Influence of wetland liming on water chemistry of acidified mountain streams in Lofsdalen, central Sweden

Acidic precipitation has caused damage to the populations of fish and invertebrates in numerous streams in the southern part of the Swedish mountain range. In the middle of the 70's, the pH of precipitation decreased and has since then frequently been lower than 4.5. Many of the streamwaters were well buffered during most time of the year, but during periods with high discharge, the buffering capacity was completely exhausted, pH frequently decreased to around 4.5 and very high levels of Fe, Mn and Al occurred. In general, base cations (BC) and organic anions decreased during periods of high flow, while SO4 increased or was relatively independent of flow. On an avenge, the ratio SO4/BC was negatively correlated to pH, while organic anions/BC showed a weaker correlation to pH. In order to investigate if wetland liming could be used as a remedial measure in such areas, lime treatments were started in 1983 in the Lofsdalen area, province of Harjedalen. The liming stabilized me alkalinity and pH of the streams at circum-neutral levels, and reduced the leaching of Fe, Mn, and Al. The average levels of these elements decreased and the seasonal fluctuation decreased considerably.