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
Citations
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Nitrogen deposition alters soil chemical properties and bacterial communities in the Inner Mongolia grassland.
Ximei Zhang,Xingguo Han +1 more
TL;DR: It is found that various characteristics of the bacterial community were explained by different environmental factors, and more sensitive molecular technologies should be adopted to detect the subtle shifts of microbial community structure induced by the changes of plant community upon nitrogen deposition.
Journal ArticleDOI
Phosphorus in seagull colonies and the effect on the habitats. The case of yellow-legged gulls (Larus michahellis) in the Atlantic Islands National Park (Galicia-NW Spain).
Xosé Luis Otero,Xosé Luis Otero,O. Tejada,M. Martín-Pastor,S. De La Peña,Tiago Osório Ferreira,Augusto Pérez-Alberti +6 more
TL;DR: The degree of P saturation indicated that soils are saturated with P due to the low concentration of Fe/Al-hydroxides, which is consistent with a high P concentration in the run-off from the colonies.
Journal ArticleDOI
Agricultural intensification and the functional capacity of soil microbes on smallholder African farms
Stephen A. Wood,Mark A. Bradford,Jack A. Gilbert,Krista L. McGuire,Cheryl A. Palm,Katherine L. Tully,Jizhong Zhou,Jizhong Zhou,Jizhong Zhou,Shahid Naeem +9 more
TL;DR: It is suggested that this type of agroforestry can be an important strategy for maintaining the long-term functional capacity of soil microbes as well as increasing crop yields on smallholder farms by combining mineral fertilizers with organic inputs.
Journal ArticleDOI
Vehicle NOx emission plume isotopic signatures: spatial variability across the eastern United States
TL;DR: In this article, a combination of on-road mobile and stationary urban measurements is performed using a field and laboratory-verified technique for actively capturing NOx in solution to quantify δ15N-NOx at hourly resolution.
Journal ArticleDOI
High fire-derived nitrogen deposition on central African forests.
Marijn Bauters,Travis W. Drake,Hans Verbeeck,Samuel Bodé,Pedro Hervé-Fernández,Phoebe Zito,David C. Podgorski,Faustin Boyemba,Isaac Ahanamungu Makelele,Landry Cizungu Ntaboba,Robert G. M. Spencer,Pascal Boeckx +11 more
TL;DR: Field-based N deposition data for forests of the central Congo Basin is presented, and ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry is used to characterize the organic N fraction, which shows that roughly half of the N deposition is organic, which is often ignored in N deposition measurements and simulations.
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