Abstract
A field ammonia (NH3) release experiment and open top chambers containing moorland monoliths continuously fumigated with NH3 or sprayed with NH4Cl were used to assess the potential for using δ15N values in determining the area of influence around a point NH3 emission source. δ15N values are being increasingly used as environmental tracers and we tested the hypothesis that the δ15N signal from an NH3 emission source is observable in nearby vegetation. Using modified monitoring devices, atmospheric NH3 concentrations were found to decrease with distance from source, with δ15N values also reflecting this trend, producing a signal shift with changing concentration. Open top chamber studies of δ15N values of Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull indicated a correlation with deposition treatments in current year shoots. Analysis of Calluna shoots from the NH3 release showed a similar trend of δ15N enrichment. Significant linear correlations between δ15N and percent N in plant material were found, both in the controlled conditions of the open top chambers and at the NH3 release site, illustrating the possible use of this technique in N deposition biomonitoring.
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Skinner, R., Ineson, P., Hicks, W.K. et al. Correlating the Spatial Distribution of Atmospheric Ammonia with δ15N Values at an Ammonia Release Site. Water Air Soil Pollut: Focus 4, 219–228 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11267-004-3032-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11267-004-3032-2