Controls of Catchment Response to Anthropogenic Nitrogen Deposition:
A Trans-Atlantic Synthesis
Christine Goodale1, Lead Principal Investigator,
Nancy Dise2 and Gary Lovett3, Co-Investigators
Project Summary
The deposition of nitrogen (N) fixed by human activities onto downwind terrestrial ecosystems can have a range of adverse impacts, marked most often by increased losses of nitrate in drainage waters. However, rates of nitrate loss can vary greatly within regions that receive comparable rates of N deposition. A range of factors have been identified as possible controls, including: tree species composition, successional status and disturbance history, soil C:N ratio and pH, climate, and streamflow. Although several independent efforts in both Europe and North America have examined one or more of these factors within local- or regional- datasets, the relative importance of each factor remains uncertain, in part because of constraints of sample size (number of sites). We propose to bring together new and existing datasets on nitrogen inputs and losses for an estimated total of 600-1000 sites across the northeastern U.S., Canada, and Europe. The synthesis will allow powerful new statistical analyses to identify (1) whether Northeastern forests are more or less sensitive to N deposition than temperate ecosystems elsewhere, and (2) whether there are universal quantitative thresholds of ecosystem response to N deposition (e.g., constant thresholds of N deposition rate, soil C:N value, streamflow rate, etc.). This project’s data synthesis and accompanying workshop will increase data sharing and communication both within and across the Northeast U.S., Canada, and Europe. Quantitatively determining which site factors most affect regional nitrate export is important for projecting the future state of N saturation in forest ecosystems, for estimating export of nitrate from headwater to downstream ecosystems, and for management efforts at mitigation.
The project begins Sept. 1, 2005 with support provided by the USDA Forest Service through the Northeastern States Research Cooperative (NSRC; http://www.uvm.edu/envnr/nsrc ).
| 1 Cornell University
Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology E215 Corson Hall Ithaca, NY 14853 phone: 607 254-4211 fax: 607 255-8088 email: clg33@cornell.edu | 2 The Open University
United Kingdom; and Department of Biology Villanova University Villanova, PA 19085, USA email: nancy.dise@villanova.edu
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3 Institute of Ecosystem Studies Box AB Millbrook, NY, 12545, USA email: lovettg@ecostudies.org
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Last Updated
15 Aug 2006 by DPS