ALBERT

Description: Declining atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition, through reduction in the direct input of inorganic N, may result in less inorganic N being leached from soils to freshwaters (dissolved inorganic N = DIN). Declining sulphur deposition, through reducing the ionic strength in soil water, increases the solubility and mobility of organic soil compounds and may result in increased leaching of organically bound N to freshwaters (total organic N = TON). It is unknown to which extent these two independents and opposing trends, i.e. DIN decline versus TON increase, may affect the nutrient balance (load, stoichiometry) of river water draining into coastal zones. By combining long-term atmospheric and riverine monitoring data of the five major Norwegian rivers draining to the Skagerrak coast, we show that over the past 27 years (1990–2017) river water nutrient composition, and specifically N stoichiometry has been steadily shifting from inorganic to organic fractions, with correlations to changes in human pressures (air pollution), but especially climate (precipitation, temperature, discharge). This shift in nutrient quality may have large consequences on the nutrient cycling in both freshwater and coastal ecosystems and illustrates the complex interactions of multiple stressors (here: N deposition, S deposition, and climate change) on aquatic ecosystems.

Description: The steady-state First-order Acidity Balance (FAB) model for calculating critical loads of sulphur (S) and nitrogen (N) is applied to 609 Norwegian soft-water lakes to assess the future nitrate (NO3‾) leaching potential under present (1992-96) S and N deposition. The lakes were separated into five groups receiving increasing levels of N deposition (

Description: Effects of contrasting climatic conditions and nitrogen (N) deposition levels on streamwater N dynamics are assessed at two small heathland catchments; Dalelva in northern Norway (69°N) and Øygard in southwestern Norway (58°N). The study comprises 11 years of data on climate, hydrology and N inputs/outputs from Dalelva and 8 years of corresponding data from Øygard. Both sites are comparable in catchment size, geology and land cover characteristics, but have large differences in climate and N deposition. Dalelva is characterised by a cold, arctic climate and low N deposition (2-3 kg N ha–1y–1), whereas the Øygard site has a more mild, humid climate with much larger N deposition (13–19 kg N ha–1yr–1). Streamwater nitrate (NO3‾) concentrations at Dalelva generally were negligible during the growing season, but showed a steady increase during the dormant season until a maximum of 40-100 μg N L–1 was reached just before snowmelt. At onset of the snowmelt flood, NO3‾ concentrations decreased momentarily to very low levels, suggesting that N eluted from the seasonal snowpack to a great extent was infiltrated and immobilised in the soils. At Øygard, flood peaks occurred frequently during all seasons, and usually there was no distinct spring flood. A lack of clear dilution effects from floods on streamwater N3‾ concentrations may indicate a relatively high NO3‾ leaching potential in this catchment. On average, the annual NO3– export was negligible at Dalelva (

Description: Testing of the Integrated Nitrogen model for Catchments (INCA) in a wide range of ecosystem types across Europe has shown that the model underestimates N transformation processes to a large extent in northern catchments of Finland and Norway in winter and spring. It is found, and generally assumed, that microbial activity in soils proceeds at low rates at northern latitudes during winter, even at sub-zero temperatures. The INCA model was modified to improve the simulation of N transformation rates in northern catchments, characterised by cold climates and extensive snow accumulation and insulation in winter, by introducing an empirical function to simulate soil temperatures below the seasonal snow pack, and a degree-day model to calculate the depth of the snow pack. The proposed snow-correction factor improved the simulation of soil temperatures at Finnish and Norwegian field sites in winter, although soil temperature was still underestimated during periods with a thin snow cover. Finally, a comparison between the modified INCA version (v.1.7) and the former version (v.1.6) was made at the Simojoki river basin in northern Finland and at Dalelva Brook in northern Norway. The new modules did not imply any significant changes in simulated NO3- concentration levels in the streams but improved the timing of simulated higher concentrations. The inclusion of a modified temperature response function and an empirical snow-correction factor improved the flexibility and applicability of the model for climate effect studies. Keywords: inorganic N leaching, degree-day snow model, snow pack, catchment scale model

Description: The Integrated Nitrogen model for Catchments (INCA) was applied to three upland catchments in Norway and Finland to assess the possible impacts of climate change and nitrogen (N) deposition on concentrations and fluxes of N in streamwater in cold regions of Europe. The study sites cover gradients in climate and N deposition from the southern boreal Øygard Brook (2.6 km2) in SW Norway, via the southern/middle boreal Simojoki River (3610 km2) in northern Finland to the sub-arctic Dalelva Brook (3.2 km2) in northern Norway. The INCA scenario simulations included future N deposition scenarios (current legislation and maximum feasible reduction) and climate scenarios for 2050 (ECHAM4/OPYC3; HadCM3) treated separately and in combination. As a result of climate change, the INCA model predicted markedly reduced duration and amounts of snow cover in all catchments. The occurrence of winter rainfall and melting periods was predicted to become more frequent so that more frequent floods in winter will to a large extent replace the regular snowmelt flood in spring. At the northernmost catchment, Dalelva, the predicted temperature increase might result in a doubling of the net mineralisation rate, thereby greatly increasing the amount of available inorganic N. At all catchments, the increased N supply was predicted to be largely balanced by a corresponding increase in N retention, and relatively small increases in NO3- leaching rates were predicted. This dynamic relationship is, however, strongly dependent on the temperature responses of the key N transformation processes modelled. A future reduction in N emissions and deposition, as agreed under current legislation, would have pronounced effects on concentrations of NO3- in streamwater at the southernmost catchment, Øygard, even following a climate change around 2050. At the more remote Dalelva and Simojoki catchments, the N emission reductions will be small compared to the internal N recycling processes, and climate change will to a large extent offset the effects of reduced N deposition. Keywords: catchments, surface water, scenarios, climate, hydrology, nitrogen deposition, nitrate leaching