Negative impact of nitrogen deposition on soil buffering capacity

The composition, spatial patterns, and influencing factors of atmospheric wet nitrogen deposition in Chinese terrestrial ecosystems

“…It was estimated that the production of reactive N increased from 15 Tg N in 1860 to 156 Tg N in 1995, with a further increase up to 187 Tg N in 2005 (Galloway et al, 2008). On the one hand, atmospheric N deposition has a positive effect on maintaining plant productivity of terrestrial ecosystems through enhancing the N availability (Fleischer et al, 2013;Reay et al, 2008;Thomas et al, 2010;Ti et al, 2012); on the other hand, excessive N deposition has negative impacts on ecosystem health and services, such as N saturation (Aber et al, 1989;Kopacek et al, 2013), soil acidification (Bowman et al, 2008;Maljanen et al, 2013;Vitousek et al, 1997), and loss of biodiversity (Bobbink et al, 2010;Stevens et al, 2004).…”

Consequence of altered nitrogen cycles in the coupled human and ecological system under changing climate: The need for long-term and site-based research

“…N-C-P interactions in soil vary among biomes. Where P limits primary production, such as in some tropical ecosystems or acid alpine grasslands, increases in N deposition may have little impact on productivity (Matson et al 1999), a finding that has recently been documented by field experiments at ILTER sites (Bowman et al 2008;Cusack et al 2011). In both N-and P-limited tundra ecosystems, C fluxes were found to respond positively to additions of both elements, although responses to P tended to be stronger than to N (Shaver et al 1998).…”

“…Bowman et al (2008) reported that long-term acid deposition in the Western Tatra Mountains of Slovakia, central Europe has altered soil systems in alpine grasslands to an extreme level of acidification usually associated with soils exposed to acid mine drainage. They showed that increases in N deposition had resulted in a depletion of base cations, increases in aluminum (Al) and extractable iron (Fe) in soil, and a reduction in the biomass of vascular plants associated with a decrease in shoot calcium and magnesium concentrations.…”

“…They showed that increases in N deposition had resulted in a depletion of base cations, increases in aluminum (Al) and extractable iron (Fe) in soil, and a reduction in the biomass of vascular plants associated with a decrease in shoot calcium and magnesium concentrations. They suggested that acidifying soils in central Europe have reached an unprecedented level of toxicity in which Al release into soil water has been superseded by Fe release (Bowman et al 2008).…”

Evident elevation of atmospheric monoterpenes due to degradation-induced species changes in a semi-arid grassland

“…This might be caused by high isoprene emission that can increase isoprene concentration from 0 to 100 μg m −3 within 20 s based on the emission rate. Recently, growing evidence showed that isoprene emission from sedge in high-latitude wetlands was unexpectedly high (Ekberg et al, 2009;Faubert et al, 2010;Holst et al, 2010;Patrick et al, 2011;Tiiva et al, 2007aTiiva et al, , 2007b and that nitrogen deposition significantly and quickly increased sedge coverage in grassland (Bassin et al, 2007;Bowman et al, 2008) because sedge grows well in acidic soil. Moreover, our diurnal observation showed that sedge (C. korshinskyi Kom) in semi-arid grassland emitted isoprene at a high rate (N 9 mg m −2 h −1 ) compared to boreal wetlands, possibly due to drought and high temperature (N 25°C).…”