Predicting acidification recovery at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire: evaluation of four models.

The performance and prediction uncertainty (owing to parameter and structural uncertainties) of four dynamic watershed acidification models (MAGIC, PnET-BGC, SAFE, and VSD) were assessed by systematically applying them to data from the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF), New Hampshire, where long-term records of precipitation and stream chemistry were available. In order to facilitate systematic evaluation, Monte Carlo simulation was used to randomly generate common model input data sets (n = 10,000) from parameter distributions; input data were subsequently translated among models to retain consistency. The model simulations were objectively calibrated against observed data (streamwater: 1963-2004, soil: 1983).

The influence of N load and harvest intensity on the risk of P limitation in Swedish forest soils.

Nitrogen (N) is often considered to be the major factor limiting tree growth in northern forest ecosystems. An increased N availability, however, increases the demand for other nutrients such as base cations and phosphorous (P) which in turn may change which nutrient is the limiting factor. If P or base cations become limiting, N will start to leach which means a risk of increased eutrophication of surface waters.

Modeling recovery of Swedish ecosystems from acidification.

Dynamic models complement existing time series of observations and static critical load calculations by simulating past and future development of chemistry in forest and lake ecosystems. They are used for dynamic assessment of the acidification and to produce target load functions, that describe what combinations of nitrogen and sulfur emission reductions are needed to achieve a chemical or biological criterion in a given target year. The Swedish approach has been to apply the dynamic acidification models MAGIC, to 133 lakes unaffected by agriculture and SAFE, to 645 productive forest sites.

Parameterization and evaluation of sulfate adsorption in a dynamic soil chemistry model.

Sulfate adsorption was implemented in the dynamic, multi-layer soil chemistry model SAFE. The process is modeled by an isotherm in which sulfate adsorption is considered to be fully reversible and dependent on sulfate concentration as well as pH in soil solution. The isotherm was parameterized by a site-specific series of simple batch experiments at different pH (3.