Payne, Richard John, Dise, Nancy B., Field, Christopher D et al. (3 more authors) (2017) Nitrogen deposition and plant biodiversity:past, present and future. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. pp. 431-436. ISSN 1540-9309
Abstract
Reactive nitrogen (N) deposition from intensive agricultural and industrial activity has been identified as the third greatest threat to global terrestrial biodiversity, after land-use and climate change. While the impacts of N deposition are widely acknowledged, their magnitude is poorly quantified. We combine N deposition models, empirical response functions, and vegetation mapping to simulate the effects of N deposition on plant species richness from 1900 to 2030, using the island of Great Britain as a case study. We find that current species richness values – when averaged across five widespread habitat types – are approximately one-third less than without N deposition. Our results suggest that currently expected reductions in emissions will achieve no more than modest increases in species richness by 2030, and that emissions cuts based on habitat-specific “critical loads” may be an inefficient approach to managing N deposition for the protection of plant biodiversity. The effects of N deposition on biodiversity are severe and are unlikely to be quickly reversed.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Ecological Society of America. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Environment and Geography (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 06 Sep 2017 13:15 |
Last Modified: | 16 Mar 2025 00:06 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.1528 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1002/fee.1528 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:120951 |
Downloads
Filename: Payne_et_al._Nitrogen_Pollution.pdf
Description: Payne et al. Nitrogen Pollution
Filename: fee1528.pdf
Description: Payne et al nitrogen pollution- published pdf