The impact of anthropogenic nitrogen deposition on global forests: Negative impacts far exceed the carbon benefits
Michael J. Gundale
Abstract
Humans have drastically altered the nitrogen (N) cycle during the past century, enriching ecosystems from the tropics to the tundra with unpresented inputs of novel nitrogen. The study by Schulte-Uebbing et al. (2021) quantified the impact of atmospheric N deposition on C uptake by forests globally, and weighed this climate benefit against the global warming impact of N2O emissions. A major conclusion was that the C benefits of atmospheric deposition in global forests are smaller than previously estimated (only 41 Tg C year−1), accounting for only 2% of the net annual forest C uptake.
Topics & Concepts
TundraEnvironmental scienceNitrogenEcosystemDeposition (geology)Carbon cycleClimate changeTropicsGlobal warmingAtmospheric sciencesCarbon sequestrationCarbon fibersEnvironmental protectionClimatologyEcologyChemistryBiologyComposite materialPaleontologyMaterials scienceOrganic chemistrySedimentGeologyComposite numberSoil Carbon and Nitrogen DynamicsAtmospheric chemistry and aerosolsCryospheric studies and observations