Granath, Gustaf
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- McMaster University
Abstract
To quantify potential nitrogen (N) deposition impacts on peatland carbon (C) uptake, we explored temporal and spatial trends in N deposition and climate impacts on the production of the key peat forming functional group (Sphagnum mosses) across European peatlands for the period 1900-2050. Using a modelling approach we estimated that between 1900 and 1950 N deposition impacts remained limited irrespective of geographical position. Between 1950 and 2000 N deposition depressed production between 0 and 25% relative to 1900, particularly in temperate regions. Future scenarios indicate this trend will continue and become more pronounced with climate warming. At the European scale, the consequences for Sphagnum net C-uptake remained small relative to 1900 due to the low peatland cover in high-N areas. The predicted impacts of likely changes in N deposition on Sphagnum productivity appeared to be less than those of climate. Nevertheless, current critical loads for peatlands are likely to hold under a future climate. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords
Air pollution; Carbon balance; Critical load; Ecosystem change; Peat mosses
Published in
Environmental Pollution
2014, volume: 187, pages: 73–80
SLU Authors
Global goals (SDG)
UKÄ Subject classification
Environmental Sciences
Ecology
Botany
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2013.12.023
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/53298