Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Farming News .




FARM NEWS
Nitrogen deposition reduces Swiss plant diversity
by Staff Writers
Basel, Switzerland (SPX) Apr 14, 2015


This image shows emissions produced in agriculture are responsible for two thirds of the nitrogen deposition in Switzerland. Nitrogen oxides produces by burning of fossil fuels are responsible for the other third. Image courtesy University of Basel. For a larger version of this image please go here.

High human atmospheric nitrogen emissions lead to a reduction of plant diversity. Researchers at the University of Basel analyzed plots all over Switzerland and report that the plant diversity has decreased in landscapes with high nitrogen deposition. The journal Royal Society Open Science has published their results.

Nitrogen is an essential plant nutrient that used to be available only in limited amounts. Many ecosystems rich in plant species are adapted to low nitrogen availability. An increase in nitrogen availability often favors a few highly competitive species, resulting in a decrease of the overall plant diversity.

The researchers compared six different measures of plant diversity on 381 randomly selected study plots in Switzerland. The plots were each one square kilometer in size and located between 260 and 3200 meters elevation. In all six measures, the researchers found a negative relation to atmospheric nitrogen emissions.

"Negative effects of nitrogen deposition on plant diversity were so far known from small-scale studies conducted mostly in areas of high conservation value", says first author Tobias Roth. "We wanted to know whether these effects are also evident when looking at entire landscapes and different elevations".

The weakest relation was found in the traditionally measured species richness, which measures the number of plant species per plot. The biologists found the strongest effect in the so-called phylogenetic diversity, a measure that compares DNA sequences. High nitrogen deposition thus leads to plant species being more strongly related to each other.

The study estimates the loss in phylogenetic plant diversity due to current human-induced nitrogen deposition at 19 percent. As a reference value, the researchers used an estimated historic nitrogen deposition without human influence.

Compared to the historic reference value, the loss in traditionally measured plant species richness was 5 percent. The researchers also compared the data to nitrogen deposition measures from 1880, during the industrialization in Europe. The loss in phylogenetic plant diversity in this case was still 11 percent.

Great diversity important for ecosystem functioning
Phylogenetic plant diversity is directly related to ecosystem functioning. Because the study found negative effects on phylogenetic plant diversity at the landscape scale, the researchers conclude that human nitrogen emissions could ultimately threaten the functioning of whole ecosystems.

"High plant diversity is important to us humans for many reasons", says Valentin Amrhein, co-senior author. "For example, in the mountains, a larger number of plant species with different root depths will stabilize the soil more effectively and prevent erosion".

The 381 plots were investigated as part of the program "Biodiversity Monitoring Switzerland", a program conducted on behalf of the Federal Office for the Environment. According to the Federal Commission for Air Hygiene, emissions produced in agriculture are responsible for two thirds of the nitrogen deposition in Switzerland. Nitrogen oxides produces by burning of fossil fuels are responsible for the other third.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
University of Basel
Farming Today - Suppliers and Technology






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News





FARM NEWS
Living mulch, organic fertilizer tested on broccoli
Durham NH (SPX) Apr 09, 2015
Cover crops provide many benefits to agricultural production systems, including soil and nutrient retention, resources and habitat for beneficial organisms, and weed suppression. In regions where short growing seasons can hinder the establishment of productive cover crops between cash crop growing periods, living mulch systems may provide vegetable crop growers with opportunities to establish co ... read more


FARM NEWS
Scientists Take Aim at Four Corners Methane Mystery

NASA Joins Forces to Put Satellite Eyes on Threat to U.S. Freshwater

Picturing peanut contamination with near infrared hyperspectral imaging

Study maps development one county at a time

FARM NEWS
China to launch three or four more BeiDou satellites this year

Two new satellites join the Galileo constellation

China launches upgraded satellite for independent SatNav system

India Launches Fourth Satellite in Effort to Develop Own Navigation System

FARM NEWS
Citizen scientists map global forests

Researchers map seasonal greening in US forests, fields, and urban areas

Deforestation is messing with our weather and our food

Mild winters not fueling all pine beetle outbreaks in western US

FARM NEWS
Biofuel crops replace grasslands nationwide

Algae from wastewater solves 2 problems

Corn husks a promising source of renewable fuel: study

Researchers use wastewater to grow algae for biofuels

FARM NEWS
Solar Power Network and KLD completes Shizuoka roof top farm

Which type of sustainable rooftop technology is best in cold climates

SpaceX invests $90 million in SolarCity solar bonds

Trina ships 6.9 MW Trinasmart PV modules to Anesco in UK

FARM NEWS
Cornell deploys dual ZephIR lidars for more accurate turbulence study

U.S. to fund bigger wind turbine blades

Gamesa and AREVA create the joint-venture Adwen

Time ripe for Atlantic wind, advocates say

FARM NEWS
India's Adani dismisses banks' Australia coal project snub

China coal mining deaths down in 2014: official

FARM NEWS
China to 'blacklist' its unruly tourists: report

Let the red flag fly over Tibet monasteries: Communist chief

Tibetan nun burns herself to death in China: reports

Parents in last minute plea for release of China feminists




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.