The impact of beaver impoundments on the water chemistry of two Appalachian streams

We measured the impacts of beaver impoundments on the water chemistry of two headwater streams on the Appalachian Plateau, an unnamed tributary to Herrington Creek (HR), and Mountain Run (MT). We measured acid-neutralizing capacity (ANC), pH, conductivity, discharge, temperature, and the concentrations of major ions, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and trace metals in stream water upstream and 1 m, 10 m, and 100 m downstream of the beaver impoundments and at two locations, 147 m apart, in a tributary to HR that did not contain a beaver impoundment. There were significant differences in water chemistry upstream and downstream of the beaver impoundments at both MT and HR, but these differences were generally confined to the summer. During the summer, both beaver impoundments generated ANC and increased pH by acting as sinks for NO3– and sources of NH4+, iron, and manganese. In addition, the beaver impoundment at MT was a sink for SO42– and the impoundment at HR was a source of DOC. The generation of ANC by beaver impoundments may be important to streams of this region where inputs of strong acids from atmospheric deposition are relatively high.