Does atmospheric nitrogen deposition lead to greater nitrogen and carbon accumulation in coastal sand dunes?
Aggenbach, C.J.S.; Kooijman, A.M.; Fujita, Y.; van der Hagen, H.; van Til, M.; Cooper, D.; Jones, L. (2017). Does atmospheric nitrogen deposition lead to greater nitrogen and carbon accumulation in coastal sand dunes? Biol. Conserv. 212(Part B): 416-422. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2016.12.007
In: Biological Conservation. Elsevier: Barking. ISSN 0006-3207; e-ISSN 1873-2917, more
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| Author keywords |
Dune grasslands; Succession; CENTURY model; Biological nitrogen fixation; Acidification; Plant diversity |
| Authors | | Top |
- Aggenbach, C.J.S., more
- Kooijman, A.M.
- Fujita, Y.
- van der Hagen, H.
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- van Til, M.
- Cooper, D.
- Jones, L.
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| Abstract |
Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition is thought to accelerate ecological succession, causing a loss of diversity in species-rich dune grasslands and hampering restoration goals. We tested whether elevated atmospheric N deposition results in faster accumulation of soil C and soil N, using three high-resolution chronosequences of up to 162 years in coastal sand dunes with contrasting N deposition and soil base status (high N deposition calcareous and acidic dunes in Luchterduinen, the Netherlands (LD) and low N deposition calcareous dunes in Newborough, UK (NB)). We also used the process model CENTURY to evaluate the relative contribution of N deposition, climate, and soil pH. In contrast to our hypothesis we found that accumulation of soil C and N was greatest at the low N deposition site NB. Model simulations indicated a negative interaction between high N deposition and symbiotic N2 fixation. From this we conclude that high N deposition suppresses and replaces N2 fixation as a key N source. High N deposition led to lower soil C:N only in the early stages of succession (< 20 years). The data also revealed accelerated acidification at high N deposition, which is a major concern for restoration of dune grasslands. More data are needed from acidic dunes from low N deposition areas to assess pH effects on soil C and N pools. Therefore, while N accumulation in soils may not be an issue, both acidification and plant community change due to elevated availability of mineral N remain major conservation problems. Restoration in degraded dune grasslands should focus on maintaining habitat suitability, rather than N removal from soil pools. |
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