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Geographic Factors Explain the Variability of Atmospheric Deposition of Sulfur and Nitrogen onto Coniferous Forests Within and Beyond the Tokyo Metropolis

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Abstract

With the continued growth of cities in many areas of the world, it is important to understand variations in atmospheric deposition in relation to site-specific geographic factors. Accordingly, this research investigated wet or bulk deposition (WD/BD) and dry deposition (DD) of SO42−, NO3−, and NH4+ onto Japanese cedar within the Tokyo metropolis and surrounding areas with the primary aim of evaluating which geographical factors most influence the deposition of pollutants. Two new sites were established and, along with five existing sites, comprised an array of sites with varied geographic settings (distance from the center of Tokyo, elevation, and azimuthal difference between slope aspect and dominant wind direction). Annual WD/BD and DD values of SO42−, NO3−, and NH4+ ranged from 9–35, 16–83, and 12–96 mmol m−2 year−1, respectively, and 1–25, − 5–104, and − 7–142 mmol m−2 year−1, respectively. Annual WD/BD values only showed a statistically significant difference with azimuthal difference for SO42− and NH4+. In contrast, annual DD values of SO42−, NO3−, and NH4+ were found to significantly decrease with distance from the center of Tokyo. In addition, site elevation was a significant factor influencing the DD of SO42−, NO3−, and NH4+ in linear regression models. Azimuthal difference was not significantly related to DD variability. Given these results, it is necessary to consider both the distance from emission source as well as the geographic factors of particular locations when evaluating the deposition of atmospheric pollutants from megacities to forested areas within and beyond the city.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank technical staff members from The University of Tokyo Chichibu Forest and Tanashi Forest for supporting observation work. The authors also thank Ms. Chiai Kosaku, Dr. Shi Jun, Dr. Tomohiro Egusa, and Dr. Tomoki Oda for their support in the field observations at Tanashi. As referenced in the paper, we partly analyzed the geographic factors explaining the patterns of WD/BD and DD by utilizing data from five prior papers published in the Tokyo metropolitan area of Japan and then compared these findings to three previous papers from different areas of the world. We are thankful to the authors for the clarity of their papers, which have strengthened the scope and comparative nature of this paper. This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP22780139 and JP24658133.

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Author notes

  1. Nobuhito Ohte

    Present address: Present address: Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University, 36-1 Yoshida-Honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan

    Naohiro Imamura & Nobuhito Ohte

  2. Department of Forest Soils, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, 1 Matsunosato, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8687, Japan

    Naohiro Imamura

  3. Department of Geography and Spatial Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716-2541, USA

    Delphis F. Levia

  4. Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716-1303, USA

    Delphis F. Levia

  5. Department of Disaster Prevention, Meteorology and Hydrology, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, 1 Matsunosato, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8687, Japan

    Kazuki Nanko

  6. Ecohydrology Research Institute, The University of Tokyo Forests, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 11-44 Goizuka-cho, Seto, Aichi, 489-0031, Japan

    Nobuaki Tanaka

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Imamura, N., Levia, D.F., Nanko, K. et al. Geographic Factors Explain the Variability of Atmospheric Deposition of Sulfur and Nitrogen onto Coniferous Forests Within and Beyond the Tokyo Metropolis. Water Air Soil Pollut 231, 105 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-020-4467-4

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