Abstract
A dynamic simulation based on a simple box model was made to predict Pb transport in spodosols of the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. Simulated results suggest that labile Pb in the forest floor may be undergoing a rapid loss, and that Pb content may reach an equilibrium within ∼100 years with a steady-state level of approximately 0.2 kg ha−1 (concentration = 1.3 μg g−1). The predicted Pb loss from the forest floor is much higher than the observed Pb export based on zero-tension lysimeters, which are designed to optimize measurement of dissolved substances. It is suspected that lysimeters might have failed to effectively collect particles and colloids. The dissolved Pb2+ loss from the forest floor, which is governed by nonlinear retardation, is insignificant relative to total Pb losses, so linear rate removal of particles and colloids from the forest floor is an adequate approximation of Pb transport. The mineral soil is currently acting as a net sink for the Pb released from the forest floor. The model suggests that Pb content in and Pb output from the mineral soil has been increasing since the 1970s. This increase should continue until a steady-state is reached in about 100 years. Unlike the forest floor, the mineral soil loses its Pb via dissolved forms that are regulated by nonlinear adsorption/desorption retardation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Benninger, L. K., Lewis, D. M. and Turekian, K. K.: 1975, ‘The Use of Natural210Pb as a Heavy Metal Tracer in the River-Estuarine System’, in: T. M. Church (ed.),Marine Chemistry in the Coastal Environment, A.C.S. Symp. Ser., pp. 202–210.
Beven, K. and Germann, P.: 1982,Water Resources Research 18, 1311.
Bormann, F. H. and Likens, G. E.: 1979,Pattern and Process in a Forested Ecosystem, Spring-Verlag, New York.
Chow, T. J. and Johnstone, M. S.: 1965,Science 147, 502.
Driscoll, C. T., Fuller, R. D. and Simone, D. M.: 1988,J. Environ. Qual. 17, 101.
Enfiled, C. G., Bengtsson, G. and Lindqvist, R.: 1989,Environ. Sci. Technol. 23, 1278.
Erel, Y., Patterson, C. C., Scott, M. J. and Morgan, J. J.: 1990,Chem. Geol. 85, 383.
Federer, C. A., Flynn, L. D., Martin, C. W., Hornbeck, J. W. and Pierce, R. S.: 1990, ‘Thirty Years of Hydrometeorological Data at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire’,USDA Forest Service, Gen. Tech. Rep., NE-141, Washington, DC.
Friedland, A. J., Johnson, A. H. and Siccama, T. G.: 1984,Water, Air, and Soil Pollut. 21, 161.
Friedland, A. J. and Johnson, A. H.: 1985,J. Environ. Qual. 14, 332.
Friedland, A. J., Craig, B. W., Miller, E. K., Herrick, G. T., Siccama, T. G. and Johnson, A. H.: 1992,Anibio 21, 400.
Gish, T. J. and Jury, W. A.: 1983, ‘Effect of Plant Roots and Root Channels on Solute Transport’,Transactions of the ASAE, p. 440.
Johnson, C. E., Johnson, A. H., Huntington, T. G. and Siccama, T. G.: 1991,Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 55, 497.
Johnson, C. E., Siccama, T. G., Driscoll, C. T. and Likens, G. E.: 1995, ‘Changes in the Lead Cycle of a Forested Ecosystem in Response to Decreasing Atmospheric Inputs’,Ecol. Appl. (in press)
Kheboian, C. and Bauer, C. F.: 1987,Anal. Chem. 59, 1417.
Likens, G. E., Bormann, F. H., Pierce, R. H., Eaton, J. S. and Johnson, N. M.: 1977,Biogeochemistry of a Forested Ecosystem, Springer-Verlag, New York.
Lindberg, S. E. and Harris, R. C.: 1981,Water, Air, and Soil Pollut. 16, 13.
McDowell, W. H. and Likens, G. E.: 1988,Ecolog. Monogr 58, 177.
Miller, E. K. and Friedland, A. J.: 1994,Environ. Sci. Technol. 28, 662.
Murozumi, M., Chow, T. J. and Patterson, C. C.: 1969,Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 33, 1247.
Nodvin, S. C.: 1983,Effects of Disturbance on Decomposition Processes and on Sulfur Cycling in the Northern Hardwood Forest, Dissertation. Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, U.S.A.
Nriagu, J. O.: 1990,Sci. Tol. Environ. 92, 13.
Rapin, F., Tessier, A., Campbell, P. G. C. and Carignan, R.: 1986,Environ. Sci. Technol. 20, 835.
Rendell, P. S., Batley, G. E. and Cameron, A. J.: 1980,Environ. Sci. Technol. 14, 314.
Reiners, W. A., Marks, R. H. and Vitousek, P. M.: 1975,Oikos 26, 264.
Sholkovitz, E. R.: 1989,Chemical Geology 77, 47.
Siccama, T. G. and Smith, W. H.: 1978,Environ. Sci. Technol. 12, 593.
Smith, W. H. and Siccama, T. G.: 1981,J. Environ. Qual. 10, 323.
Sposito, G.: 1981,The Thermodynamics of Soil Solutions, Oxford/Clarendon Press, New York, p. 147.
Turner, R. S., Johnson, A. H. and Wang, D.: 1985,J. Environ. Qual. 14, 305.
Ugolini, F. C., Dawson, H. and Zachara, J.: 1977,Science 198, 603.
Wang, E. X.: 1995,Chemistry and Transport of Lead in Spodosols at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire, Ph.D. Thesis, Yale University.
Wang, E. X., Bormann, F. H. and Benoit, G.: 1995,Environ. Sci. Technol. 29, 735.
Wang, E. X. and Benoit, G.: 1996,Environ. Sci. Technol. 30, 2211.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wang, E.X., Benoit, G. Fate and transport of contaminant lead in spodosols: A simple box model analysis. Water Air Soil Pollut 95, 381–397 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02406175
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02406175