Critical loads of nitrogen deposition and critical levels of atmospheric ammonia for semi-natural Mediterranean evergreen woodlands

Pinho, P.; Theobald, M.R.; Dias, T.; Tang, Y.S.; Cruz, C.; Martins-Loucao, M.A.; Maguas, C.; Sutton, M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6263-6341; Branquinho, C.. 2012 Critical loads of nitrogen deposition and critical levels of atmospheric ammonia for semi-natural Mediterranean evergreen woodlands. Biogeosciences, 9 (3). 1205-1215. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-9-1205-2012

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Official URL: http://www.biogeosciences.net/9/1205/2012/bg-9-120...

Abstract/Summary

Nitrogen (N) has emerged in recent years as a key factor associated with global changes, with impacts on biodiversity, ecosystems functioning and human health. In order to ameliorate the effects of excessive N, safety thresholds such as critical loads (deposition fluxes) and levels (concentrations) can be established. Few studies have assessed these thresholds for semi-natural Mediterranean ecosystems. Our objective was therefore to determine the critical loads of N deposition and long-term critical levels of atmospheric ammonia for semi-natural Mediterranean evergreen woodlands. We have considered changes in epiphytic lichen communities, one of the most sensitive comunity indicators of excessive N in the atmosphere. Based on a classification of lichen species according to their tolerance to N we grouped species into response functional groups, which we used as a tool to determine the critical loads and levels. This was done for a Mediterranean climate in evergreen cork-oak woodlands, based on the relation between lichen functional diversity and modelled N deposition for critical loads and measured annual atmospheric ammonia concentrations for critical levels, evaluated downwind from a reduced N source (a cattle barn). Modelling the highly significant relationship between lichen functional groups and annual atmospheric ammonia concentration showed the critical level to be below 1.9 μg m−3, in agreement with recent studies for other ecosystems. Modelling the highly significant relationship between lichen functional groups and N deposition showed that the critical load was lower than 26 kg (N) ha−1 yr−1, which is within the upper range established for other semi-natural ecosystems. Taking into account the high sensitivity of lichen communities to excessive N, these values should aid development of policies to protect Mediterranean woodlands from the initial effects of excessive N.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-9-1205-2012
Programmes:	CEH Topics & Objectives 2009 - 2012 > Biogeochemistry
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Billett (to November 2013)
ISSN:	1726-4170
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
NORA Subject Terms:	Atmospheric Sciences
Date made live:	19 Dec 2012 12:30 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/20843

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-9-1205-2012

Programmes:

CEH Topics & Objectives 2009 - 2012 > Biogeochemistry

UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:

Billett (to November 2013)

ISSN:

1726-4170

Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

NORA Subject Terms:

Atmospheric Sciences

Date made live:

19 Dec 2012 12:30 +0 (UTC)

URI:

https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/20843