Bavaria, Germany Bavaria, Germany
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The NE-Bavaria Mountains (Germany) are characterized by low mean annual temperatures (5-6.5°C) and high precipitation (950-1050 mm). The Lehstenbach catchment is typical of the area, with soil developed from deeply weathered granitic bedrock, which are very acid with pH(CaCl2) < 4 and have a low base saturation (< 10% in the upper soil). The reduction in sulphate deposition from the year 1985 to 1993 was 35%. In contrast to the significant decrease in sulphate deposition in the catchment, sulphate in runoff shows only a very slight decrease up to the year 1998. Due to soil texture, low pH values and the depth of the weathered substrata soils have high sulphate storage capacities. The huge amounts of sulphate stored in the soils of the catchment act as a buffer mechanism which delays reversibility of surface water acidification by decades (Alewell 1995; Alewell et al., 1997, Manderscheid et al., 1999a,b). The Lehstenbach catchment is typical for the mountainous regions of Germany. Delay of reversibility of soil and water acidification due to release of previously stored sulphate has been reported for the Solling, the Harz as well as the Ore mountains (Erkenberg, 1991; Meiwes et al., 1994, Malessa 1995, Alewell, 1995; Alewell, 1998; Alewell et al., 1997). Reversibility of soil acidification in catchments of deeply weathered soils Site description Lehstenbach catchment
Deposition with throughfall in kg S ha-1 yr-1
Average sulphate contents and estimated sulphate storage in soils and the weathered substrata of the Lehstenbach watershed, Germany.
* from Jungnickel (1996), # from Schweisser (1998) n=53 for B-horizons, n=44 for weathered substrata, SD=standard deviation To view data from the Lehstenbach catchment and photographs of forest dieback CLICK HERE
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