Ecological Effects of Nitrogen Deposition in the Western United States
Mark E. Fenn,Jill S. Baron,Edith B. Allen,Heather M. Rueth,Koren R. Nydick,Linda H. Geiser,William D. Bowman,James O. Sickman,James O. Sickman,Thomas Meixner,Dale W. Johnson,Peter Neitlich +11 more
TLDR
In the western United States vast acreages of land are exposed to low levels of atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition, with interspersed hotspots of elevated N deposition downwind of large, expanding metropolitan centers or large agricultural operations.Abstract:
In the western United States vast acreages of land are exposed to low levels of atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition, with interspersed hotspots of elevated N deposition downwind of large, expanding metropolitan centers or large agricultural operations. Biological response studies in western North America demonstrate that some aquatic and terrestrial plant and microbial communities are significantly altered by N deposition. Greater plant productivity is counterbalanced by biotic community changes and deleterious effects on sensitive organisms (lichens and phytoplankton) that respond to low inputs of N (3 to 8 kilograms N per hectare per year). Streamwater nitrate concentrations are elevated in high-elevation catchments in Colorado and are unusually high in southern California and in some chaparral catchments in the southwestern Sierra Nevada. Chronic N deposition in the West is implicated in increased fire frequency in some areas and habitat alteration for threatened species. Between hotspots, N deposition is too low to cause noticeable effects or has not been studied.read more
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The Nitrogen Cascade
James N. Galloway,John D. Aber,Jan Willem Erisman,Sybil P. Seitzinger,Robert W. Howarth,Ellis B. Cowling,B. Jack Cosby +6 more
TL;DR: The only way to eliminate Nr accumulation and stop the cascade is to convert Nr back to nonreactive N2, which leads to lag times in the continuation of the cascade.
Journal ArticleDOI
Global assessment of nitrogen deposition effects on terrestrial plant diversity: a synthesis.
Roland Bobbink,Kevin Hicks,James N. Galloway,Till Spranger,Rob Alkemade,Mike Ashmore,Mercedes M. C. Bustamante,Steve Cinderby,Eric A. Davidson,Frank Dentener,Bridget A. Emmett,Jan Willem Erisman,Mark E. Fenn,Frank S. Gilliam,Annika Nordin,Linda H. Pardo,W. de Vries +16 more
TL;DR: Ecosystems thought of as not N limited, such as tropical and subtropical systems, may be more vulnerable in the regeneration phase, in situations where heterogeneity in N availability is reduced by atmospheric N deposition, on sandy soils, or in montane areas.
BookDOI
Global Energy Assessment: Toward a Sustainable Future
TL;DR: The Global Energy Assessment (GEA) as mentioned in this paper brings together over 300 international researchers to provide an independent, scientifically based, integrated and policy-relevant analysis of current and emerging energy issues and options.
Journal ArticleDOI
A theoretical model of litter decay and microbial interaction
TL;DR: This guild-based decomposition model (GDM) includes the interactions of holocellulose and lignin, manifest as mutual feedback controls on microbial-based activities, and includes N limitations on early stages of litter decay resulting from nutritional demands of microorganisms and N inhibition on late stages of pollution-induced degradation.
Journal ArticleDOI
Shifts in Lake N:P Stoichiometry and Nutrient Limitation Driven by Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition
James J. Elser,Tom Andersen,Jill S. Baron,Ann-Kristin Bergström,Mats Jansson,Mareia Kyle,Koren R. Nydick,Laura Steger,Dag O. Hessen +8 more
TL;DR: It is shown that atmospheric N deposition increased the stoichiometric ratio of N and phosphorus in lakes in Norway, Sweden, and Colorado, United States, and, as a result, patterns of ecological nutrient limitation were shifted.
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