New Perspectives on Nitrogen Cycling in the Temperate and Tropical Americas: Report of the International Scope Nitrogen Project (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9789401059619)

Inputs of nitrogen to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems have increased several-fold over the last one hundred and fifty years, with the steepest increases during the last four decades. The expansion of fertilizer manu- facture and use, the increase in fossil fuel combustion, the intensification of animal husbandry, and widespread cultivation of N2 fixing crops have all contributed to the dramatic increase in N inputs. The increase has been most rapid in Northern Hemisphere (NH) temperate ecosystems, but presently subtropical and tropical regions of Asia are also experiencing an explosive increase in N inputs to terrestrial ecosystems (W. Chameides, pers. comm.; Galloway et al. 1996). Projected increases in N deposition for these trop- ical and subtropical regions, with a high natural background of N inputs, exceed increases projected for temperate and arctic regions (Cleveland et al. submitted; Galloway et al. 1994; Holland & Lamarque 1997a). Compared to biological N fixation, N deposition is becoming a proportionately greater source of N to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems worldwide (Vitousek et al. 1997). 6 The nitrogen contained in the atmosphere as N, 3. 9 * 10 Tg (Tg = 2 12 10 g), is the largest reservoir of N in the Earth system (Warneck 1988). However, this paper focuses on the nitrogen emissions and deposition that have been transformed from N2 into reactive forms that are biologically avail- able (e. g. Vitousek et al. 1997).

Author: Alan R. Townsend
ISBN-10: 9401059616
ISBN-13: 9789401059619
Publisher: Springer
Language: English
Published: 10/04/2012
Pages: 293
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.94lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.64d