Export of dissolved elements in an evergreen-oak forested watershed in the Montseny Mountains (NE Spain)

Dissolved element inputs in bulk precipitation and outputs in streamwater have been measured for one year in a small, evergreen-oak forested watershed on metamorphic schists at La Castanya (Montseny). This watershed is a sink for atmospheric H+, NH+4 and NO-3 it is a source of Na+ and Mg2+. These net outputs must come from the chemical weathering of silicates, and there is a concurrent large export of HCO3-. From the net output of cations, a dissolved denudation rate of 1.3 keq/ha/yr is obtained for this watershed, a figure 60% higher than the average rate of boreal and temperate forested watersheds. -from Authors