J. Kopacek et al., REVERSIBILITY OF ACIDIFICATION OF MOUNTAIN LAKES AFTER REDUCTION IN NITROGEN AND SULFUR EMISSIONS IN CENTRAL-EUROPE, Limnology and oceanography, 43(2), 1998, pp. 357-361
The reversal of water acidification has been recently indicated by bot
h empirical data and experiments. The world's largest whole-ecosystem
''experiment'' involving similar to 30% and similar to 40% reduction i
n nitrogen and sulfur emissions, respectively, has occurred in Central
Europe due to the political and economic changes in the postcommunist
countries since 1989. Parallel decreases in deposition rates of SO42-
, NO3-, and NH4+ have resulted in a rapid reversal in hydrochemistry o
f acidified lakes in the Sumava Mountains and the High Tatra Mountains
. Concentrations of SO42- and NO3- in lakes were reduced by 11-14 and
13-32 mmol m(-3), respectively, between the late 1980s and middle 1990
s. Leaching of calcium, magnesium, and aluminum from the watersheds de
creased while lake water pH and alkalinity increased. The immediate de
cline in NO3- concentrations after reduced nitrogen emissions has sugg
ested a rapid reversibility of nitrogen saturation of the mountainous
ecosystems in response to decreased amounts of nitrogen deposition.