Critical Nitrogen Deposition Loads in High-elevation Lakes of the Western US Inferred from Paleolimnological Records
Critical Nitrogen Deposition Loads in High-elevation Lakes of the Western US Inferred from Paleolimnological Records

Author: Jasmine E. Saros

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 10

ISBN-13:

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Critical loads of nitrogen (N) from atmospheric deposition were determined for alpine lake ecosystems in the western US using fossil diatom assemblages in lake sediment cores. Changes in diatom species over the last century were indicative of N enrichment in two areas, the eastern Sierra Nevada, starting between 1960 and 1965, and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, starting in 1980. In contrast, no changes in diatom community structure were apparent in lakes of Glacier National Park. To determine critical N loads that elicited these community changes, we modeled wet nitrogen deposition rates for the period in which diatom shifts first occurred in each area using deposition data spanning from 1980 to 2007. We determined a critical load of 1.4 kg N ha-1 year-1 wet N deposition to elicit key nutrient enrichment effects on diatom communities in both the eastern Sierra Nevada and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Critical Loads and Dynamic Risk Assessments
Critical Loads and Dynamic Risk Assessments

Author: Wim de Vries

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2015-04-20

Total Pages: 671

ISBN-13: 9401795088

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This book provides a unique overview of research methods over the past 25 years assessing critical loads and temporal effects of the deposition of air pollutants. It includes critical load methods and applications addressing acidification, eutrophication and heavy metal pollution of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Applications include examples for each air pollution threat, both at local and regional scale, including Europe, Asia, Canada and the US. The book starts with background information on the effects of the deposition of sulphur, nitrogen and heavy metals and geochemical and biological indicators for risk assessments. The use of those indicators is then illustrated in the assessment of critical loads and their exceedances and in the temporal assessment of air pollution risks. It also includes the most recent developments of assessing critical loads and current and future risks of soil and water chemistry and biodiversity under climate change, with a special focus on nitrogen. The book thus provides a complete overview of the knowledge that is currently used for the scientific support of policies in the field of air pollution control to protect ecosystem services.

Air Pollution and Its Impacts on U.S. National Parks
Air Pollution and Its Impacts on U.S. National Parks

Author: Timothy J. Sullivan

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2017-02-03

Total Pages: 565

ISBN-13: 1351671928

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A variety of air pollutants are emitted into the atmosphere from human-caused and natural emissions sources throughout the United States and elsewhere. These contaminants impact sensitive natural resources in wilderness, including the national parks. The system of national parks in the United States is among our greatest assets. This book provides a compilation and synthesis of current scientific understanding regarding the causes and effects of these pollutants within national park lands. It describes pollutant emissions, deposition, and exposures; it identifies the critical (tipping point) loads of pollutant deposition at which adverse impacts are manifested.

Ecosystems of California
Ecosystems of California

Author: Harold Mooney

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2016-01-19

Total Pages: 1009

ISBN-13: 0520962176

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This long-anticipated reference and sourcebook for California’s remarkable ecological abundance provides an integrated assessment of each major ecosystem type—its distribution, structure, function, and management. A comprehensive synthesis of our knowledge about this biologically diverse state, Ecosystems of California covers the state from oceans to mountaintops using multiple lenses: past and present, flora and fauna, aquatic and terrestrial, natural and managed. Each chapter evaluates natural processes for a specific ecosystem, describes drivers of change, and discusses how that ecosystem may be altered in the future. This book also explores the drivers of California’s ecological patterns and the history of the state’s various ecosystems, outlining how the challenges of climate change and invasive species and opportunities for regulation and stewardship could potentially affect the state’s ecosystems. The text explicitly incorporates both human impacts and conservation and restoration efforts and shows how ecosystems support human well-being. Edited by two esteemed ecosystem ecologists and with overviews by leading experts on each ecosystem, this definitive work will be indispensable for natural resource management and conservation professionals as well as for undergraduate or graduate students of California’s environment and curious naturalists.

Invertebrates in Freshwater Wetlands
Invertebrates in Freshwater Wetlands

Author: Darold Batzer

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-02-05

Total Pages: 647

ISBN-13: 3319249789

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Wetlands are among the world’s most valuable and most threatened habitats, and in these crucially important ecosystems, the invertebrate fauna holds a focal position. Most of the biological diversity in wetlands is found within resident invertebrate assemblages, and those invertebrates are the primary trophic link between lower plants and higher vertebrates (e.g. amphibians, fish, and birds). As such, most scientists, managers, consultants, and students who work in the world’s wetlands should become better informed about the invertebrate components in their habitats of interest. Our book serves to fill this need by assembling the world’s most prominent ecologists working on freshwater wetland invertebrates, and having them provide authoritative perspectives on each the world’s most important freshwater wetland types. The initial chapter of the book provides a primer on freshwater wetland invertebrates, including how they are uniquely adapted for life in wetland environments and how they contribute to important ecological functions in wetland ecosystems. The next 15 chapters deal with invertebrates in the major wetlands across the globe (rock pools, alpine ponds, temperate temporary ponds, Mediterranean temporary ponds, turloughs, peatlands, permanent marshes, Great Lakes marshes, Everglades, springs, beaver ponds, temperate floodplains, neotropical floodplains, created wetlands, waterfowl marshes), each chapter written by groups of prominent scientists intimately knowledgeable about the individual wetland types. Each chapter reviews the relevant literature, provides a synthesis of the most important ecological controls on the resident invertebrate fauna, and highlights important conservation concerns. The final chapter synthesizes the 15 habitat-based chapters, providing a macroscopic perspective on natural variation of invertebrate assemblage structure across the world’s wetlands and a paradigm for understanding how global variation and environmental factors shape wetland invertebrate communities.

Ramsar Wetlands
Ramsar Wetlands

Author: Peter Gell

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2023-09-01

Total Pages: 620

ISBN-13: 0128178043

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Ramsar Wetlands: Values, Assessment, Management addresses the approaches, successes and limitations of the Ramsar Convention in a changing world, how recent approaches to wetland monitoring and management can contribute to improving wetland state, what the future holds for wetlands and their wise use, and what the Ramsar Convention needs to do to achieve future successes. The book presents a unique outlook on a range of issues, addressing considerable advances in our understanding of wetlands, their great environmental, social, cultural and economic importance, their role in maintaining the global water-cycle, and in mitigating and adapting to changing climates. No other book has yet taken this broad look at the past, present and future of wetlands and the Ramsar Convention. From aquatic ecologists, environmental scientists and engineers, to water resource managers, conservation agencies, and land management planners, this comprehensive guide is a beneficial tool in understanding wetlands. Answers questions on the responsibilities and roles of signatory nations to the Ramsar Convention, including how it may deal with ongoing and emerging causes of wetland change Addresses ongoing challenges of reporting and managing wetland change Provides a multidisciplinary approach and details the wise use principle that underpins the convention

Sensitivity of Pacific Northwest Mountain Lakes to Eutrophication Effects of Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition
Sensitivity of Pacific Northwest Mountain Lakes to Eutrophication Effects of Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition

Author: Jason Williams

Publisher:

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 171

ISBN-13:

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Mountain lakes are among the most sensitive and policy-relevant ecological indicators of atmospheric nitrogen deposition, but limited information is available about the effects of nitrogen deposition on Pacific Northwest mountain lakes. This dissertation assesses the sensitivity of Pacific Northwest mountain lakes to nitrogen deposition. The research herein is designed to generate information needed by air quality managers in federal land management agencies. Three aspects of N deposition effects in the Pacific Northwest are addressed.

Global Change and Mountain Lakes Establishing Nutrient Criteria and Critical Loads for Sierra Nevada Lakes
Global Change and Mountain Lakes Establishing Nutrient Criteria and Critical Loads for Sierra Nevada Lakes

Author: Andrea Michelle Heard

Publisher:

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 146

ISBN-13:

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Increased inputs of nutrients and acid anions to oligotrophic mountain lakes are contributing to ANC depression, elevated nitrate concentrations, shifts in nutrient limitation, and changes in the productivity and structure of aquatic communities. A need for stricter standards based on measurable ecological effects has been identified as an important step toward the long-term protection of mountain lakes. The objectives of this research were to link atmospheric deposition with acidification and eutrophication effects, develop critical loads and nutrient criteria, and assess status and trends of Sierra Nevada lakes. Investigation of multiple proxies of deposition, climate, acidification, and eutrophication indicated that early 20th century ANC decline in a Sierra Nevada lake is attributed to atmospheric deposition and the subsequent recovery in the late 20th century is attributed to the success of the Clean Air Act. Correlation analysis indicated ANC was correlated with atmospheric deposition indicators, but was not correlated with climate measures or productivity proxies. However, analyses looking more broadly across the landscape found a correlation with present day indicators of atmospheric deposition (SCPs) and ANC. These results indicate that not all lakes have fully recovered from acid deposition and stricter regulatory standards are needed. I aimed to link atmospheric deposition indicators with effects of eutrophication and acidification at a landscape scale and found that atmospheric deposition indicators were correlated with acidification, but not with eutrophication. Quantifying the relationship between nitrogen deposition and eutrophication across complex mountain landscapes is presently challenging, leading to the conclusion that critical loads based on acidification are a more robust approach. An acidification critical load was calculated based on 20th century ANC and acid deposition patterns and is 73.9 eq ha [superscript -1] yr [superscript -1] for acid anions, which translates to 0.68 kg-N ha [superscript -1] yr [superscript -1] and 1.2 kg-SO4 ha[superscript -1] yr[superscript -1]. Nitrogen criteria were calculated and ranged from were 0.33 - 0.89 [Mu]M (10% ED), 1.0 - 4.0 [Mu]M (50% ED), and 3.1 - 18 [Mu]M (90% ED). Application of criteria to Sierra Nevada lakes indicated the 10% effective dose was exceeded by 28-37 %, the 50% effective dose was exceeded by 18-29%, and the 90% effective dose was exceeded by 0.0-21%.