NITROGEN DEPOSITION AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO NITROGEN CYCLING AND ASSOCIATED SOIL PROCESSES

Human activity has greatly perturbed the nitrogen cycle through increa sed fixation by legumes, by energy and fertilizer production, and by t he mobilization of N from long-term storage pools. This extra reactive N is readily transported through the environment, and there is increa sing evidence that it is changing ecosystems through eutrophication an d acidification. Rothamsted Experimental Station, UK has been involved in research on N cycling in ecosystems since its inception in 1843. M easurements of precipitation composition at Rothamsted, made since 185 3, show an increase of nitrate and ammonium N in precipitation from 1 and 3 kg N ha(-1) yr(-1) respectively, in 1855 to a maximum of 8 and 1 0 kg N ha(-1) yr(-1) in 1980, decreasing to 4 and 5 kg N ha(-1) y(-1) today. Nitrogen inputs via dry deposition do, however, remain high. Re cent measurements with diffusion tubes and filter packs show large con centrations of nitrogen dioxide of c. 20 mu g m(-3) in winter and c. 1 0 mu g m(-3) in summer; the difference is linked to the use of central heating, and with variations in wind direction and pollutant source. Concentrations of nitric acid and particulate N exhibit maxima of 1.5 and 2 mu g m(-3) in summer and winter, respectively. Concentrations of ammonia are small, barely rising above 1 mu g m(-3). Taking depositio n velocities from the literature gives a total deposition of all measu red N species to winter cereals of 43.3 kg N ha(-1) yr(-1), 84 % as ox idized species, 79 % dry deposited. The fate of this N deposited to th e very long-term Broadbalk Continuous Wheat Experiment at Rothamsted h as been simulated using the SUNDIAL N-cycling model: at equilibrium, a fter 154 yr of the experiment and with N deposition increasing from c. 10 kg ha(-1) yr(-1) in 1843 to 45 kg ha(-1) yr(-1) today, c. 5 % is l eached, 12% is denitrified, 30% immobilized in the soil organic matter and 53 % taken off in the crop. The 'efficiency of use' of the deposi ted N decreases, and losses and immobilization increase as the amount of fertilizer N increases. The deposited N itself, and the acidificati on that is associated with it (from the nitric acid, ammonia and ammon ium), has reduced the number of plant species on the 140-yr-old Park G rass hay meadow. It has also reduced methane oxidation rates in soil b y c. 15 % under arable land and 30 % under woodland, and has caused N saturation of local woodland ecosystems: nitrous oxide emission rates of up to 1.4 kg ha(-1) yr(-1) are equivalent to those from arable land receiving > 200 kg N ha(-1) yr(-1), and in proportion to the excess N deposited; measurements of N cycling processes and pools using N-15 p ool dilution techniques show a large nitrate pool and enhanced rates o f nitrification relative to immobilization. Ratios of gross nitrificat ion:gross immobilization might prove to be good indices of N saturatio n.