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
TLDR
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.Abstract:
Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition is a recognized threat to plant diversity in temperate and northern parts of Europe and North America. This paper assesses evidence from field experiments for N deposition effects and thresholds for terrestrial plant diversity protection across a latitudinal range of main categories of ecosystems, from arctic and boreal systems to tropical forests. Current thinking on the mechanisms of N deposition effects on plant diversity, the global distribution of G200 ecoregions, and current and future (2030) estimates of atmospheric N-deposition rates are then used to identify the risks to plant diversity in all major ecosystem types now and in the future. This synthesis paper clearly shows that N accumulation is the main driver of changes to species composition across the whole range of different ecosystem types by driving the competitive interactions that lead to composition change and/or making conditions unfavorable for some species. Other effects such as direct toxicity of nitrogen gases and aerosols, long-term negative effects of increased ammonium and ammonia availability, soil-mediated effects of acidification, and secondary stress and disturbance are more ecosystem- and site-specific and often play a supporting role. N deposition effects in mediterranean ecosystems have now been identified, leading to a first estimate of an effect threshold. Importantly, 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. Critical loads are effect thresholds for N deposition, and the critical load concept has helped European governments make progress toward reducing N loads on sensitive ecosystems. More needs to be done in Europe and North America, especially for the more sensitive ecosystem types, including several ecosystems of high conservation importance. The results of this assessment show that the vulnerable regions outside Europe and North America which have not received enough attention are ecoregions in eastern and southern Asia (China, India), an important part of the mediterranean ecoregion (California, southern Europe), and in the coming decades several subtropical and tropical parts of Latin America and Africa. Reductions in plant diversity by increased atmospheric N deposition may be more widespread than first thought, and more targeted studies are required in low background areas, especially in the G200 ecoregions.read more
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A spatial analysis of integrated risk: vulnerability of ecosystem services provisioning to different hazards in the Czech Republic
TL;DR: In this article, the authors proposed an integrated risk index for ecosystem service provisioning in the Czech Republic based on the most significant hazards, such as water quality, nitrogen deposition, erosion, floods, invasive species, urbanisation and contaminated sites.
Journal ArticleDOI
Time- and age-related effects of experimentally simulated nitrogen deposition on the functioning of montane heathland ecosystems
Javier Calvo-Fernández,Angela Taboada,Andreas Fichtner,Werner Härdtle,Leonor Calvo,Elena Marcos +5 more
TL;DR: The results highlighted that accounting for the N-input load and duration, as well as the developmental stage of the vegetation, is important for assessing the effects of added N, particularly at the heathlands' southern distribution limit.
Journal ArticleDOI
Effects of nitrogen deposition on soil sulfur cycling
TL;DR: Based on a meta-analysis and a lab N addition experiment, the authors showed that N addition significantly suppresses the activity of soil arylsulfatase, which is a major enzyme involved in the mineralization of organic S.
Controls on soil solution nitrogen along an altitudinal gradient in the Scottish uplands
TL;DR: Soil carbon stock, soil solution dissolved organic carbon and factors representing site hydrology were the best predictors of NO(3)(-) concentration, with highest concentrations at low productivity sites with low DOC and freely-draining soils, and therefore support the hypothesis that spatial variations in soil solution NO( 3)(-) are controlled by habitat N retention capacity.
Journal ArticleDOI
The effect of nitrogen deposition on the vegetation of wet heathlands
TL;DR: The statistical modelling of joint species abundance is a potentially powerful tool to understand the effect of the alteration of nitrogen dynamics on community composition, and is essential to design management practices aligned with the predicted effects of varying levels of nitrogen deposition on community structure.
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