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
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems
Walter C. Willett,Johan Rockström,Johan Rockström,Brent Loken,Marco Springmann,Tim Lang,Sonja J. Vermeulen,Sonja J. Vermeulen,Tara Garnett,David Tilman,David Tilman,Fabrice DeClerck,Fabrice DeClerck,Amanda Wood,Malin Jonell,Michael Clark,Line Gordon,Jessica Fanzo,Corinna Hawkes,Rami Zurayk,Juan A Rivera,Wim de Vries,Lindiwe Majele Sibanda,Ashkan Afshin,Abhishek Chaudhary,Abhishek Chaudhary,Mario Herrero,Rina Agustina,Francesco Branca,Anna Lartey,Shenggen Fan,Beatrice Crona,Elizabeth L. Fox,Victoria Bignet,Max Troell,Max Troell,Therese Lindahl,Therese Lindahl,Sudhvir Singh,Sarah Cornell,K. Srinath Reddy,Sunita Narain,Sania Nishtar,Christopher J L Murray +43 more
TL;DR: Food in the Anthropocene : the EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems focuses on meat, fish, vegetables and fruit as sources of protein.
Journal ArticleDOI
The global nitrogen cycle in the twenty-first century
David Fowler,Mhairi Coyle,Ute Skiba,Mark A. Sutton,J. Neil Cape,Stefan Reis,Lucy J. Sheppard,Alan Jenkins,Bruna Grizzetti,James N. Galloway,Peter M. Vitousek,Allison M. Leach,Alexander F. Bouwman,Klaus Butterbach-Bahl,Frank Dentener,David Stevenson,Marcus Amann,Maren Voss +17 more
TL;DR: In the ocean, the lifetime of Nr is less well known but seems to be longer than in terrestrial ecosystems and may represent an important long-term source of N2O that will respond very slowly to control measures on the sources of NR from which it is produced.
Journal ArticleDOI
Human-induced nitrogen–phosphorus imbalances alter natural and managed ecosystems across the globe
Josep Peñuelas,Benjamin Poulter,Jordi Sardans,Philippe Ciais,Marijn van der Velde,Laurent Bopp,Olivier Boucher,Yves Goddéris,Philippe Hinsinger,Joan Llusià,Elise Nardin,Sara Vicca,Michael Obersteiner,Ivan A. Janssens +13 more
TL;DR: It is shown that limited phosphorus and nitrogen availability are likely to jointly reduce future carbon storage by natural ecosystems during this century and if phosphorus fertilizers cannot be made increasingly accessible, the crop yields projections of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment imply an increase of the nutrient deficit in developing regions.
Journal ArticleDOI
Lost food, wasted resources: global food supply chain losses and their impacts on freshwater, cropland, and fertiliser use
TL;DR: If the lowest loss and waste percentages achieved in any region in each step of the FSC could be reached globally, food supply losses could be halved and there would be enough food for approximately one billion extra people.
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.
References
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
The global exposure of forests to air pollutants
David Fowler,J. Neil Cape,Mhairi Coyle,Chris Flechard,Johan C.I. Kuylenstierna,Kevin Hicks,Dick Derwent,Colin E. Johnson,David Stevenson +8 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compared pollution inputs to moorland and forest using measured ambient concentrations from an unpolluted site in southern Scotland and a more polluted site in south eastern Germany.
Journal ArticleDOI
Effects of Nitrogen Deposition on Insect Herbivory: Implications for Community and Ecosystem Processes
TL;DR: Deposition-induced changes in plant–herbivore relationships may affect community and ecosystem processes, and it is predicted that the larger-scale consequences of interactions between N deposition and herbivory will vary based on site-specific factors.
Journal ArticleDOI
Soil amino acid turnover dominates the nitrogen flux in permafrost-dominated taiga forest soils
David L. Jones,Knut Kielland +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the fundamental underlying mechanisms which control N availability in these soils with particular reference to the dynamics of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and found that in these highly organic and low pH soils, soluble N is dominated by organic forms with correspondingly low concentrations of ammonium and nitrate.
Journal ArticleDOI
Responses of a subarctic dwarf shrub heath community to simulated environmental change
TL;DR: A dwarf shrub heath in subarctic Sweden was subjected to factorial manipulation of air temperature, water and nutrient supply for 5 years, with nutrient addition eliciting the greatest response, followed by temperature, with water exerting little measurable influence.
Related Papers (5)
Global biodiversity scenarios for the year 2100.
Osvaldo E. Sala,F. S. Chapin,Juan J. Armesto,Eric L. Berlow,Janine Bloomfield,Rodolfo Dirzo,E Huber-Sanwald,Laura Foster Huenneke,Robert B. Jackson,Ann P. Kinzig,Rik Leemans,David M. Lodge,Harold A. Mooney,Martín Oesterheld,N L Poff,Martin T. Sykes,Brian Walker,Marilyn D. Walker,Diana H. Wall +18 more