[A-HW27] Biodiversity, nutrients and other materials in ecosystems from headwaters to coasts

[AHW27-P01] Water and Material Dynamics in Forests in Warm Snowy Regions Using a Large Snow-Melting Lysimeter

*Yuko Itoh¹, Akira Ogura², Keiji Takase³, Yoichi Fujihara³, Yukari Takeuchi¹, Tayoko Kubota¹, Masahiro Kobayashi¹ (1.Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Japan, 2.Ishikawa Agriculture and Forestry Research Center Forestry Experiment Station, 3.Ishikawa Prefectural University)

Keywords:large snow-melting lysimeter, warm, snow-covered region

Atmospheric-derived nitrogen inputs exceed 20 kg/ha/year in forested watersheds in Ishikawa Prefecture. Especially in winter, the effect of transboundary air pollution from the Asian continent becomes more pronounced, and nitrogen inflow is more than twice as high as in summer. Due to the mild climate in the Hokuriku region, snow melting occurs simultaneously with snow accumulation, and the runoff pattern differs from that of cold regions. Therefore, hydrologic processes resulting from snowmelt patterns unique to warm regions may specifically control the dynamics of the large winter influx of nitrogen and affect nitrogen saturation in forested watersheds. In this study, an observation system consisting of a large snow-melting lysimeter (3.6 m x 3.6 m) was installed outside and inside the forest to observe water and material dynamics during winter in a forested watershed in order to determine the effects of transboundary air pollutant inputs in a forested watershed in a warm, snow-covered region.