.6827
DOI: 10.1002/hyp.6827
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