Forest regeneration operations increase the concentration of nitrogen (N) in watercourses especially outside the growing season when traditional biological water protection methods are inefficient. Biochar adsorption-based water treatment could be a solution for nutrient retention. We studied the total nitrogen (TN) and nitrate–nitrogen (NO₃⁻–N) adsorption–desorption properties of spruce and birch biochar. The adsorption test was performed under four different initial concentrations of TN (1, 2, 3, and 4 mg L⁻¹) using forest runoff water collected from ditch drains of boreal harvested peatland. The results showed that the TN adsorption amount increased linearly from the lowest to the highest concentration. The maximum adsorption capacity was 2.4 and 3.2 times greater in the highest concentration (4 mg L⁻¹) compared to the lowest concentration (1 mg L⁻¹) in spruce and birch biochar, respectively. The NO₃⁻–N adsorption amount of birch biochar increased linearly from 0 to 0.15 mg NO₃⁻–N g biochar⁻¹ when the initial concentration of NO₃⁻–N increased from 0.2 to 1.4 mg L⁻¹. However, in spruce biochar, the initial concentration did not affect NO₃⁻–N adsorption amount. The results indicate that concentration significantly affects the biochar’s capacity to adsorb N from water. The desorption test was performed by adding biochar extracted from the adsorption test into the forest runoff water with low TN concentration (0.2 or 0.35 mg L⁻¹). The desorption results showed that desorption was negligibly small, and it was dependent on the TN concentration for birch biochar. Therefore, biochar can be a complementary method supporting water purification in peatland areas.

Forest is an important vegetation type on the globe, and clearcutting is the main forest management method. This paper presents a process-based model developed to project the impact of forest growth and clearcutting on dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and total mercury (THg) export from forest-dominated watersheds over two forest-growing cycles. The modelling of THg is based on the observation that THg export from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems occurs with the binding and subsequent in-stream transport of THg by DOC. From the results generated with the integrated model, DOC and THg export follows two main trends; (i) a multiple-year trend, associated with forest harvesting and re-growth patterns over the lifetime of the forest, and (ii) an annual trend, associated with the seasonal dynamics in forest litter production and decomposition. During a forest rotation, DOC and THg concentration decreases following clearcutting, reaches a minimum at about 15 years after forest regeneration and then gradually increases with forest ageing. Large debris pools left on site following clearcutting can provide a significant pulse in DOC production and within-watershed THg export during the first 2–3 years after harvest. In a single year, the integrated model predicts that DOC- and THg-concentration peaks after leaf fall in autumn, decreases to a minimum in April, increases to another maximum in June and finally decreases to a second minimum just before leaf fall. This seasonal cycle is repeated every year. Conifer species and wetland-dominated watersheds are anticipated to release a greater amount of DOC and THg to aquatic ecosystems than deciduous and dryland-dominated watersheds. The long-term and seasonal DOC production is consistent with field measurements.

In order to restore the forest ecosystem in the vicinity of an industrial park, Ulsan, southeastern Korea, which has been heavily acidified by air pollution, a preliminary experiment by applying tolerant plants selected through several procedures, and dolomite and sewage sludge as soil ameliorators was carried out. Furthermore, a restoration based on the results was executed and the effects were evaluated based on the creation of safe sites, where new species can establish: regeneration of the forest with species similar in composition to the natural vegetation of native forests that are distant from the industrial park; increase in species diversity. In a preliminary study, the necessity of soil amelioration was diagnosed. Quercus serrata, Alnus firma and Ligustrum japonicum, which represent for tree, subtree, and shrub layers of vegetation in this region, were used as sample plants. Dolomite, sludge, and a mixture of both materials were applied as soil ameliorators. Bare ground (BG), and two grasslands dominated by forbs (GF) and grass (GG), respectively were designated as experimental plots based on a vegetation map of the corresponding area. BG and GF plots, which have lower organic matter contents, increased the growth of sample plants in response to soil amelioration, whereas that with higher contents, GG plot, did not show this response. The result suggests that necessity of soil amelioration depends on site quality. The effects of soil amelioration depended also on the sample plants. This difference is due to an ecological property of A. firma, which can fix atmospheric nitrogen through a symbiotic relationship with actinomycetic fungi. This result implies that this alder could be used as a substitute for soil ameliorators in restoration plan of this area. The height and standing crop of undergrowth, which forms dense grass mat and thereby impedes establishment of new plants, decreased in the restored stands. Such a decrease in the height and biomass of undergrowth could be recognized as providing safe sites, in which the other plants can invade, by removing the dense carpet formed by Miscanthus sinensis. The results of stand ordination showed a progression of the former bare grounds to either M. sinensis (GG) or Pueraria thunbergiana (GF) stands, suggesting a natural recovery through succession toward the stands dominated by both plants. But the change was not progressed beyond the grassland stage. Active restoration practice, which was carried out by applying tolerant plants, however, led to a change toward species composition similar to the natural vegetation before devastation. Furthermore, restored stands reflected the restoration effect by showing higher diversity than the stands in the degraded state. These results showed that the restorative treatment carried out by introducing tolerant plants functioned toward increasing both biological integrity and ecological stability and thereby could meet the restoration goal.