Sulfur constituents in soils and streams of a watershed in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta

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Abstract
Sulfur constituents of soils and streams were measured in the Marmot Basin watershed of the Rocky Mountains (Alberta). Total S in the soils ranged from 2.5 to 49.8 μmol/g dry mass; carbon-bonded S and ester sulfate were the dominant S constituents (67–86 and 5–32% of total S, respectively), with sulfate ranging from 0.1 to 8.1% of total S. Organic S was 12–21% of total S in stream waters. High concentrations of sulfate (93–355 μmol/L), Ca (763–1075 μmol/L), Mg (387–765 μmol/L), and C (1930–4160 μmol/L) in streams were due to mineral weathering. Atmospheric inputs of S at Marmot Creek were much less important than in forest ecosystems subject to acidic deposition. A tentative budget demonstrated the importance of weathering and organic S in this watershed. Analysis of one tributary (Middle Creek) along an elevation gradient indicated that a portion of the sulfate was retained within the terrestrial portion of the ecosystem in organic forms. The dynamics of these organic S constituents exert a major influence on S flux in some forest ecosystems as a result of their role in mineralization and immobilization processes.

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