Atmospheric nitrogen leads to loss of plant diversity in sites across US
Rising levels of atmospheric nitrogen pollution threaten plant diversity at nearly one-quarter of sites across a widespread portion of the U.S., according a new study led by University of Colorado Boulder researchers.
The findings, which were published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, are the first to examine ecosystem-specific vulnerabilities to atmospheric nitrogen pollution on a continental scale.
Nitrogen plays an important role in biological processes and makes up a key element of fertilizer, but previous research has shown that it is possible for plants to get too much of a good thing. Global emissions of nitrogen to the atmosphere have tripled in the last century due to agriculture and industry, and elevated levels of nitrogen have been shown to cause environmental damage, including decreased plant species richness in experimental plots.
The study examined more than 15,000 forest, woodland, shrubland and grassland sites across the country, measuring the threshold at which nitrogen inputs become harmful to plants while also taking other environmental factors such as climate and soil conditions into account.
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-03-atmospheric-nitrogen-loss-diversity-sites.html#jCp
= new reply since forum marked as read
