Lakes And Forests As Determinants Of Downstream Nutrient Concentrations In Small Mountain Watersheds

Lakes are dynamic processors of nutrients and may hold an active role in modifying the water chemistry of stream systems. In this study, we examine the influence of lakes and an important terrestrial component-forest cover-on the nutrient levels of stream water in 11 Rocky Mountain (Idaho) watersheds. Water samples were collected from the inflow and outflow of lakes with varying amounts of upstream lakes and forested area during spring runoff and summer base flow. During base flow, mean total nitrogen concentrations at the inflow of final lakes were significantly related to relative upstream lake area, increasing from 34 to 103 mu g N L-1 as upstream lake cover in the watersheds increased from 0% to 4%. Forest cover was not significantly correlated with total nitrogen concentrations exported from the watersheds. However, similar to other studies, inflow nitrate concentrations were negatively correlated with relative forest cover. At the scale of individual lakes, dissolved organic carbon and dissolved organic nitrogen increased, and nitrate was significantly reduced from inflows to outflows. The results indicate a potentially critical role of mountain lakes in governing nitrogen flux downstream, and suggest the role of lakes as nitrogen sinks or sources may reverse between spring runoff and summer base flow.