Under Title IX of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, Congress reauthorized the National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program (NAPAP) to continue coordinating acid rain research and monitoring, as it had done during the previous decade, and to provide Congress with periodic reports In particular, Congress asked NAPAP to assess all available data and information to answer two questions: (1) What are the costs, benefits, and effectiveness of Title IV? This question addresses the costs and economic impacts of complying with the Acid Rain Program as well as benefit analyses associated with the various human health and welfare effects, including reduced visibility, damages to materials and cultural resources, and effects on ecosystems (2) What reductions in deposition rates are needed to prevent adverse ecological effects? This complex questions addresses ecological systems and the deposition levels at which they experience harmful effects The results of the assessment of the effects of Title IV and of the relationship between acid deposition rates and ecological effects were to be reported to Congress quadrennially, beginning with the 1996 report to Congress The objective of this Report is to address the two main questions posed by Congress and fully communicate the results of the assessment tomore » decision-makers Given the primary audience, most of this report is not written as a technical document, although information supporting the conclusions is provided along with references« less

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National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program Report to Congress: An Integrated Assessment

....................................................................................................................................... viii Chapter 1. Literature Review .......................................................................................................... 1 Background of Study Area: Allegheny Plateau .............................................................................. 1 Geology and Climate of Allegheny Plateau ............................................................................ 1 Soils of the Allegheny Plateau ................................................................................................ 2 History of Black Cherry and Nitrogen Deposition on the Allegheny Plateau ................................ 5 History of Nitrogen Deposition ............................................................................................... 8 The Nitrogen Cycle and Deposition ............................................................................................. 11 Changes in Black Cherry Vitality and Regeneration .................................................................... 13 Atmospheric Deposition Changes ................................................................................................. 17 Chapter 2. Manuscript: Nitrogen fertilizer effects on black cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrh) regeneration in Allegheny Hardwood Forests .............................................................................. 19 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 19 Methods......................................................................................................................................... 24 Site Establishment – Low N-Fertilized Sites ......................................................................... 24 Site Establishment –High N-Fertilized Areas ....................................................................... 25 Field Methods and Data Collection .............................................................................................. 26 Treatment – Low N-Fertilized Sites ...................................................................................... 26 Treatment – High N-Fertilized Areas ................................................................................... 26 Regeneration Measurements – Low N-Fertilized Sites ......................................................... 27 Regeneration Measurements – High N-fertilized Areas ....................................................... 27 iv Soil Measurements – Low N-Fertilized Sites ........................................................................ 27 Soil Measurements – High N-Fertilized Areas ..................................................................... 29 Overstory MeasurementsLow N-Fertilized Sites ................................................................ 29 Overstory Measurements – High N-Fertilized Areas ........................................................... 30 Experimental Design and Statistical Analyses ............................................................................. 31 Results ........................................................................................................................................... 31 Regeneration – Low N-Fertilized Sites ................................................................................. 32 Regeneration – High N-Fertilized Areas .............................................................................. 33 Soil Measurements – Low N-Fertilized Sites ........................................................................ 34 Soil Measurements – High N-Fertilized Areas ..................................................................... 35 Overstory MeasurementsLow N-Fertilized Sites ................................................................ 36 Overstory Measurements – High N-Fertilized Areas ........................................................... 37 Discussion ..................................................................................................................................... 37 Regeneration ......................................................................................................................... 37 Soil and Overstory ................................................................................................................ 40 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 44 References ..................................................................................................................................... 62 Appendix ....................................................................................................................................... 73 Vita ................................................................................................................................................ 86

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Nicolette Fruehan

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Nitrogen fertilizer effects on black cherry (prunus serotina ehrh) regeneration in allegheny hardwood forests