Can on-site management mitigate nitrogen deposition impacts in non-wooded habitats?

TY - JOUR

T1 - Can on-site management mitigate nitrogen deposition impacts in non-wooded habitats?

AU - Payne, Richard John

N1 - © 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy.

PY - 2016/7/2

Y1 - 2016/7/2

N2 - Nitrogen (N) deposition is a major cause of plant biodiversity loss, with serious implications for appropriate management of protected sites. Reducing N emissions is the only long-term solution. However, on-site management has the potential to mitigate some of the adverse effects of N deposition. In this paper we review how management activities such as grazing, cutting, burning, hydrological management and soil disturbance measures can mitigate the negative impacts of N across a range of temperate habitats (acid, calcareous and neutral grasslands, sand dunes and other coastal habitats, heathlands, bogs and fens). The review focuses mainly on European habitats, which have a long history of N deposition, and it excludes forested systems. For each management type we distinguish between actions that improve habitat suitability for plant species of conservation importance, and actions that immobilize N or remove it from the system. For grasslands and heathlands we collate data on the quantity of N removal by each management type. Our findings show that while most activities improve habitat suitability, the majority do little to slow or to reduce the amount of N accumulating in soil pools at current deposition rates. Only heavy cutting/mowing with removal in grasslands, high intensity burns in heathlands and sod cutting remove more N than comes in from deposition under typical management cycles. We conclude by discussing some of the unintended consequences of managing specifically for N impacts, which can include damage to non-target species, alteration of soil processes, loss of the seedbank and loss of soil carbon.

AB - Nitrogen (N) deposition is a major cause of plant biodiversity loss, with serious implications for appropriate management of protected sites. Reducing N emissions is the only long-term solution. However, on-site management has the potential to mitigate some of the adverse effects of N deposition. In this paper we review how management activities such as grazing, cutting, burning, hydrological management and soil disturbance measures can mitigate the negative impacts of N across a range of temperate habitats (acid, calcareous and neutral grasslands, sand dunes and other coastal habitats, heathlands, bogs and fens). The review focuses mainly on European habitats, which have a long history of N deposition, and it excludes forested systems. For each management type we distinguish between actions that improve habitat suitability for plant species of conservation importance, and actions that immobilize N or remove it from the system. For grasslands and heathlands we collate data on the quantity of N removal by each management type. Our findings show that while most activities improve habitat suitability, the majority do little to slow or to reduce the amount of N accumulating in soil pools at current deposition rates. Only heavy cutting/mowing with removal in grasslands, high intensity burns in heathlands and sod cutting remove more N than comes in from deposition under typical management cycles. We conclude by discussing some of the unintended consequences of managing specifically for N impacts, which can include damage to non-target species, alteration of soil processes, loss of the seedbank and loss of soil carbon.

KW - Biodiversity

KW - Burning

KW - Grazing

KW - Leaching

KW - Mowing

KW - Turf stripping

UR - http://authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S0006320716302361

U2 - 10.1016/j.biocon.2016.06.012

DO - 10.1016/j.biocon.2016.06.012

M3 - Article

SN - 0006-3207

VL - 212

SP - 464

EP - 475

JO - Biological Conservation

JF - Biological Conservation

ER -