Maher Hasselquist, Eliza
- Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Review article2020Peer reviewedOpen access
Browning of freshwaters: Consequences to ecosystem services, underlying drivers, and potential mitigation measures
Kritzberg, Emma S.; Maher Hasselquist, Eliza; Škerlep, Martin; Löfgren, Stefan; Olsson, Olle; Stadmark, Johanna; Valinia, Salar; Hansson, Lars-Anders; Laudon, Hjalmar
Abstract
Browning of surface waters, as a result of increasing dissolved organic carbon and iron concentrations, is a widespread phenomenon with implications to the structure and function of aquatic ecosystems. In this article, we provide an overview of the consequences of browning in relation to ecosystem services, outline what the underlying drivers and mechanisms of browning are, and specifically focus on exploring potential mitigation measures to locally counteract browning. These topical concepts are discussed with a focus on Scandinavia, but are of relevance also to other regions. Browning is of environmental concern as it leads to, e.g., increasing costs and risks for drinking water production, and reduced fish production in lakes by limiting light penetration. While climate change, recovery from acidification, and land-use change are all likely factors contributing to the observed browning, managing the land use in the hydrologically connected parts of the landscape may be the most feasible way to counteract browning of natural waters.
Keywords
Acid deposition; Browning; Climate change; DOC; Iron; Land use
Published in
AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment
2020, volume: 49, number: 2, pages: 375–390
SLU Authors
Löfgren, Stefan
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Olsson, Olle
- Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)
Laudon, Hjalmar
- Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Associated SLU-program
Lakes and watercourses
Forest
Climate
Acidification
Use of FOMA data
Global goals (SDG)
SDG6 Clean water and sanitation
SDG14 Life below water
UKÄ Subject classification
Geochemistry
Environmental Sciences
Oceanography, Hydrology, Water Resources
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-019-01227-5
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/103075