Nitrogen emissions from agriculture, transportation, and industry result in elevated atmospheric nitrogen deposition, thus contributing to eutrophication and acidification effects in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Such ecological and environmental impacts include: diversity loss in plant communities, acidification of soils and surface waters and associated effects on forest health and aquatic communities, N enrichment of remote lakes and changes in diatom assemblages, coastal eutrophication and dead zones, and harmful algal blooms. Additional impacts include elevated nitrate concentrations in water from forested watersheds, climate change effects, impaired visibility, and human health effects. Health effects from N depostiion occur by way of degraded air and water quality. As emissions of nitrogen oxides have decreased, deposition of reduced N forms (e.g., ammonium) have become an increasingly large fraction of total N deposition. Recently, critical loads of atmospheric N deposition have been established in the US for a variety of ecological effects.

Environmental and ecological effects of atmospheric nitrogen deposition

244th National Meeting (2012)

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