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Biogeochemical indicators of elevated nitrogen deposition in semiarid Mediterranean ecosystems

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Abstract

Nitrogen (N) deposition has doubled the natural N inputs received by ecosystems through biological N fixation and is currently a global problem that is affecting the Mediterranean regions. We evaluated the existing relationships between increased atmospheric N deposition and biogeochemical indicators related to soil chemical factors and cryptogam species across semiarid central, southern, and eastern Spain. The cryptogam species studied were the biocrust-forming species Pleurochaete squarrosa (moss) and Cladonia foliacea (lichen). Sampling sites were chosen in Quercus coccifera (kermes oak) shrublands and Pinus halepensis (Aleppo pine) forests to cover a range of inorganic N deposition representative of the levels found in the Iberian Peninsula (between 4.4 and 8.1 kg N ha−1 year−1). We extended the ambient N deposition gradient by including experimental plots to which N had been added for 3 years at rates of 10, 20, and 50 kg N ha−1 year−1. Overall, N deposition (extant plus simulated) increased soil inorganic N availability and caused soil acidification. Nitrogen deposition increased phosphomonoesterase (PME) enzyme activity and PME/nitrate reductase (NR) ratio in both species, whereas the NR activity was reduced only in the moss. Responses of PME and NR activities were attributed to an induced N to phosphorus imbalance and to N saturation, respectively. When only considering the ambient N deposition, soil organic C and N contents were positively related to N deposition, a response driven by pine forests. The PME/NR ratios of the moss were better predictors of N deposition rates than PME or NR activities alone in shrublands, whereas no correlation between N deposition and the lichen physiology was observed. We conclude that integrative physiological measurements, such as PME/NR ratios, measured on sensitive species such as P. squarrosa, can provide useful data for national-scale biomonitoring programs, whereas soil acidification and soil C and N storage could be useful as additional corroborating ecosystem indicators of chronic N pollution.

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Acknowledgments

This research was financially supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (CGL-2009-11015; CTM2009-12838-CO4-O3) and the Comunidad de Madrid (S-0505/AMB/0335). ROH was funded by a FPU fellowship (AP2006-04638). The work of FTM is supported from the European Research Council under the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013)/ERC Grant agreement no. 242658 (BIOCOM). We are very thankful to Octavio Cedenilla, Luis Ayala, and Cristina Paradela for helping with the field and lab work. Emi Martin-Queller is especially thanked for her great contribution during the field sampling.

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Author notes

  1. Raúl Ochoa-Hueso

    Present address: Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, New South Wales, 2751, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales—CSIC, 28006, Madrid, Spain

    Raúl Ochoa-Hueso & Esteban Manrique

  2. School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, Bangor University, Wales, UK

    María Arróniz-Crespo

  3. School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, 200 East Pine Knoll Drive, P.O. Box 15018, Flagstaff, AZ, 86011, USA

    Matthew A. Bowker

  4. Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28933, Móstoles, Spain

    Fernando T. Maestre

  5. Departamento de Ecología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    M. Esther Pérez-Corona

  6. Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Agrónomos, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Mark R. Theobald

  7. CIEMAT, Avenida Complutense 22, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Marta G. Vivanco

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  1. Raúl Ochoa-Hueso
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  2. María Arróniz-Crespo
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Correspondence to Raúl Ochoa-Hueso.

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Highlights

• N deposition promotes soil acidification in kermes oak shrublands

• N deposition contributes to increase soil C storage in pine forests

• PME/NR enzyme ratios measured in mosses can be a good bioindicator of N deposition

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Ochoa-Hueso, R., Arróniz-Crespo, M., Bowker, M.A. et al. Biogeochemical indicators of elevated nitrogen deposition in semiarid Mediterranean ecosystems. Environ Monit Assess 186, 5831–5842 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-014-3822-6

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