From greening to browning: Catchment vegetation development and reduced S-deposition promote organic carbon load on decadal time scales in Nordic lakes

Anders G. Finstad; Tom Andersen; Søren Larsen; Koji Tominaga; Stefan Blumentrath; Heleen A. de Wit; Hans Tømmervik; Dag Olav Hessen

doi:10.1038/srep31944

journal article Open Access Aug 24, 2016

From greening to browning: Catchment vegetation development and reduced S-deposition promote organic carbon load on decadal time scales in Nordic lakes

Anders G. Finstad Tom Andersen

Søren Larsen Koji Tominaga Stefan Blumentrath Heleen A. de Wit

Hans Tømmervik

Dag Olav Hessen

Scientific Reports Vol. 6 No. 1 · Springer Science and Business Media LLC

View at Publisher Save 10.1038/srep31944

Abstract

AbstractIncreased concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), often labelled “browning”, is a current trend in northern, particularly boreal, freshwaters. The browning has been attributed to the recent reduction in sulphate (S) deposition during the last 2 to 3 decades. Over the last century, climate and land use change have also caused an increasing trend in vegetation cover (“greening”) and this terrestrially fixed carbon represents another potential source for export of organic carbon to lakes and rivers. The impact of this greening on the observed browning of lakes and rivers on decadal time scales remains poorly investigated, however. Here, we explore time-series both on water chemistry and catchment vegetation cover (using NDVI as proxy) from 70 Norwegian lakes and catchments over a 30-year period. We show that the increase in terrestrial vegetation as well as temperature and runoff significantly adds to the reduced SO4-deposition as a driver of freshwater DOC concentration. Over extended periods (centuries), climate mediated changes in vegetation cover may cause major browning of northern surface waters, with severe impact on ecosystem productivity and functioning.

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Published: Aug 24, 2016
Vol/Issue: 6(1)
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Authors

Department of Biosciences University of Oslo Oslo Norway

Norwegian Institute for Water Research Oslo Norway; Now at Department of Biosciences University of Oslo Oslo Norway

Cite This Article

Anders G. Finstad, Tom Andersen, Søren Larsen, et al. (2016). From greening to browning: Catchment vegetation development and reduced S-deposition promote organic carbon load on decadal time scales in Nordic lakes. Scientific Reports, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/srep31944

From greening to browning: Catchment vegetation development and reduced S-deposition promote organic carbon load on decadal time scales in Nordic lakes

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