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To assess the impact of air pollution on forest ecosystems, the canopy is usually considered as a constant single layer in interaction with the atmosphere and incident rain, which could influence the measurement accuracy. In this study the variation of througfall deposition and derived dry deposition and canopy exchange were studied along a vertical gradient in the canopy of one European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) tree and two Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst) trees. Throughfall and net throughfall deposition of all ions other than H(+) increased significantly with canopy depth in the middle and lower canopy of the beech tree and in the whole canopy of the spruce trees. Moreover, throughfall and net throughfall of all ions in the spruce canopy decreased with increasing distance to the trunk. Dry deposition occurred mainly in the upper canopy and was highest during the growing season for H(+), NH(4)(+), NO(3)(-) and highest during the dormant season for Na(+), Cl(-), SO(4)(2-) (beech and spruce) and K(+), Ca(2+) and Mg(2+) (spruce only). Canopy leaching of K(+), Ca(2+) and Mg(2+) was observed at all canopy levels and was higher for the beech tree compared to the spruce trees. Canopy uptake of inorganic nitrogen and H(+) occurred mainly in the upper canopy, although significant canopy uptake was found in the middle canopy as well. Canopy exchange was always higher during the growing season compared to the dormant season. This spatial and temporal variation indicates that biogeochemical deposition models would benefit from a multilayer approach for shade-tolerant tree species such as beech and spruce., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This paper compares different vegetation types (coniferous and deciduous forest, grassed and pure heathland) in terms of input (throughfall deposition) and output (seepage flux) in a region with intermediate nitrogen load (+/-20kg Nha(-1)y(-1) via bulk precipitation) in comparable conditions in north Belgium. Coniferous forest (two plots Pinus sylvestris and two plots Pinus nigra) received significantly higher nitrogen and sulphur throughfall deposition than deciduous forest and heathland. Grassed and pure heathland had significantly highest throughfall quantities of Ca(2+) and Mg(2+), respectively. The observed differences in throughfall deposition between the different vegetation types were not univocally reflected in the ion seepage flux. Considerable seepage fluxes of NO(3)(-), SO(4)(2-), Ca(2+) and Al(III) were only found under the P. nigra plots. We discuss our hypothesis that the P. nigra forests already evolved to a situation of N saturation, while the other vegetation types did not.

Although the spatial variability of throughfall (TF) in forest ecosystems can have important ecological implications, little is known about the driving factors of within-stand TF variability, particularly in deciduous forests. While the spatial variability of TF water amount and H+ deposition under a dominant beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) tree was significantly higher in the leafed period than in the leafless period, the spatial TF deposition patterns of most major ions were similar in both periods. The semiannual TF depositions of all ions other than H+ were significantly positively correlated (r=0.68-0.90, p<0.05) with canopy structure above sample locations throughout the entire year. The amounts of TF water and H+ deposition during the leafed period were negatively correlated with branch cover. We conclude that the spatial heterogeneity of ion deposition under beech was significantly affected by leaves in the growing period and by branches in non-foliated conditions.