Responses to ammonium and nitrate additions by boreal plants and their natural enemies

Separate effects of ammonium (NH 4 +) and nitrate (NO 3 −) on boreal forest understorey vegetation were investigated in an experiment where 12.5 and 50.0 kg nitrogen (N) ha −1 year −1 was added to 2 m 2 sized plots during 4 years. The dwarf-shrubs dominating the plant community, Vaccinium myrtillus...

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Veröffentlicht in:Environmental pollution (1987) 2006-05, Vol.141 (1), p.167-174
Hauptverfasser: Nordin, Annika, Strengbom, Joachim, Ericson, Lars
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:Separate effects of ammonium (NH 4 +) and nitrate (NO 3 −) on boreal forest understorey vegetation were investigated in an experiment where 12.5 and 50.0 kg nitrogen (N) ha −1 year −1 was added to 2 m 2 sized plots during 4 years. The dwarf-shrubs dominating the plant community, Vaccinium myrtillus and V. vitis-idaea, took up little of the added N independent of the chemical form, and their growth did not respond to the N treatments. The grass Deschampsia flexuosa increased from the N additions and most so in response to NO 3 −. Bryophytes took up predominately NH 4 + and there was a negative correlation between moss N concentration and abundance. Plant pathogenic fungi increased from the N additions, but showed no differences in response to the two N forms. Because the relative contribution of NH 4 + and NO 3 − to the total N deposition on a regional scale can vary substantially, the N load a habitat can sustain without substantial changes in the biota should be set considering specific vegetation responses to the predominant N form in deposition. Biota will respond to nitrogen deposition depending on the form of nitrogen.
ISSN:0269-7491
1873-6424
DOI:10.1016/j.envpol.2005.08.017