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Thomas A, Cosby BJ, Henrys P, Emmett B. Patterns and trends of topsoil carbon in the UK: Complex interactions of land use change, climate and pollution. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2020; 729:138330. [PMID: 32371212 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2019] [Revised: 02/13/2020] [Accepted: 03/29/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The UK Countryside Survey (CS) is a national long-term survey of soils and vegetation that spans three decades (1978-2007). Past studies using CS data have identified clear contrasting trends in topsoil organic carbon (tSOC) concentrations (0-15 cm) related to differences between habitat types. Here we firstly examine changes in tSOC resulting from land use change, and secondly construct mixed models to describe the impact of indirect drivers where land use has been constant. Where it occurs, land use change is a strong driver of SOC change, with largest changes in tSOC for transitions involving SOC-rich soils in upland and bog systems. Afforestation did not always increase tSOC, and the effect of transitions involving woodland was dependent on the other vegetation type. The overall national spatial pattern of tSOC concentration where land use has been constant is most strongly related to vegetation type and topsoil pH, with contributions from climate variables, deposition and geology. Comparisons of models for tSOC across time periods suggest that declining SO4 deposition has allowed recovery of topsoils from acidification, but that this has not resulted in the increased decomposition rates and loss of tSOC which might be expected. As a result, the relationship between pH and tSOC in UK topsoils has changed significantly between 1978 and 2007. The contributions of other indirect drivers in the models suggest negative relationships to seasonal temperature metrics and positive relationships to seasonal precipitation at the dry end of the scale. The results suggest that the CS approach of long-term collection of co-located vegetation and soil biophysical data provides essential tools both for identifying trends in tSOC at national and habitat levels, and for identifying areas of risk or areas with opportunities for managing topsoil SOC and vegetation change.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Thomas
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Soils and Land Use, Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Road, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
| | - B J Cosby
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Soils and Land Use, Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Road, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
| | - P Henrys
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Soils and Land Use, Lancaster Environment Centre, Library Avenue, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4AP, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
| | - B Emmett
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Soils and Land Use, Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Road, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
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Holmberg M, Aherne J, Austnes K, Beloica J, De Marco A, Dirnböck T, Fornasier MF, Goergen K, Futter M, Lindroos AJ, Krám P, Neirynck J, Nieminen TM, Pecka T, Posch M, Pröll G, Rowe EC, Scheuschner T, Schlutow A, Valinia S, Forsius M. Modelling study of soil C, N and pH response to air pollution and climate change using European LTER site observations. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2018; 640-641:387-399. [PMID: 29860010 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2017] [Revised: 04/25/2018] [Accepted: 05/24/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Current climate warming is expected to continue in coming decades, whereas high N deposition may stabilize, in contrast to the clear decrease in S deposition. These pressures have distinctive regional patterns and their resulting impact on soil conditions is modified by local site characteristics. We have applied the VSD+ soil dynamic model to study impacts of deposition and climate change on soil properties, using MetHyd and GrowUp as pre-processors to provide input to VSD+. The single-layer soil model VSD+ accounts for processes of organic C and N turnover, as well as charge and mass balances of elements, cation exchange and base cation weathering. We calibrated VSD+ at 26 ecosystem study sites throughout Europe using observed conditions, and simulated key soil properties: soil solution pH (pH), soil base saturation (BS) and soil organic carbon and nitrogen ratio (C:N) under projected deposition of N and S, and climate warming until 2100. The sites are forested, located in the Mediterranean, forested alpine, Atlantic, continental and boreal regions. They represent the long-term ecological research (LTER) Europe network, including sites of the ICP Forests and ICP Integrated Monitoring (IM) programmes under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP), providing high quality long-term data on ecosystem response. Simulated future soil conditions improved under projected decrease in deposition and current climate conditions: higher pH, BS and C:N at 21, 16 and 12 of the sites, respectively. When climate change was included in the scenario analysis, the variability of the results increased. Climate warming resulted in higher simulated pH in most cases, and higher BS and C:N in roughly half of the cases. Especially the increase in C:N was more marked with climate warming. The study illustrates the value of LTER sites for applying models to predict soil responses to multiple environmental changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Holmberg
- Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), Mechelininkatu 34a, FI-00251 Helsinki, Finland.
| | - Julian Aherne
- Environmental and Resource Studies, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario K9J 7B8, Canada
| | - Kari Austnes
- Norwegian Institute for Water Research NIVA, Gaustadalléen 21, NO-0349 Oslo, Norway
| | - Jelena Beloica
- Faculty of Forestry, University of Belgrade, Kneza Viseslava 1, RS-11000 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Alessandra De Marco
- ENEA - Casaccia Research Centre, Via Anguillarese 301, IT-00123 Santa Maria di Galeria, Rome, Italy
| | - Thomas Dirnböck
- Environment Agency Austria, Spittelauer Lände 5, A-1090, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Klaus Goergen
- Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, Agrosphere (IBG-3), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany; Centre for High-Performance Scientific Computing in Terrestrial Systems, Geoverbund ABC/J, Jülich, Germany
| | - Martyn Futter
- Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences SLU, P.O. Box 7050, SE-75007 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Antti-Jussi Lindroos
- Natural Resources Institute Finland LUKE, Latokartanonkaari 9, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Pavel Krám
- Czech Geological Survey, Klárov 3, CZ 11821 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Johan Neirynck
- Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO), Gaverstraat 35, BE-9500 Geraardsbergen, Belgium
| | | | - Tomasz Pecka
- Institute of Env. Protection - National Research Institute (IOS-PIB), ul. Kolektorska 4, PL-01692 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Maximilian Posch
- International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Schlossplatz 1, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria
| | - Gisela Pröll
- Environment Agency Austria, Spittelauer Lände 5, A-1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ed C Rowe
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), ECW, Bangor, LL57 3EU, UK
| | | | | | - Salar Valinia
- Norwegian Institute for Water Research NIVA, Gaustadalléen 21, NO-0349 Oslo, Norway; Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, SE-10648 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Martin Forsius
- Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), Mechelininkatu 34a, FI-00251 Helsinki, Finland
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Johnson J, Graf Pannatier E, Carnicelli S, Cecchini G, Clarke N, Cools N, Hansen K, Meesenburg H, Nieminen TM, Pihl-Karlsson G, Titeux H, Vanguelova E, Verstraeten A, Vesterdal L, Waldner P, Jonard M. The response of soil solution chemistry in European forests to decreasing acid deposition. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2018; 24:3603-3619. [PMID: 29604157 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2017] [Revised: 01/21/2018] [Accepted: 03/03/2018] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Acid deposition arising from sulphur (S) and nitrogen (N) emissions from fossil fuel combustion and agriculture has contributed to the acidification of terrestrial ecosystems in many regions globally. However, in Europe and North America, S deposition has greatly decreased in recent decades due to emissions controls. In this study, we assessed the response of soil solution chemistry in mineral horizons of European forests to these changes. Trends in pH, acid neutralizing capacity (ANC), major ions, total aluminium (Altot ) and dissolved organic carbon were determined for the period 1995-2012. Plots with at least 10 years of observations from the ICP Forests monitoring network were used. Trends were assessed for the upper mineral soil (10-20 cm, 104 plots) and subsoil (40-80 cm, 162 plots). There was a large decrease in the concentration of sulphate (SO42-) in soil solution; over a 10-year period (2000-2010), SO42- decreased by 52% at 10-20 cm and 40% at 40-80 cm. Nitrate was unchanged at 10-20 cm but decreased at 40-80 cm. The decrease in acid anions was accompanied by a large and significant decrease in the concentration of the nutrient base cations: calcium, magnesium and potassium (Bc = Ca2+ + Mg2+ + K+ ) and Altot over the entire dataset. The response of soil solution acidity was nonuniform. At 10-20 cm, ANC increased in acid-sensitive soils (base saturation ≤10%) indicating a recovery, but ANC decreased in soils with base saturation >10%. At 40-80 cm, ANC remained unchanged in acid-sensitive soils (base saturation ≤20%, pHCaCl2 ≤ 4.5) and decreased in better-buffered soils (base saturation >20%, pHCaCl2 > 4.5). In addition, the molar ratio of Bc to Altot either did not change or decreased. The results suggest a long-time lag between emission abatement and changes in soil solution acidity and underline the importance of long-term monitoring in evaluating ecosystem response to decreases in deposition.
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Affiliation(s)
- James Johnson
- School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | | | | | - Guia Cecchini
- Earth Sciences Department, University of Florence, Firenze, Italy
| | | | - Nathalie Cools
- Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Karin Hansen
- IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
- Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | | | | | - Hugues Titeux
- UCL-ELI, Université Catholique de Louvain, Earth and Life Institute, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Elena Vanguelova
- Centre for Ecosystem, Society and Biosecurity, Forest Research, Farnham, Surrey, UK
| | - Arne Verstraeten
- Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Lars Vesterdal
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - Peter Waldner
- WSL, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Mathieu Jonard
- UCL-ELI, Université Catholique de Louvain, Earth and Life Institute, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
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McDonnell TC, Reinds GJ, Sullivan TJ, Clark CM, Bonten LTC, Mol-Dijkstra JP, Wamelink GWW, Dovciak M. Feasibility of coupled empirical and dynamic modeling to assess climate change and air pollution impacts on temperate forest vegetation of the eastern United States. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2018; 234:902-914. [PMID: 29253831 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2017.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2017] [Revised: 10/20/2017] [Accepted: 12/02/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Changes in climate and atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition caused pronounced changes in soil conditions and habitat suitability for many plant species over the latter half of the previous century. Such changes are expected to continue in the future with anticipated further changing air temperature and precipitation that will likely influence the effects of N deposition. To investigate the potential long-term impacts of atmospheric N deposition on hardwood forest ecosystems in the eastern United States in the context of climate change, application of the coupled biogeochemical and vegetation community model VSD+PROPS was explored at three sites in New Hampshire, Virginia, and Tennessee. This represents the first application of VSD+PROPS to forest ecosystems in the United States. Climate change and elevated (above mid-19th century) N deposition were simulated to be important factors for determining habitat suitability. Although simulation results suggested that the suitability of these forests to support the continued presence of their characteristic understory plant species might decline by the year 2100, low data availability for building vegetation response models with PROPS resulted in uncertain results at the extremes of simulated N deposition. Future PROPS model development in the United States should focus on inclusion of additional foundational data or alternate candidate predictor variables to reduce these uncertainties.
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Affiliation(s)
- T C McDonnell
- E&S Environmental Chemistry, Inc., PO Box 609, Corvallis OR 97339, USA.
| | - G J Reinds
- Wageningen University and Research, Environmental Research (Alterra), P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - T J Sullivan
- E&S Environmental Chemistry, Inc., PO Box 609, Corvallis OR 97339, USA.
| | - C M Clark
- US EPA, Office of Research and Development, National Center for Environmental Assessment, Washington DC, 20460, USA.
| | - L T C Bonten
- Wageningen University and Research, Environmental Research (Alterra), P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - J P Mol-Dijkstra
- Wageningen University and Research, Environmental Research (Alterra), P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - G W W Wamelink
- Wageningen University and Research, Environmental Research (Alterra), P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - M Dovciak
- State University of New York, College of Environmental Science & Forestry, Syracuse NY, USA.
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5
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Bonten LTC, Groenenberg JE, Meesenburg H, de Vries W. Using advanced surface complexation models for modelling soil chemistry under forests: Solling forest, Germany. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2011; 159:2831-2839. [PMID: 21620545 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2011.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2011] [Revised: 04/28/2011] [Accepted: 05/01/2011] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Various dynamic soil chemistry models have been developed to gain insight into impacts of atmospheric deposition of sulphur, nitrogen and other elements on soil and soil solution chemistry. Sorption parameters for anions and cations are generally calibrated for each site, which hampers extrapolation in space and time. On the other hand, recently developed surface complexation models (SCMs) have been successful in predicting ion sorption for static systems using generic parameter sets. This study reports the inclusion of an assemblage of these SCMs in the dynamic soil chemistry model SMARTml and applies this model to a spruce forest site in Solling Germany. Parameters for SCMs were taken from generic datasets and not calibrated. Nevertheless, modelling results for major elements matched observations well. Further, trace metals were included in the model, also using the existing framework of SCMs. The model predicted sorption for most trace elements well.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luc T C Bonten
- Alterra-Wageningen UR, Soil Science Centre, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
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Goodale CL, Dise NB, Sutton MA. Special issue on nitrogen deposition, critical loads, and biodiversity. Introduction. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2011; 159:2211-2213. [PMID: 21481995 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2011.03.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Christine L Goodale
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, E215 Corson Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
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de Vries W, Posch M. Modelling the impact of nitrogen deposition, climate change and nutrient limitations on tree carbon sequestration in Europe for the period 1900-2050. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2011; 159:2289-99. [PMID: 21163561 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2010.11.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2010] [Revised: 11/12/2010] [Accepted: 11/21/2010] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
We modelled the combined effects of past and expected future changes in climate and nitrogen deposition on tree carbon sequestration by European forests for the period 1900-2050. Two scenarios for deposition (current legislation and maximum technically feasible reductions) and two climate scenarios (no change and SRES A1 scenario) were used. Furthermore, the possible limitation of forest growth by calcium, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus is investigated. The area and age structure of the forests was assumed to stay constant to observations during the period 1970-1990. Under these assumptions, the simulations show that the change in forest growth and carbon sequestration in the past is dominated by changes in nitrogen deposition, while climate change is the major driver for future carbon sequestration. However, its impact is reduced by nitrogen availability. Furthermore, limitations in base cations, especially magnesium, and in phosphorus may significantly affect predicted growth in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wim de Vries
- Alterra, Wageningen University and Research Centre, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
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Pannatier EG, Thimonier A, Schmitt M, Walthert L, Waldner P. A decade of monitoring at Swiss Long-Term Forest Ecosystem Research (LWF) sites: can we observe trends in atmospheric acid deposition and in soil solution acidity? ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2011; 174:3-30. [PMID: 21069457 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-010-1754-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2010] [Accepted: 09/29/2010] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Trends in atmospheric acid deposition and in soil solution acidity from 1995 or later until 2007 were investigated at several forest sites throughout Switzerland to assess the effects of air pollution abatements on deposition and the response of the soil solution chemistry. Deposition of the major elements was estimated from throughfall and bulk deposition measurements at nine sites of the Swiss Long-Term Forest Ecosystem Research network (LWF) since 1995 or later. Soil solution was measured at seven plots at four soil depths since 1998 or later. Trends in the molar ratio of base cations to aluminum (BC/Al) in soil solutions and in concentrations and fluxes of inorganic N (NO(3)-N + NH(4)-N), sulfate (SO(4)-S), and base cations (BC) were used to detect changes in soil solution chemistry. Acid deposition significantly decreased at three out of the nine study sites due to a decrease in total N deposition. Total SO(4)-S deposition decreased at the nine sites, but due to the relatively low amount of SO(4)-S load compared to N deposition, it did not contribute to decrease acid deposition significantly. No trend in total BC deposition was detected. In the soil solution, no trend in concentrations and fluxes of BC, SO(4)-S, and inorganic N were found at most soil depths at five out of the seven sites. This suggests that the soil solution reacted very little to the changes in atmospheric deposition. A stronger reduction in base cations compared to aluminum was detected at two sites, which might indicate that acidification of the soil solution was proceeding faster at these sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabeth Graf Pannatier
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland.
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