Deposition of nitrogen and phosphorus on the Baltic Sea: seasonal patterns and nitrogen isotope composition

Rolff, Carl; Elmgren, Ragnar; Voß, Maren

doi:10.5194/bg-5-1657-2008

Cited by 52 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Eutrophication is one of the major environmental problems in the Baltic Sea, especially in coastal regions, and the main nitrogen sources are rivers and atmospheric deposition (Elmgren 2001, Voss et al 2006. The yearly nitrogen deposition in the central Baltic Sea was estimated to be 617 mg N m -2 yr -1 and composed of 10% organic N and approximately equal amounts of ammonium and nitrate, with an average δ 15 N = 2.0 ‰ (Rolff et al 2008). The yearly phosphorus deposition is much lower averaging 7.3 mg N m -2 yr -1…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of seabird nesting colonies on algae and aquatic invertebrates in coastal waters

Kolb

Ekholm²,

Hambäck³

2010

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Seabirds concentrate nutrients from large marine areas on their nesting islands. The high nutrient load may cause runoff into surrounding waters and affect marine communities in similar ways to those reported from marine fertilization experiments. In order to test if cormorant colonies affect algae and invertebrates in surrounding coastal waters, we collected Fucus vesiculosus fronds, its epiphytic algae, and associated invertebrate fauna near abandoned and active cormorant nesting islands as well as reference islands without nesting cormorants in the Stockholm archipelago in the northern Baltic Sea, Sweden. First, we showed, with δ 15 N analyses, that ornithogenic nitrogen provided a significant nitrogen source for algae and invertebrate consumers near islands with high nest density. Second, the nitrogen and phosphorus content of algae near active cormorant islands with high nest density was elevated, and epiphytic algae increased relative to F. vesiculosus. Third, 3 of 5 invertebrate taxa (Jaera albifrons, Gammarus spp., and Chironomidae) showed increased biomasses near islands with high nest density; but, contrary to former fertilization studies, only J. albifrons increased in abundance compared to reference islands. We conclude that runoff from seabird colonies has a profound effect on primary producers and some consumers in the surrounding water, but only if the colonies exceed a certain nest density. Thus, seabirds not only affect marine communities via top-town forces as commonly assumed, but also via bottom-up forces by concentrating nutrients around their nesting islands. Consequently, seabird islands can be seen as natural fertilization experiments and give important insights to the effects of eutrophication of marine systems.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of seabird nesting colonies on algae and aquatic invertebrates in coastal waters

Kolb

Ekholm²,

Hambäck³

2010

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…Additionally, regional deposition δ 15 N values consistently show strong seasonal variation (Elliott et al 2009, Jai and Chen 2010, Kundu et al 2010, Mara et al 2009, Rolff et al 2008 sometimes reaching values as high as 15 ‰ (Elliott et al 2009). Consequently, the assumption that deposition δ 15 N is sufficiently different from background ecosystem δ 15 N is not consistently warranted.…”

Section: Atmospheric Deposition Of Inorganic Nmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconstructing terrestrial nutrient cycling using stable nitrogen isotopes in wood

Gerhart

McLauchlan

2014

Biogeochemistry

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“…Phosphorus deposition data are generally rather scarce and fragmentary. For Northern Europe the levels are found to be in the range of 5-40 kg P km -2 year -1 (Anttila et al 1995;Pollman et al 2002;Ellermann et al 2003;Savchuk 2005 and references therein; Mahowald et al 2008;Rolff et al 2008). In the absence of more detailed information, we assumed in our reconstruction 15 kg P km -2 year -1 to have been invariably and evenly deposited over the entire Baltic Sea during 1970-2006.…”

Section: Estimate Of P Depositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Atmospheric Nutrient Input to the Baltic Sea from 1850 to 2006: A Reconstruction from Modeling Results and Historical Data

Ruoho-Airola

Eilola

Savchuk

et al. 2012

AMBIO

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In this study, a consistent basin-wise monthly time series of the atmospheric nutrient load to the Baltic Sea during 1850-2006 was compiled. Due to the lack of a long time series of nutrient deposition to the Baltic Sea, the data set was compiled by combining a time series of deposition data at the Baltic Nest Institute from 1970 to 2006, published historical monitoring data and deposition estimates, as well as recent modeled Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) emission estimates. The procedure for nitrogen compounds included estimation of the deposition in a few intermediate reference years, linear interpolation between them, and the decomposition of annual deposition into a seasonal deposition pattern. As no reliable monitoring results were found for the atmospheric deposition of phosphorus during the early period of our study, we used published estimates for the temporal and spatial pattern of the phosphorus load.

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Deposition of nitrogen and phosphorus on the Baltic Sea: seasonal patterns and nitrogen isotope composition

Cited by 52 publications

References 34 publications

Effects of seabird nesting colonies on algae and aquatic invertebrates in coastal waters

Effects of seabird nesting colonies on algae and aquatic invertebrates in coastal waters

Reconstructing terrestrial nutrient cycling using stable nitrogen isotopes in wood

Atmospheric Nutrient Input to the Baltic Sea from 1850 to 2006: A Reconstruction from Modeling Results and Historical Data

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