Abstract
Summary
•Arctic ecosystems are strongly nutrient limited and exhibit dramatic responses to nitrogen (N) enrichment, the reversibility of which is unknown. This study uniquely assesses the potential for tundra heath to recover from N deposition and the influence of phosphorus (P) availability on recovery.
•We revisited an experiment in Svalbard, established in 1991, in which N was applied at rates representing atmospheric N deposition in Europe (10 and 50 kg N ha−1 yr−1; ‘low’ and ‘high’, respectively) for 3–8 yr. We investigated whether significant effects on vegetation composition and ecosystem nutrient status persisted up to 18 yr post-treatment.
•Although the tundra heath is no longer N saturated, N treatment effects persist and are strongly P-dependent. Vegetation was more resilient to N where no P was added, although shrub cover is still reduced in low-N plots. Where P was also added (5 kg P ha−1 yr−1), there are still effects of low N on community composition and nutrient dynamics. High N, with and without P, has many lasting impacts. Importantly, N + P has caused dramatically increased moss abundance, which influences nutrient dynamics.
•Our key finding is that Arctic ecosystems are slow to recover from even small N inputs, particularly where P is not limiting.
•Arctic ecosystems are strongly nutrient limited and exhibit dramatic responses to nitrogen (N) enrichment, the reversibility of which is unknown. This study uniquely assesses the potential for tundra heath to recover from N deposition and the influence of phosphorus (P) availability on recovery.
•We revisited an experiment in Svalbard, established in 1991, in which N was applied at rates representing atmospheric N deposition in Europe (10 and 50 kg N ha−1 yr−1; ‘low’ and ‘high’, respectively) for 3–8 yr. We investigated whether significant effects on vegetation composition and ecosystem nutrient status persisted up to 18 yr post-treatment.
•Although the tundra heath is no longer N saturated, N treatment effects persist and are strongly P-dependent. Vegetation was more resilient to N where no P was added, although shrub cover is still reduced in low-N plots. Where P was also added (5 kg P ha−1 yr−1), there are still effects of low N on community composition and nutrient dynamics. High N, with and without P, has many lasting impacts. Importantly, N + P has caused dramatically increased moss abundance, which influences nutrient dynamics.
•Our key finding is that Arctic ecosystems are slow to recover from even small N inputs, particularly where P is not limiting.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 682-695 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | New Phytologist |
| Volume | 206 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Early online date | 19 Jan 2015 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Apr 2015 |
Keywords
- bryophytes
- critical load
- nitrogen (N) deposition
- phosphorus (P)
- recovery
- tundra
- winter injury
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Datasets
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Soil and vegetation parameters from re-visitation of fertilisation experiment at Ny-Alesund, Svalbard
Woodin, S. (Creator) & Street, L. E. (Creator), British Antartic Survey, 16 Dec 2016
DOI: 10.5285/0fdd7082-5fbc-4923-b166-d7adcb9c170f, https://ramadda.data.bas.ac.uk/repository/entry/show/?entryid=0fdd7082-5fbc-4923-b166-d7adcb9c170f and one more link, http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/ (show fewer)
Dataset
