Hebsgaard Pedersen, S.

Heller Olsen, R.

Møller, H.

Outzen Schmidt, B.

Schouborg Jensen, H.

Toft-Petersen, K.

Wahl, Niels Arne

English

    Aalborg UniversitetPossible Groundwater Contamination from Forest Stands Differing in Tree SpeciesCompositionHebsgaard Pedersen, S.; Heller Olsen, R.; Møller, H.; Outzen Schmidt, B.; SchouborgJensen, H.; Toft-Petersen, K.; Wahl, Niels ArnePublished in:Geophysical Research AbstractsPublication date:2004Document VersionPublisher's PDF, also known as Version of recordLink to publication from Aalborg UniversityCitation for published version (APA):Hebsgaard Pedersen, S., Heller Olsen, R., Møller, H., Outzen Schmidt, B., Schouborg Jensen, H., Toft-Petersen, K., & Wahl, N. A. (2004). Possible Groundwater Contamination from Forest Stands Differing in TreeSpecies Composition. Geophysical Research Abstracts, 6(00824).General rightsCopyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright ownersand it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights.            ? Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research.            ? You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain            ? You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ?Take down policyIf you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us at vbn@aub.aau.dk providing details, and we will remove access tothe work immediately and investigate your claim.Geophysical Research Abstracts, Vol. 6, 00824, 2004SRef-ID: 1607-7962/gra/EGU04-A-00824c© European Geosciences Union 2004POSSIBLE GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATIONFROM FOREST STANDS DIFFERING IN TREESPECIES COMPOSITIONS. Hebsgaard Pedersen (1), R. Heller Olsen (1), H. Møller (1), B. Outzen Schmidt(1), H. Schouborg Jensen (1), K. Toft-Petersen (1) andN. A. Wahl (2)(1) Aalborg University, Dept. of Development and Planning, Fibigerstræde 11-13, DK-9220Aalborg East, (2) Aalborg University, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Physical Geography Section,Sohngaardsholmsvej 57, DK-9000 Aalborg (Email i5wahl@civil.auc.dk)For soils under forest use, management practice and choice of tree species has asignificant influence on the quantity and quality of infiltrating rainfall. It is thereforesupposed that management practices are capable of altering surface runoff, waterretention and quality of drinking water. Decay of organic material from litter fall canresult in the production and redistribution of potential toxic, or at least problematic,chemical substances, e.g. nitrate and chloroform.Investigations were carried out on two forest plots within a drinking water protectionarea in northwestern Jutland, Denmark, located approx. 100 km NW of Aalborg.The predominant soil type in the study area is a Podsol from Aeolian deposits witha distinct texture in the range of fine grained sand. Due to a shallow water table,the lower parts of the soils often show mottling due to temporary or stagnant waterlogging. The two forest stands investigated represent different kinds of plantation andare dominated by pure even aged populations of Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) andBeech (Fagus sylvatica).Soil samples from two profiles taken at different soil depths (0-140 cm) were usedfor the experiments, as well as samples from several drillings carried out with a handauger. On the samples, different analyses were performed with respect to texture,soil organic matter content, pH, nitrate, and water repellency. Additionally, groundpenetrating radar was used to reveal the depth of the water table and other subsurfaceproperties.The results indicate that forest structure and tree age are amongst the variablesinfluencing the amount of produced problematic substances through quantity andquality of produced litter. Consequently, the production and supply of potential toxicsubstances vary according to the stand structure of the investigated plots. Nitrateconcentrations for all samples varied between 1.3-28.9 mg/l, while pH varied between3.2-9. Although anticipated, water repellency effects could not be traced on thesamples. Ground penetrating radar revealed that the surface of the groundwater tableat the two forest stands varied between approx. 1.3-2.3 m below ground.The most recent work in Denmark has resulted in a drastic cut down of the availablegroundwater resource by almost 40 %. The obtained results of the presented studyshow that the protection of the groundwater resource can not easily be managed bymarking forested areas as drinking water protection areas alone. Sitka spruce has beenidentified as a possible pollutant with respect to nitrate leaching in the past, whereasbeech has not. Thus, the results indicate that not only is the choice of tree speciesimportant, but also a profound knowledge of the interactions of leached substanceswith subsurface properties.

Possible Groundwater Contamination from Forest Stands Differing in Tree Species Composition

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Possible Groundwater Contamination from Forest Stands Differing in Tree Species Composition

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