Responses of Temperate Forests to Nitrogen Deposition: Testing the Explanatory Power of Modeled Deposition Datasets for Vegetation Gradients

Eutrophication due to increased nitrogen concentrations is known to alter species composition and threaten sensitive habitat types. The contribution of atmospheric nitrogen deposition to eutrophication is often difficult to determine. Various deposition models have been developed to estimate the amount of nitrogen deposited for both entire regions and different landscape surface types. The question arises whether the resulting deposition maps allow direct conclusions about the risk of eutrophication-related changes in the understory vegetation composition and diversity in nitrogen-sensitive forest ecosystems. We combined vegetation and soil data recorded across eutrophication gradients in ten oligo-mesotrophic forest types in southwest Germany with datasets from two different deposition models specifically fitted for forests in our study region. Altogether, 153 forest stands, with three sampling replicates each, were examined. Linear mixed-effect models and NMDS analyses revealed that other site factors, in particular the soil C/N ratio, soil pH and canopy cover, played a greater role in explaining vegetation gradients than nitrogen deposition. The latter only rarely had effects on species richness (positive), nitrophyte cover (positive or negative) and the cover of sensitive character species (negative). These effects varied depending on the deposition model used and the forest types examined. No effects of nitrogen deposition on average Ellenberg N values were found. The results reflect the complex situation in forests where nitrogen availability is not only influenced by deposition but also by nitrogen mineralization and retention which depend on soil type, pH and (micro)climate. This context dependency must be regarded when evaluating the effects of nitrogen deposition.

Automated summary

A study conducted in southwest Germany found that nitrogen deposition had a lesser impact on explaining vegetation gradients in forest ecosystems compared to other site factors such as soil C/N ratio, soil pH, and canopy cover. The effects of nitrogen deposition on species richness, nitrophyte cover, and sensitive character species cover varied depending on the deposition model used and the forest types examined. The study highlights the importance of considering contextual dependency when evaluating the effects of nitrogen deposition in forests.