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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Journal ArticleDOI
Global negative effects of nitrogen deposition on soil microbes.
TL;DR: A global meta-analysis of paired observations from 151 studies suggests that atmospheric N deposition negatively affects soil microbial growth, composition, and function across all terrestrial ecosystems, with more pronounced effects with increasing N deposition rate and duration.
Book ChapterDOI
Terrestrial and Inland Water Systems
Josef Settele,Robert J. Scholes,Richard Betts,Stuart E. Bunn,Paul Leadley,Daniel C. Nepstad,Jonathan T. Overpeck,Miguel Angel Taboada,Rita Adrian,Craig D. Allen,William R. L. Anderegg,Céline Bellard,Paulo M. Brando,Louise Chini,Franck Courchamp,Wendy Foden,Dieter Gerten,Scott J. Goetz,Nicola Golding,Patrick Gonzalez,Ed Hawkins,Thomas Hickler,George C. Hurtt,Charles D. Koven,Josh Lawler,Heike Lischke,Georgina M. Mace,Melodie A. McGeoch,Camille Parmesan,Richard G. Pearson,Beatriz Rodríguez-Labajos,Carlo Rondinini,Rebecca Shaw,Stephen Sitch,Klement Tockner,Piero Visconti,Marten Winter +36 more
TL;DR: The topics assessed in this chapter were last assessed by the IPCC in 2007, principally in WGII AR4 Chapters 3 (Kundzewicz et al., 2007) and 4 (Fischlin et al, 2007), but also in this paper Sections 1.3.4 and 1.5 (Rosenzweig et al. 2007).
Journal ArticleDOI
Nitrogen deposition contributes to soil acidification in tropical ecosystems.
TL;DR: The results suggest that long-term N addition can contribute measurably to soil acidification, and that shortage of Ca and Mg should receive more attention than soil exchangeable Al in tropical forests with elevated N deposition in the future.
Journal ArticleDOI
Nitrogen deposition threatens species richness of grasslands across Europe
Carly J. Stevens,Cecilia Dupré,Edu Dorland,Cassandre Gaudnik,David J. G. Gowing,Albert Bleeker,Martin Diekmann,Didier Alard,Roland Bobbink,David Fowler,Emmanuel Corcket,J. Owen Mountford,Vigdis Vandvik,Per Arild Aarrestad,Serge Muller,Nancy B. Dise +15 more
TL;DR: The results of this survey suggest that the impacts of nitrogen deposition can be observed over a large geographical range, suggesting that to protect the most sensitive grasslands resources should be focussed where deposition is currently low.
Journal ArticleDOI
Combined effects of global change pressures on animal-mediated pollination
Juan P. González-Varo,Jacobus C. Biesmeijer,Riccardo Bommarco,Simon G. Potts,Oliver Schweiger,Henrik G. Smith,Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter,Hajnalka Szentgyörgyi,Michal Woyciechowski,Montserrat Vilà +9 more
TL;DR: Empirical evidence of the combined effects of global change pressures on pollination is focused on, highlighting gaps in current knowledge and future research needs.
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