Proton production from nitrogen transformation drives stream export of base cations in acid-sensitive forested watersheds

The biogeochemical cycles of nitrogen (N) and base cations (BCs), (i.e., K+, Na+, Ca2+, and Mg2+), play critical roles in plant nutrition and ecosystem function. Empirical correlations between large experimental N fertilizer additions to forest ecosystems and increased BCs loss in stream water are well demonstrated, but the mechanisms driving this coupling remain poorly understood. We hypothesized that protons generated through N transformation (PPRN)—quantified as the balance of NH4+ (H+ source) and NO3− (H+ sink) in precipitation versus the stream output will impact BCs loss in acid-sensitive ecosystems. To test this hypothesis, we monitored precipitation input and stream export of inorganic N and BCs for three years in an acid-sensitive forested watershed in a granite area of subtropical China. We found the precipitation input of inorganic N (17.71 kg N ha−1 year−1 with 54% as NH4+–N) was considerably higher than stream exported inorganic N (5.99 kg N ha−1 year−1 with 83% as NO3−–N), making the watershed a net N sink. The stream export of BCs (151, 1518, 851, and 252 mol ha−1 year−1 for K+, Na+, Ca2+, and Mg2+, respectively) was positively correlated (r = 0.80, 0.90, 0.84, and 0.84 for K+, Na+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ on a monthly scale, respectively, P < 0.001, n = 36) with PPRN (389 mol ha−1 year−1) over the three years, suggesting that PPRN drives loss of BCs in the acid-sensitive ecosystem. A global meta-analysis of 15 watershed studies from non-calcareous ecosystems further supports this hypothesis by showing a similarly strong correlation between ∑BCs output and PPRN (r = 0.89, P < 0.001, n = 15), in spite of the pronounced differences in environmental settings. Collectively, our results suggest that N transformations rather than anions (NO3− and/or SO42−) leaching specifically, are an important mediator of BCs loss in acid-senstive ecosystems. Our study provides the first definitive evidence that the chronic N deposition and subsequent transformation within the watershed drive stream export of BCs through proton production in acid-sensitive ecosystems, irrespective of their current relatively high N retention. Our findings suggest the N-transformation-based proton production can be used as an indicator of watershed outflow quality in the acid-sensitive ecosystems.