Chemical footprints of anthropogenic nitrogen deposition on recent soil C : N ratios in Europe

[摘要] Long-term human interactions with the natural landscape have produced a plethoraof trends and patterns of environmental disturbances across time and space.Nitrogen deposition, closely tracking energy and land use, is known to beamong the main drivers of pollution, affecting both freshwater and terrestrialecosystems. We present a statistical approach for investigating the historicaland geographical distribution of nitrogen deposition and the impacts ofaccumulation on recent soil carbon-to-nitrogen ratios in Europe. After thesecond Industrial Revolution, largeswaths of land emerged characterized by different atmospheric deposition patterns caused byindustrial activities or intensive agriculture. Nitrogendeposition affects soil C : N ratios in a still recognizable waydespite the abatement of oxidized and reduced nitrogen emissions during thelast 2 decades. Given a seemingly disparate land-use history, we focusedon ~ 10 000 unmanaged ecosystems, providing statisticalevidence for a rapid response of nature to the chronic nitrogen supplythroughatmospheric deposition.

[学科分类] 地球化学与岩石