The Increased Contribution of Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition to Nitrogen Cycling in a Rural Forested Area of Kyushu, Japan

Water, Air, & Soil Pollution volume 224, Article number: 1763 (2013) Cite this article

Abstract

Japan has been receiving increasing levels of atmospheric nitrogenous pollutants from the East Asian continent over the last few decades, so it is critical to evaluate the impact of this increased atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition on N cycling even in rural forests. This study evaluated the contribution of the current level of atmospheric N deposition to N cycling in a rural forested area. Bulk precipitation and stream water were collected during 2007–2011 at the Shiiba Research Forest (SRF) located in the central Kyushu mountain range of southern Japan. Litterfall was also collected to investigate the contribution of atmospheric N deposition to total N input (litterfall N + atmospheric N deposition). The results showed that atmospheric depositions of both nitrate (NO3 −) and ammonium (NH4 +) were a few times higher during 2009–2011 than in 1991. This could be the result of additional N deposition from the increased long-range transport of nitrogenous pollutants from the East Asian continent. The current level of annual N deposition (9.7 kg N ha−1 year−1) at the SRF was comparable with that at many urban sites and was close to the reported threshold values causing N saturation in forest ecosystems. Although current atmospheric N deposition was an important component (23 %) of total N input (43 kg N ha−1 year−1) at the SRF, the concentrations of NO3 − in stream water were consistently low (<10 μmol L−1). These results indicate that atmospheric N deposition is currently largely incorporated into forest ecosystems without excess N export from forested watersheds.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the staff at the Shiiba Research Forest, Kyushu University Forest for the litterfall and stream water collection. The cost of publication was supported in part by the Research Grant for Young Investigators of the Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University. This study was also financially supported by the Research Grant for Long Term Ecological Research for monitoring water quality in Kyushu University Forest.

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Affiliations

  1. Kyushu University Forest, Kyushu University, 394 Tsubakuro, Sasaguri, Fukuoka, 811-2415, Japan

    Masaaki Chiwa, Tsutomu Enoki, Naoko Higashi & Kyoichi Otsuki

  2. Hydrospheric Atmospheric Research Center, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8601, Japan

    Tomo’omi Kumagai

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  1. Masaaki Chiwa
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  2. Tsutomu Enoki
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Correspondence to Masaaki Chiwa.

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Chiwa, M., Enoki, T., Higashi, N. et al. The Increased Contribution of Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition to Nitrogen Cycling in a Rural Forested Area of Kyushu, Japan. Water Air Soil Pollut 224, 1763 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-013-1763-2

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Keywords

  • Atmospheric N deposition
  • Rural forest
  • N cycling
  • Long-range transport
  • East Asia