Field and Laboratory Quality Assurance/Quality Control Protocols and Accomplishments for the Fernow Experimental Forest Watershed Acidification Study

摘要

In 1987, the USDA Forest Service and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency began a cooperative study on the Fernow Experimental Forest in north-central West Virginia to attempt to artifically acidify a watershed by elevating nitrogen and sulfur inputs using ammonium sulfate fertilizer. Experimental methods included a paired watershed approach whereby one watershed was treated with the ammonium sulfate and another retained as a control. Responses of stream water and soil leachate chemistry to treatment were the principal parameters studied. The purpose of the paper is to describe the extensive quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) procedures and protocols implemented to maximize data quality.