Temporal Oscillation and Losses of Three Carbon Forms in a Microcatchment of NW Spain

Long-term agricultural sustainability and water quality may be threatened by inadequate land management. Carbon (C) losses at the catchment scale largely depend on land use and management practices. In “Abelar” farm (A Coruña, NW Spain), swine slurry was directly discharged during a period of about 30 years onto agricultural maize fields and rangeland under cattle production. In 1998, the agricultural fields and rangeland were planted to stands of Eucalyptus globulus . The purpose of this work was to assess the concentrations and losses of total, inorganic, and organic carbon at the outlet of a small catchment (10.7 ha) in the period from March 2007 to December 2010. Nearly 190 water samples were collected; specifically eleven in 2007, sixty-eight in 2008, fifty-six in 2009, and fifty-three in 2010. Total runoff volumes from the catchment were also measured during the 3.7-year study period. Except for a peak recorded in November 2008, total carbon values (TC) ranged from 1.51 to 6.14 mg L ⁻¹, total inorganic carbon (TIC) varied between 0.54 and 3.30 mg L ⁻¹, and total organic carbon (TOC) was between 0.38 and 2.83 mg L ⁻¹; the exception was due to an occasional pig slurry discharge occurring in 2008, which drove the greatest values of the three carbon forms. The season of the year influenced concentrations of total, organic, and inorganic carbon. Total, organic, and inorganic carbon loads exported at the catchment outlet were estimated at the monthly and yearly time scales. Overall, 10 years after planting to the forest, dissolved and total carbon losses were rather small.