HUMEX (HUMIC LAKE ACIDIFICATION EXPERIMENT) - CHEMISTRY, HYDROLOGY, AND METEOROLOGY

The Humex project is an on-going whole-catchment manipulation project that studies the relationship between humic substances (HS) in soil and water and the acidification processes. The project is based on a dystrophic lake, which is artificially divided into experimental and control halves. This report describes the lake and its catchment and the technical installations used for the artificial acidification of the 1.8 ha terrestrial experimental area and the corresponding 0.9 ha lake. Chemical data from the experimental lake half and the control half are presented, covering a period of 24 months before and 30 months after start of treatment with H2SO4 and NH4NO3. The results show that dividing the lake into two basins resulted in only small changes in the inorganic water chemistry. The concentration of HS, however, changed due to the difference in the ratio between lake volume and catchment area. The acidification treatment resulted in a 10% increase in ionic strength, mostly due to an increase in SO4, accompanied by Ca, Mg and Na. There was also a significant increase in the concentrations of NO3, NH4, and organic N. The increase in SO4 and organic N can not be explained only by the amount of chemicals added directly to the lake.