Change in the acid-base status of an Appalachian mountain catchment following forest defoliation by the gypsy moth

Infestation by the gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) can alter biogeochemical conditions in affected catchments. Stream-water concentration data obtained over the period of 1980-1993 for white Oak Run, a stream in Shenandoah National Park, Va., indicate that change in catchment acid-base status is associated with forest defoliation by the moth larva. Stream-water concentration changes following defoliation included increasing concentrations of strong-acid anions, base-cations, and hydrogen ion, as well as decreasing concentrations of acid-neutralization capacity (ANC) and sulfate. The largest change was in the concentration of nitrate; annual discharge-weighted mean concentrations increased from predefoliation levels consistently less than 5 mu eq L(-1) to postdefoliation levels greater than 50 mu eq L(-1). An intensification of acidification was indicated by record-high hydrogen ion concentrations and record-low ANC concentrations. The long-term biogeochemical implications of the infestation are uncertain due to the nonlinearity of the observed responses and unknown patterns of recovery and recurrence.