Journal
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
Volume 134, Issue 3, Pages 465-473Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2004.09.008
Keywords
atmospheric nitrogen deposition; regional variation; N-15 natural abundance; moss productivity; biomonitoring; Pleurozium schreberi; Scleropodium purum
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The suitability of the two pleurocarpous mosses Pleurozium schreberi and Scleropodium purum for assessing spatial variation in nitrogen deposition was investigated. Sampling was carried Out at eight sites in the western part of Germany with bulk deposition rates ranging between 6.5 and 18.5 kg N ha(-1) yr(-1). In addition to the effect of deposition on the nitrogen content of the two species, its influence on 15 N natural abundance (delta(15)N values) and on productivity was examined. Annual increases of the mosses were used for all analyses. Significant relationships between bulk N deposition and nitrogen content were obtained for both species; delta(15)N-values reflected the ratio of NH4-N to NO3-N in deposition. A negative effect of nitrogen input on productivity, i.e. decreasing biomass per area with increasing N deposition due to a reduction of stem density, was particularly evident with P. schreberi. Monitoring of N deposition by means of mosses is considered an important supplement to existing monitoring programs. It makes possible an improved spatial resolution, and thus those areas that receive high loads of nitrogen are more easily discernible. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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