Biogeochemical and Ecological Effects of Nitrogen Deposition in Western North America

The unique geographic, demographic, climatic and edaphic conditions of the West determine N deposition rates and biogeochemical and ecological responses to N deposition. In the western United States large regions are exposed to low N deposition levels with interspersed hotspots of elevated N deposition near urban areas or large agricultural emissions sources. Nitrogen emissions also contribute to ozone formation and regional haze and visibility impairment, the latter an effect that is observed in remote sites including several high profile national parks and wilderness areas. Recent studies suggest that N enrichment impacts are generally more important in western terrestrial systems than soil acidification effects. In the Pacific Northwest, California and Colorado sensitive organisms such as lichens and phytoplankton demonstrate deleterious biological effects with N deposition levels as low as 3-8 kg ha-1 yr-1. Increased streamwater nitrate export has been reported from southern California forests and chaparral catchments, high elevation watersheds in the Colorado Front Range, and in the most exposed regions of the southwestern Sierra Nevada. Evidence suggests that in some regions N deposition alters plant community composition, decreases mycorrhizal diversity, and also increases biomass accumulation, carbon allocation patterns and fire frequency. Several factors predispose Western semiarid ecosystems to N saturation as will be demonstrated by the San Bernardino Mountains case study (southern California). Edaphic conditions generally favor high nitrification rates relative to N mineralization. Nitrate from nitrification and atmospheric deposition accumulates in soil and on plant surfaces during prolonged dry periods. Under conditions of chronic N deposition, the N cycle becomes highly open in nature as excess N is exported in runoff and as gaseous emissions from soil. Actively nitrifying soils and temporal asynchrony between the period of plant N demand and nitrate availability are the key factors resulting in large N losses. As a result of this asynchrony, N limitation of tree growth occurs notwithstanding the advanced degree of N saturation. The combined effects of ozone and N deposition also cause major changes in plant carbon allocation and accumulation in the ecosystem, particularly under conditions of fire suppression.