放牧强度对中国内蒙古草原土壤水分状况与通量的影响

In the past few decades,the increase in grazing intensity has led to soil degradation and desertification in Inner Mongolia grassland,China,due to population growth and shift in the socio-economic system.Two sites with different grazing intensities,continuous grazing site(CG) with 1.2 sheep ha 1 year 1 and heavy grazing site(HG) with 2.0 sheep ha 1 year 1,were investigated at the Inner Mongolia Grassland Ecosystem Research Station(43 37 50 N,116 42 18 E) situated in the northern China to i) characterize the temporal distribution of soil water content along soil profile;and ii) quantify the water fluxes as affected by grazing intensity.Soil water content was monitored by time domain reflectometry(TDR) probes.Soil water retention curves were determined by pressure membrane extractor,furthermore processed by RETC(RETention Curve) software.Soil matric potential,plant available water and water flux were calculated using these data.Both sites showed an identical seasonal soil water dynamics within four defined hydraulic periods:1) wetting transition coincided with a dramatic water increase due to snow and frozen soil thawing from March to April;2) wet summer,rainfall in accordance with plant growth from May to September;3) drying transition,a decrease of soil water from October to November due to rainfall limit;and 4) dry winter,freezing from December to next February.Heavy grazing largely reduced soil water content by 43%-48% and plant available water by 46%-61% as compared to the CG site.During growing season net water flux was nearly similar between HG(242 mm) and CG(223 mm) sites between 5 and 20 cm depths.However,between 20 and 40 cm depths,the upward flux was more pronounced at HG site than at CG site,indicating that water was depleted by root uptake at HG site but stored at CG site.In semi-arid grassland ecosystem,grazing intensity can affect soil water regime and flux,particularly in the growing season.     

Soil Acid-Base Chemistry of a High-Elevation Forest Watershed in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Influence of Acidic Deposition

Understanding the acid-base chemistry of soil and the soil processes related to the release or retention of sulfate and nitrate is important in order to predict watershed recovery from long-term acid deposition. Soils were sampled from the Noland Divide Watershed (NDW), a small, high-elevation watershed in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park receiving high rates of acid deposition over several decades. Soil samples were measured for chemical properties related to acidification and used to conduct sulfate adsorption and nitrogen (N) incubation experiments. Shallow soil was higher in acidic and basic ions than deeper soils, and the mean effective cation exchange capacity was 8.07, 5.06, and 3.57 cmol_c kg⁻¹ in the A, Bw, and Cb horizons, respectively. In all three soil horizons, the base saturation was equal to or below 7% and the ratio of Ca/Al was below 0.01, indicating that the NDW is very sensitive to acid deposition. Based on results from sulfate adsorption isotherms, the NDW has not reached its maximum sulfate adsorption saturation and is likely able to retain further additions of sulfate. Desorption of sulfate from NDW soils is expected if sulfate concentrations in soil solution drop below 50 μeq L⁻¹ but is highly dependent on soil pH and organic carbon content. Total soil organic N was 500 times greater than inorganic N in the A soil horizon, and net N mineralization and nitrification remained constant during a 28-day incubation indicating a large reservoir of N substrate for soil microbes. Nitrogen experiment results suggest that nitrate export from the watershed is largely controlled by biological processes rather than by nitrate deposition flux. Soil data collected in this study contributes to our understanding of biogeochemical processes affecting the response of acid-impacted ecosystems such as the NDW to future changes in atmospheric deposition.     

Uncertainties in long-term predictions of forest soil acidification due to neglecting seasonal variability

Soil and soil solution response simulated with a site-scale soil acidification model (NUCSAM) was compared with results obtained by a regional soil acidification model (RESAM). RESAM is a multi-layer model with a temporal resolution of one year. In addition to RESAM, NUCSAM takes seasonal variability into account since it simulates solute transport and biogeochemical processes on a daily basis. Consequently, NUCSAM accounts for seasonal variation in deposition, precipitation, transpiration, litterfall, mineralization and root uptake. Uncertainty caused by the neglect of seasonal variability in long-term predictions was investigated by a comparison of long-term simulations with RESAM and NUCSAM. Two deposition scenarios for the period 1990–2090 were evaluated. The models were parameterized and validated by using data from an intensively monitored spruce site at Solling, Germany. Although both the seasonal and the interannual variation in soil solution parameters were large, the trends in soil solution parameters of RESAM and NUCSAM corresponded quite well. The leaching fluxes were almost similar. Generally it appeared that the uncertainty due to time resolution in long-term predictions was relatively small.     

Prediction of Soil Acidification Using a Dymanic Model at a Bamboo Forest in Osaka Prefecture

This study is based on research of throughfall formation and soil chemistry processes. Through the experimental verification of the cation exchange part of the simulation model; making use of results of the flux of acid deposition on the forest and the chemical weathering of soil mineral, we predicted the future soil acidification. The result indicated that chemical weathering occupies the important portion of acid neutralization capacity of the soil and that significant soil acidification will not occur in this field within 40 years, even if the present acid load continues in the future.     

对土壤侵蚀研究的几点思考

土壤侵蚀是现代地理环境条件下改变地貌景观的主要过程,也是引起土壤质量退化、沙漠化与石漠化的核心因素,与土壤、生态、水文等多个地表过程密切相关。虽然土壤侵蚀研究需要气候、地质、地貌、土壤、水文、生态等相关学科的基本知识,分析土壤侵蚀发生、发展过程的动力机制,但需要明确界定土壤侵蚀研究的时空尺度。土壤侵蚀与水土保持之间相互联系、相互促进。土壤侵蚀研究的时间尺度以次降雨、月、年为主,研究主题为次降雨侵蚀过程、土壤侵蚀季节变化与年际变化,时间尺度不宜超过100年。土壤侵蚀研究的空间尺度以小流域为主,基于土壤侵蚀垂直分带性,可以进一步分为样点、坡面、沟坡与小流域。在不同空间尺度上,研究内容与研究方法差异明显。土壤侵蚀过程包括土壤分离、泥沙输移和泥沙沉积,各个过程的主控因素存在差异,研究成果积累差异明显,研究重点会随着时空尺度的变化而有所不同。在土壤侵蚀过程研究中,应充分理解分离控制和输移控制及其时空转换阈值。虽然土壤侵蚀研究已经取得了大量成果,但在细沟网络结构及其时空变化、泥沙沉积过程、沟蚀形成与演变动力机制、重力侵蚀发育过程动力学机理、小流域土壤侵蚀过程模型等诸多方面,亟待加强研究。     

LONG-TERM CHANGES IN FOREST SOIL ACIDITY IN PENNSYLVANIA,U.S.A.

Forest soil acidification has been reported to cause reduced forest productivity and decline of some tree species. Soil acidification may cause increased bioavailability of Al and Mn, which are potentially phytotoxic. In an attempt to measure whether or not Pennsylvania forest soils have become more acidic, soil samples were collected at 11 undisturbed forested sites in Pennsylvania in 1993. Limited soil chemistry data obtained through 4 previous studies conducted between 1957 and 1979 were available for each site. Soil pH and concentrations of exchangeable Ca and Mg were measured; results were compared to those obtained in earlier studies. Soil exchangeable Al concentrations were determined for 6 sites for which previous data were available. Chemical analysis methods were evaluated to ensure that methods used in 1993 were comparable to those of the original investigators. Mean pH and exchangeable Mg declined most consistently over the study period in the O horizon and the uppermost A horizon. Mean exchangeable AI decreased in the O horizon and increased in the A horizon. Given the high sulfate and nitrate deposition loads in Pennsylvania, it seems likely that the observed changes are at least in part a consequence of acidic deposition.     

Biotic community shifts explain the contrasting responses of microbial and root respiration to experimental soil acidification

Soil respiration is comprised primarily of root and microbial respiration, and accounts for nearly half of the total CO₂ efflux from terrestrial ecosystems. Soil acidification resulting from acid deposition significantly affects soil respiration. Yet, the mechanisms that underlie the effects of acidification on soil respiration and its two components remain unclear. We collected data on sources of soil CO₂ efflux (microbial and root respiration), above- and belowground biotic communities, and soil properties in a 4-year field experiment with seven levels of acid in a semi-arid Inner Mongolian grassland. Here, we show that soil acidification has contrasting effects on root and microbial respiration in a typical steppe grassland. Soil acidification increases root respiration mainly by an increase in root biomass and a shift to plant species with greater specific root respiration rates. The shift of plant community from perennial bunchgrasses to perennial rhizome grasses was in turn regulated by the decreases in soil base cations and N status. In contrast, soil acidification suppresses microbial respiration by reducing total microbial biomass and enzymatic activities, which appear to result from increases in soil H⁺ ions and decreases in soil base cations. Our results suggest that shifts in both plant and microbial communities dominate the responses of soil respiration and its components to soil acidification. These results also indicate that carbon cycling models concerned with future climate change should consider soil acidification as well as shifts in biotic communities.     

Predicting Reversibility of Acidification: The European Sulfur Story

Because of the deleterious effects of acid rain and the need to predict reversibility of acidification, various scientific tools such as modeling, stable isotopes and flux/budget calculations have been used in biogeochemical sulfur (S) research. The aim of this study was to evaluate consistencies and discrepancies between these different tools. While modeling has been seemingly successful in predicting S dynamics in soil solution and stream water by considering inorganic sulfate sorption and desorption only, stable S isotopes indicate that biological S turnover plays a crucial role for the sulfate released to soil solution and stream water. A comparison of budget calculations with soil S pools reveals that inorganic sulfate sorption and desorption are the controlling processes as long as deposition is high (> 15 kg S ha^?1yr^?1) and soils have a high sulfate sorption capacity. This explains the successful model predictions of the last two decades. However, for soils with low sulfate sorption capacity and under low sulfate deposition, organic S seems to be a significant source for stream water sulfate and has to be considered in future modeling.     

贵州省降雨侵蚀力时空分布规律分析

降水是导致土壤侵蚀的主要动力因素,降雨侵蚀力反映了降雨对土壤侵蚀的潜在能力。贵州省是我国典型的生态环境脆弱区之一,水土流失十分严重。以全省19个气象台站1951—2001年逐日降雨资料,利用日降雨侵蚀力模型,估算了贵州省降雨侵蚀力,分析了其时空分异规律。结果显示近50a来贵州省降雨侵蚀力呈增加趋势,即由降雨引起的土壤水蚀潜在能力增加。降雨侵蚀力年内分配主要集中在夏季,占年均降雨侵蚀力的68.48%。在空间分布上,降雨侵蚀力由南向北递减,并且在西南部和东南边缘形成侵蚀力高值中心,在西北部形成低值中心。根据年降雨侵蚀力的季节分配特征,可以将贵州省划分为3个类型区。     

Temporal and Spatial Variations in Soil Water Chemistry at Three Acid Forest Sites

As acid deposition declines, recovery from acidification is delayed by the fact that the soil processes that earlier buffered against acidification are now being reversed. Monitoring of within catchment processes is thus desirable. However, soil sampling is destructive and not suitable for long-term monitoring at a single site, whereas sampling of soil water with suction lysimeters may be more suitable. In this paper we evaluate 8–11 years of soil water chemistry from E- and B-horizons in three acid forest soil plots within monitored catchments. Five years of sampling also included the C-horizon. To our knowledge, this is the first long-term lysimeter study including the E-horizon showing recovery from acidification, and one of few studies including the B-horizon. Soil water concentrations of SO₄ decreased significantly between –9.5 and –1.4 μeq L^-1 yr^-1, with much higher rates of change at two southern sites compared to a northern site, where levels and changes of deposition were lower. The average annual bulk deposition of S ranged between 3 kg S ha^-1 at the northernmost site to 11 kg S ha^-1 at the southernmost site. The SO₄ decline in E-horizons was smaller than the decline in deposition, which indicated leaching of SO₄ from the O-horizon. At the two southern sites, a weaker decline in SO₄ in the B-horizon compared to the E-horizon indicated desorption of SO₄. The negative trends in SO₄ were to a large extent balanced by decreases in base cations but there were also tendencies of recovery from acidification in soil solution at the southern sites by increasing pH and ANC. However, these were contradicted by increasing Al concentrations. A high influence of marine salts in the early 1990s may have delayed the recovery. Decreasing trends of the Ca/(H⁺)² ratio in the soil solution, most pronounced at one of the southern sites, suggested that the soils were becoming more acidic, although the soil solution tended to recover.     

Effects of Acid Deposition on Forest Soils in Northernmost Russia: Modelled and Field Data

In addition to strong natural stresses forest ecosystems in the Kola Subarctic, Russia, receive high loads of sulphur and heavy metals from the nickel smelter. To estimate soil response to acid deposition we compared the soil field data along a pollution gradient and simulated time effects. Multivariate technique was applied to investigate spatial distribution of soil field data. Time response of soils to acid deposition was evaluated with the SMART model. According to field observations there is no evidence for strong soil acidification effects close to the smelter. Concentrations of exchangeable Ca and base saturation increase, while acidity decrease in lower soil mineral horizons towards the pollution source. However, some features seem to reflect the early stages of the started acidification. Most soil profiles have low pH values. Despite increasing of exchangeable Ca and Mg towards the smelter in lower mineral horizons due to geological inheritance, they do not reveal the same trends in the upper ones. Concentration of exchangeable K in organic horizons decreases towards the smelter, thus confirming the starting acidification. As result, exchangeable base cations are depleted in the considerable part of shallow soil profiles. According to model simulation the present acid load does not effect considerably on forest soils in background areas, however, dramatic shift in soil chemistry near the smelter is expected within several decades. Due to low pool of exchangeable base cations and low weathering rate continued acid deposition can lead to increased soil acidification and nutrient imbalance.     

Soil carbon dioxide fluxes in established switchgrass land managed for biomass production

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) grown for biomass feedstock production has the potential to increase soil C sequestration, and soil CO₂ flux in grassland is an important component in the global C budget. The objectives of this study were to: (1) determine the effects of N fertilization and harvest frequency on soil CO₂ flux, soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC), and potentially mineralizable carbon (PMC); and (2) evaluate the relationship of soil CO₂ flux with soil temperature, soil moisture, SMBC, and PMC. Two N rates (0 and 224 kg ha⁻¹) were applied as NH₄NO₃ and cattle (Bos Taurus L.) manure. Switchgrass was harvested every year at anthesis or alternate years at anthesis. The data were collected during growing season (May-October) 2001-2004 on switchgrass-dominated Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land in east-central South Dakota, USA. Manure application increased soil CO₂ flux, SMBC, and PMC during the early portion of the growing season compared with the control, but NH₄NO₃ application did not affect soil CO₂ flux, SMBC, and PMC. However, seasonal variability of soil CO₂ flux was not related to SMBC and PMC. Estimated average soil CO₂ fluxes during the growing periods were 472, 488, and 706 g CO₂-C m⁻² for control, NH₄NO₃-N, and manure-N plots, respectively. Switchgrass land with manure application emitted more CO₂, and approximately 45% of the C added with manure was respired to the atmosphere. Switchgrass harvested at anthesis decreased soil CO₂ flux during the latter part of the growing season, and flux was lower under every year harvest treatment than under alternate years harvest. Soil temperature was the most significant single variable to explain the variability in soil CO₂ flux. Soil water content was not a limiting factor in controlling seasonal CO₂ flux.     

Long-Term Soil Acidification Model (LTSAM) Development and Application for Analyzing Soil Responses to Acidic Deposition

A long-term soil acidification model (LTSAM) which can describe calcareous and non-calcareous soil responses to acidic deposition is developed based on the conservation of alkalinity and Ulrich buffer ranges. The model which considers nine major ions of armospheric deposition, has focused on certain soil processes (weathering of carbonates, silicates, and aluminum (Al) oxides or hydroxides, cation exchange, anion retention, and CO2 solubility). After comparing the model design and simulation results with the SMART, the paper describes several numerical experiments on the sensitivity of calcareous drab soil in Beijing and red earth (nearly dystric cambisol) in Wenzhou of Zhejiang Province in Southern China to acidic deposition scenarios. The modelling results indicate that increase or decrease in atmospheric deposition of base cations and not only changes in deposition of sulfate (S) and H+ must be considered in assessment of critical loads both for red earth and calcareous drab soil.     

陇东黄土高原不同林龄刺槐林土壤碳通量及其组分特征

基于红外气体分析技术,对陇东黄土高原田家沟水土保持科技示范园不同林龄(12,14,15,18a)刺槐林土壤碳通量进行定位监测,同时以荒草地为对照,分析土壤碳通量日、季变化及组分特征。结果表明:不同林龄刺槐林土壤碳通量日变化差异显著(P0.01),日变化趋势表现为昼高夜低的单峰曲线,13:00—15:00达到最大值,最小值出现在2:00—5:00;不同季节间土壤碳通量差异显著(P0.01),具体表现为夏季春季秋季冬季,夏季土壤碳通量为冬季的8.78~20.32倍;刺槐林春季土壤碳通量以自养呼吸为主,夏、秋两季以异养呼吸为主,冬季自、异养呼吸贡献率基本一样,荒草地春、夏、秋3季以异养呼吸为主,冬季与林地表现一致;刺槐林年土壤CO_2排放量随林龄增加而增加,年排放量2 069.63~4 590.35g/m~2,荒草地土壤CO_2年排放量2 806.27g/m~2,低于18a刺槐林,高于其余各林龄。研究结果为陇东黄土高原刺槐人工林土壤的固碳效应及经营措施提供依据。     

Contribution of different proton sources to pedogenetic soil acidification in forested ecosystems in Japan

The contribution of different proton sources to pedogenetic soil acidification was evaluated for three Japanese forest soils, i.e. ando soil, podzolic soil and brown forest soil in relation to the respective soil forming processes. Soil acidification rate and net proton generation were quantified based on the theory of proton budget for the respective soil horizon compartments (mainly the O, A and B horizons) by measuring fluxes of solutes entering and leaving the soil horizon compartment and vegetation uptake. Protons were produced by the dissociation of organic acids and nitrification in the O horizon and then consumed by adsorption and decomposition of organic acids and nitrate uptake by vegetation in deeper soil horizons at all plots. Excess uptake of cation over anion by vegetation was highest among proton sources in the whole soil compartment at all plots. Pedogenetic soil acidification was considered to include cation leaching from surface soil horizons due to proton generation by the dissociation of organic acids and nitrification and subsequent cation excess accumulation in wood in the growth stage of forests. In ando soil, andosolization resulted from the low contribution of net proton generation by the dissociation of organic acids as well as a lower soil acidification rate and complete acid neutralization. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) fluxes in ando soil were lower than those in podzolic soil and brown forest soil due to high adsorption capacity of amorphous materials. In podzolic soil, podzolization resulted from intensive acidification in the O horizon, which derived from net proton generation by the dissociation of organic acids and nitrification as well as cation excess uptake by vegetation due to concentrated fine root biomass in the O horizon, and subsequent high proton efflux to subsoil. The high fluxes of DOC and Al leached from surface soil horizons were considered to contribute to eluviation of Al from surface soil and illuviation in subsoil in podzolic soil. In brown forest soil, brunification resulted from a lower DOC flux from the O horizon due to high decomposition and adsorption by oxides, where podzolization was weakened by high acid neutralization. Thus, the three representative processes involved in the pedogenesis of Japanese forest soils were well characterized by quantification of the respective proton-generating and consuming processes in each soil horizon.     

不同湿润速率对三种红壤坡面侵蚀过程的影响

以三种典型红壤为研究对象,采用室内人工模拟降雨方法,研究了湿润速率对坡面径流和侵蚀的影响以及泥沙特性。实验结果表明:在坡度为15°、降雨强度为60mmh-1条件下,湿润速率越大,产流时间越慢,稳定径流强度越大。供试三种红壤QP1、QP2和QP3快速湿润时稳定径流强度较慢速湿润分别增加60%、37%和21%。同样,坡面侵蚀量也随着湿润速率的增大而增加,供试三种典型红壤在快速湿润条件下侵蚀量较中速湿润分别增加23%、28%和61%,较慢速湿润分别增加112%、85%和159%。侵蚀泥沙的平均质量直径随着湿润速率的增大而减小。研究结果有助于深入理解团聚体破碎机制以及坡面侵蚀机理,为侵蚀模型提供必要的参数。     

土壤侵蚀示踪方法研究综述

土壤侵蚀已成为极为严峻的环境问题之一,由于降雨、坡面层流引起的土壤侵蚀被认为是涉及到坡面土壤的分散、沉积和转移同时发生的过程。分别介绍了放射性核素¹³⁷Cs示踪,稳定性稀土元素示踪,磁性示踪剂在土壤侵蚀、沉积、分布和泥沙来源研究领域中的进展情况。旨在借鉴国内外研究方法上的经验。对于准确评价侵蚀泥沙在坡面空间、时间尺度上的分布、转运、沉积,了解土壤侵蚀过程和评价基于坡面、流域的土壤侵蚀模型有重要的指导意义。     

Impacts from Deposition on Swedish Forest Ecosystems Identified by Integrated Monitoring

Integrated monitoring of ecosystems (IM) is an international co-operative programme (ICP) to control effects of air pollution and climate change on water, soil and biological systems. It is a part of the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP) of the United Nations Economic Commission of Europe (UN/ECE). The ICP-IM is undertaken on sites/catchments to investigate acidification, eutrophication and heavy metals with an integrated approach. In Sweden, long-term time series from forest ecosystems, with a long and stable continuity, will reveal trends and changes in processes and enable modelling to be undertaken. Investigations of acidity/alkalinity in relation to mineral and organic acids indicated the importance of atmospheric deposition. Recent results show very high inorganic nitrogen retention (99%), a net loss of sulphur originating mainly from organic horizons, and a high inorganic aluminium content in the illuvial soil horizons which could be detrimental to forests. Forest deficiency could also be caused by an observed ongoing translocation of Zn to deeper soil layers implying a movement towards increased release to surface waters.     

A Regional Perspective on Present and Future Soil Chemistry at 16 Swedish Forest Sites

Assessing the timescales of recovery, by the use of dynamic models, will be used as input to the policy process to abate acidification. In this study the multilayer dynamic soil chemistry model SAFE was applied to 16 forest sites in Sweden, covering a sulfur deposition gradient of 1.2–11 kg S/ha/yr. Soil samples were collected at all sites and the pH and sulfate concentration dependent isotherm, used for modeling sulfate adsorption in SAFE, was parameterized for every site. A new way of implementing the nutrient uptake distribution in SAFE was developed, which allows the uptake distribution between layers in the rooting zone to vary with time, depending on the availability of base cations in the individual layers. Model output was compared to measurements of base cation concentration, total inorganic Al, pH and Bc/Al both site-by-site and cumulatively for all sites, and the usefulness of these comparisons is discussed from a policy viewpoint. Future projections of recovery show that the overall recovery, expressed as minimum Bc/Al ratio > 1 in the rooting zone, is slow. Assuming full implementation of the UNECE LRTAP Gothenburg Protocol and no further emission reductions thereafter, 44% of the modeled sites still have a Bc/Al ratio below 1 in 2100 in some soil layer within the rooting zone.     

Seasonal Sulfate Deposition and Export Patterns for a Small Appalachian Watershed

Sulfate deposition and exports from 1988–92 were analyzed for a small headwater catchment in north-central West Virginia. Annual sulfate inputs, estimated by applying throughfall-adjusted ratios to bulk deposition values, and outputs were approximately equal for the five years. Annual mean throughfall-adjusted deposition and export loads were 55.78 and 55.48 kg ha-1, respectively. While these results indicate the watershed has reached sulfate equilibrium relative to current deposition levels, seasonal sulfate accumulations and deficits were evident. Deposition and exports averaged 5.61 and 2.49 kg ha-1 mo-1, respectively, during the growing season, and 3.69 and 5.22 kg ha-1 mo-1 during the dormant season. Sulfur accumulated within the soil during the growing season because inputs of wet and dry sulfur deposition were high while outputs were negligible. The latter was due largely to the lack of runoff resulting from high evapotranspirational demands. By contrast, net sulfate losses occurred during dormant seasons, primarily due to high runoff, even though inputs declined during this season. Researchers working on other watersheds have interpreted similar input/output patterns to mean that sulfate accumulated during the growing season is the source of sulfate exported during the dormant season. However, radioisotopic evidence from a companion study on this watershed showed that some labeled sulfate applied to the watershed more than a year earlier was still present in the organic and mineral soil layers at the point of application (with some as soluble sulfate), and in soil water dispersed throughout the watershed. Its presence indicates that dormant season exports can originate from sulfate deposited over longer periods than just the previous growing season or even previous year. Volume-weighted concentrations in soil leachate suggest that dormant-season sulfate losses resulted from progressive depletion of the anion through the soil profile. During the fall and early winter, soluble sulfate was depleted in the upper soil horizons; in later winter, depletion occurred in the lower horizons.