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Article
Influence of Summer Storms on the Solution Geochemistry in a Coastal Plain Hydrosequence
International Journal of Ecology and Environmental Sciences (1994)
  • Jeffrey M. Novak
  • C. Lee Burras
Abstract
An understanding of factors which influence wetland soil solution chemistry is important for soil solutions are known to influence some chemical properties of surface waters. The influence of summer storms on the solution geochemistry in a South Carolina riverine wetland soil was evaluated by comparing pore water collected 2,4 hr after five summer storm events with pore water acquired during five nonstorm periods. Pore water was collected by tension lysimeters buried at 15 to 152 cm in two locations along a hydrologic gradient. Samples of rain, throughfall and stream water were also collected. Overall, summer storms had no significant influence on the concentrations of anions, cations, DOC, pH and electrical conductivity (EC) in soil pore water at both floodplain locations. There was a tendency for higher concentrations of dissolved NO,3-N, NH,4-N and PO,4-P in soil pore water after periods of high rainfall. In many situations, water chemistry was influenced by the degree of soil saturation. The seasonally wet soil of the floodplain had statistically higher mean concentrations of Ca, Fe, Na, Cl and EC values relative to the drier soil. Throughfall had a significant influence on the concentrations of K and DOC, whereas soil had a significant effect on some anions, cations, pH, and EC. These results suggest that pore water chemistry is primarily a function of the degree of soil saturation during nonstorm periods. Storms had little influence on soil pore water or stream water chemistry.
Keywords
  • Throughfall,
  • wetland soil,
  • stream water,
  • floodplain,
  • land-water interaction
Publication Date
1994
Publisher Statement
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the Original Works is properly cited.
Citation Information
Jeffrey M. Novak and C. Lee Burras. "Influence of Summer Storms on the Solution Geochemistry in a Coastal Plain Hydrosequence" International Journal of Ecology and Environmental Sciences Vol. 20 (1994)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/c_burras/6/