Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-185
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-185
06 Jun 2025
 | 06 Jun 2025
Status: this preprint is currently under review for the journal ESSD.

Long-term hourly stream-water flux data to study the effects of forest management on solute transport processes at the catchment scale

Heye Reemt Bogena, Frank Herrmann, Andreas Lücke, Thomas Pütz, and Harry Vereecken

Abstract. A substantial body of knowledge concerning the functioning of catchments has been derived from the quantification of solute and suspended matter fluxes in rivers. The Wüstebach catchment is a hydrological observatory that is part of the German TERENO (Terrestrial Environmental Observatories) network. In 2013, the Eifel National Park undertook a partial deforestation of the spruce forest with the objective of facilitating the regrowth of a natural forest. This data paper presents 16 years of estimated hourly stream-water flux data of nine continuously monitored macro- and micronutrients, as well as dissolved ionic aluminum and dissolved organic carbon (DOC), along with the measured solute concentrations and discharge rates observed in the Wüstebach catchment (from 2010 to 2024).

To estimate hourly stream-water fluxes from weekly manual grab samples and event autosampler data, we employed the R software package LOADFLEX, which implements a number of solute prediction methods, including regressions, interpolations, the period-weighted approach, and the more recently developed composite method. A comparison of the predicted nitrate concentrations with hourly nitrate reference data was conducted to assess the optimal prediction approach for the Wüstebach catchment. The analysis showed that the composite model is best suited to calculate the nitrate fluxes. Accordingly, this model was selected to calculate the fluxes of all considered macro- and micronutrients, dissolved aluminum and DOC. Flux data were compiled in the same way for a neighboring reference catchment with similar characteristics but without clear-cutting, in order to identify the effects of deforestation and afforestation on the cycling and transport of nutrients. We anticipate that this comprehensive data set will facilitate new insights into the influence of deforestation and afforestation on solute fluxes at the catchment scale. The dataset, entitled “Wüstebach data paper: Long-term hourly solute flux data 2010–2024”, is shared via Forschungszentrum Jülich: https://doi.org/10.26165/JUELICH-DATA/AKAMNQ (Bogena and Herrmann, 2025).

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Heye Reemt Bogena, Frank Herrmann, Andreas Lücke, Thomas Pütz, and Harry Vereecken

Status: open (until 13 Jul 2025)

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Heye Reemt Bogena, Frank Herrmann, Andreas Lücke, Thomas Pütz, and Harry Vereecken

Data sets

Wüstebach data paper: Long-term hourly solute flux data 2010-2024 Heye Bogena and Frank Herrmann https://doi.org/10.26165/JUELICH-DATA/AKAMNQ

Heye Reemt Bogena, Frank Herrmann, Andreas Lücke, Thomas Pütz, and Harry Vereecken
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Short summary
The Wüstebach catchment in Germany’s TERENO network underwent partial deforestation in 2013 to support natural regrowth in Eifel National Park. This data paper presents 16 years (2010–2024) of estimated hourly stream-water flux data for nine macro- and micronutrients, dissolved ionic aluminum, and dissolved organic carbon, along with measured solute concentrations and discharge rates from two stations—one affected by clear-cutting and one unaffected.
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