Rapid regional recovery from sulfate and nitrate pollution in streams of the western Czech Republic – comparison to other recovering areas

Hydrochemical changes between 1991 and 2001 were assessed based on two synoptic stream surveys from the 820-km2 region of the Slavkov Forest and surrounding area, western Czech Republic. Marked declines of sulfate, nitrate, chloride, calcium and magnesium in surface waters were compared with other areas of Europe and North America recovering from acidification. Declines of sulfate concentration in the Slavkov Forest (−30 μeq L−1 yr−1) were more dramatic than declines reported from other sites. However, these dramatic declines of strong acid anions did not generate a widespread increase of stream water pH in the Slavkov Forest. Only the most acidic streams experienced a slight increase of pH by 0.5 unit. An unexpected decline of stream water pH occurred in slightly alkaline streams.