Identifying Nutrient Export Hotspots Using a Spatially Distributed Model in Boreal-Forested Catchments

The implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) aimed to reduce nutrient export from catchments to water courses. Forest operations cause diffuse loading, which challenges the efficient targeting of water protection measures. We formed 100 equally probable clear-cut scenarios, to investiga...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inForests Vol. 14; no. 3; p. 612
Main Authors Leinonen, Antti, Salmivaara, Aura, Palviainen, Marjo, Finér, Leena, Peltola, Heli, Laurén, Annamari
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.03.2023
Subjects
Biogeochemistry
Catchments
Clearcutting
Decomposition
Environmental aspects
Exports
forest management
Forest watersheds
Forestry
Hydrology
Land area
Methods
modeling
Nitrogen
Nutrients
Peatlands
phosphorus
Riparian buffers
simulation
Soil fertility
Taigas
Vegetation
Water management
Water protection
Watercourses
Watersheds
Finland
Sweden
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Summary:The implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) aimed to reduce nutrient export from catchments to water courses. Forest operations cause diffuse loading, which challenges the efficient targeting of water protection measures. We formed 100 equally probable clear-cut scenarios, to investigate how the location of the clear-cuts influenced the total nitrogen (TN) and phosphorous (TP) export on different scales. The nutrient export was calculated by using a distributed nutrient export model (NutSpaFHy). The clear-cut-induced excess TN and TP exports varied by 4.2%–5.5% and 5.0%–6.5%, respectively, between the clear-cut scenarios. We analyzed how the sub-catchment characteristics regulated the background export. The results also suggested that there was no single sub-catchment feature, which explained the variation in the TN and TP exports. There were clear differences in the background export and in the clear-cut-induced export between the sub-catchments. We also found that only 5% of the forest area could contribute up to half of the total nutrient export. Based on our results, we presented a conceptual planning framework, which applied the model results to finding areas where the nutrient export was high. Application of this information could improve the overall effectiveness of the water protection measures used in forestry.
ISSN:1999-4907
1999-4907
DOI:10.3390/f14030612