Chemistry of streams draining grassland and forest catchments at Plynlimon,mid-Wales

Abstract

The chemistry of streamwater, bulk precipitation, throughfall and soil waters has been studied for three years in two plantation forest and two moorland catchments in mid-Wales. Na and CI are the major ions in streamwater reflecting the maritime influence on atmospheric inputs. In all streams, baseflow is characterised by high pH waters enriched in Ca, Mg, Si and HCO³. Differences in baseflow chemistry between streams reflect the varying extent of calcite and base metal sulphide mineralization within the catchments. Except for K, mean stream solute concentrations are higher in the unmineralized and mineralized forest catchments compared with their respective grassland counterparts. In the forest streams, storm flow concentrations of H⁺ are approximately 1.5 times and Al four times higher than in the moorland streams. Annual catchment losses of Na, Cl, SO⁴, NO³, Al and Si are greatest in the forest streams. In both grassland and forest systems, variations in stream chemistry be explained by mixing waters from different parts of the catchment, although NO³ concentrations may additionally be controlled by N transformations occurring between soils and streams. Differences in stream chemistry and solute budgets between forest and moorland catchments are related to greater atmospheric scavenging by the trees and changes in catchment hydrology consequent on afforestation. Mineral veins within the catchment bedrock can significantly modify the stream chemical response to afforestation.