Dry and wet atmospheric deposition of nitrogen, phosphorus and silicon in an agricultural region

Abstract

We measured atmospheric nutrient deposition as wet deposition and dry deposition to dry and wet surfaces. Our analyses offer estimates of atmospheric transport of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and silicon (Si) in an agricultural region. Annual dry and wet deposition (ha −1 year −1 ) was 0.3 kg of P, 7.7 kg of N, and 6.1 kg of Si; lower than or similar to values seen in other landscapes. N:P and Si:N imply that atmospheric deposition enhances P and Si limitation. Most P and soluble reactive P (SRP) deposition occurred as dryfall and most dry-deposited P was SRP so would be more readily assimilable by plant life than rainfall P. Dry deposition of N to wet surfaces was several times greater than to dry surfaces, suggesting that ammonia (NH x ) gas absorbtion by water associated with wet surfaces is an important N transport mechanism. Deposition of all nutrients peaked when agricultural planting and fertilization were active; ratios of NH x :nitrate (NO x ) reflected the predominant use of NH x fertilizer. Wet deposition estimates were consistent over hundreds of km, but dry deposition estimates were influenced by animal confinements and construction. Precipitation wash-out of atmospheric nutrients was substantial but larger rain events yielded higher rates of wet deposition. Methodological results showed that local dust contaminated wet deposition more than dry; insects, bird droppings and leaves may have biased past deposition estimates; and estimating dry deposition to dry plastic buckets may underestimate annual deposition of N, especially NH x .

Chemical composition of wet deposits and drainage runoff in agroecosystems: the case of Middle Lithuania

“…This decrease is mainly due to the drastic drop in sulphate content in wet deposits and that is in accordance to the research results obtained in different countries (Anderson, Downing 2006;Hertel et al 2003;Schöpp et al 2003;Kopácek et al 1997;EMEP 2004;Matzner 1989) as well as in other places of Lithuania (Jasinevičienė, Šopauskienė 1999;Šopauskienė, Būdvytytė 1994Šopauskienė, Būdvytytė , 1996. For example, sulphate contents in wet deposits decrease almost twice from 1994 to 1998 in the monitoring stations of NPs Aukštaitija, Žemaitija and Dzūkija, the later changes up to 2003 are not significant (Augustaitis et al 2006).…”

Analysis of Decadal Time Series in Wet N Concentrations at Five Rural Sites in NE Spain

“…The general spring-summer increase at inland sites would reflect ammonia volatilisation from manure and fertilisers which are spread in the fields previous to maximum crop growth, usually in spring (Boixadera et al 2000). Similar spring maximum NH 4 + concentration related to agricultural activities has been reported elsewhere (Buishand et al 1988;Walker et al 2000;Anderson and Downing 2006). The coastal site of Begur presented the lowest farming activity, and correspondingly, its NH 4 + concentrations were the lowest and showed no significant seasonality (Table 2).…”

Comparative study of the growth and carbon sequestration potential of Bermuda grass in industrial and urban areas

“…Statistical analysis showed that dry deposition of nitrate and ammonium was higher than wet deposition throughout the year because of drier surface that attract more pollutants due to electrostatic charges (Anderson et al, 2006). The nitrate and ammonia major source of emission is vehicle, exhaust, coal combustion, fertilizer manufacturing, industrial process and burning of biomass (Li et al, 2013;Sutton et al, 2014).…”

“…Maximum wet deposition of ammonium and nitrate during high rainfall period obscured. Although lighter rain cleans the pollutants but heavy rainfall results in greater amount of deposit pollutants (Anderson et al, 2006). Significant increase of wet and dry deposition of nitrate was due to domestic heating, dry weather, low temperature and wind speed which led to more deposition of pollutants as these environmental condition does not allow the pollutants to transform into different compounds and diffuse (Li et al, 2013).…”