Title
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Does atmospheric nitrogen deposition lead to greater nitrogen and carbon accumulation in coastal sand dunes?
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Author
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Abstract
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Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition is thought to accelerate ecological succession, causing a loss of diversity in species-rich dune grasslands and hampering restoration goals. We tested whether elevated atmospheric N deposition results in faster accumulation of soil C and soil N, using three high-resolution chronosequences of up to 162 years in coastal sand dunes with contrasting N deposition and soil base status (high N deposition calcareous and acidic dunes in Luchterduinen, the Netherlands (LD) and low N deposition calcareous dunes in Newborough, UK (NB)). We also used the process model CENTURY to evaluate the relative contribution of N deposition, climate, and soil pH. In contrast to our hypothesis we found that accumulation of soil C and N was greatest at the low N deposition site NB. Model simulations indicated a negative interaction between high N deposition and symbiotic N-2 fixation. From this we conclude that high N deposition suppresses and replaces N-2 fixation as a key N source. High N deposition led to lower soil C:N only in the early stages of succession (< 20 years). The data also revealed accelerated acidification at high N deposition, which is a major concern for restoration of dune grasslands. More data are needed from acidic dunes from low N deposition areas to assess pH effects on soil C and N pools. Therefore, while N accumulation in soils may not be an issue, both acidification and plant community change due to elevated availability of mineral N remain major conservation problems. Restoration in degraded dune grasslands should focus on maintaining habitat suitability, rather than N removal from soil pools. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
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Language
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English
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Source (journal)
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Biological conservation. - Liverpool
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Publication
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Liverpool
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2017
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ISSN
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0006-3207
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DOI
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10.1016/J.BIOCON.2016.12.007
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Volume/pages
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212
:B
(2017)
, p. 416-422
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ISI
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000408782700005
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Full text (Publisher's DOI)
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Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
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