TheScientificWorldJOURNAL
Volume 1, Pages 245-254
http://dx.doi.org/10.1100/tsw.2001.372
Nitrogen Deposition to and Cycling in a Deciduous Forest
Department of Geography, Indiana University, Bloomington 47405, USA
Copyright © 2001 Sara C. Pryor et al.
Abstract
The project described here seeks to answer questions regarding the role increased nitrogen (N) deposition is playing in enhanced carbon (C) sequestration in temperate mid-latitude forests, using detailed measurements from an AmeriFlux tower in southern Indiana (Morgan-Monroe State Forest, or MMSF). The measurements indicate an average atmosphere-surface N flux of approximately 6 mg-N m-2 day-1 during the 2000 growing season, with approximately 40% coming from dry deposition of ammonia (NH3), nitric acid (HNO3), and particle-bound N. Wet deposition and throughfall measurements indicate significant canopy uptake of N (particularly NH4+) at the site, leading to a net canopy exchange (NCE) of –6 kg-N ha-1 for the growing season. These data are used in combination with data on the aboveground C:N ratio, litterfall flux, and soil net N mineralization rates to indicate the level of potential perturbation of C sequestration at this site.