Past and Future Exceedances of Nitrogen Critical Loads in Europe

Critical loads of acidity and nutrient nitrogen — simple measures of the sensitivity of ecosystems to deposition — have been widely used for setting emission reduction targets in Europe. In contrast to sulfur, the emissions of nitrogen compounds remain high in the future. This is also true for the e...

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Main Authors: Maximilian Posch, Jean-Paul Hettelingh, Petra Mayerhofer
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2001-01-01
Series:The Scientific World Journal
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1100/tsw.2001.302
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author Maximilian Posch
Jean-Paul Hettelingh
Petra Mayerhofer
author_facet Maximilian Posch
Jean-Paul Hettelingh
Petra Mayerhofer
author_sort Maximilian Posch
collection DOAJ
description Critical loads of acidity and nutrient nitrogen — simple measures of the sensitivity of ecosystems to deposition — have been widely used for setting emission reduction targets in Europe. In contrast to sulfur, the emissions of nitrogen compounds remain high in the future. This is also true for the exceedances of critical loads until 2010. Looking further into the future, climate change is likely to influence ecosystem sensitivity, and thus critical loads. It is shown that higher temperatures, changed precipitation patterns, and modified net primary production mainly increase critical loads, except in mountainous and arid regions. Using consistent scenarios of climate change and air pollution from a recently completed European study (AIR-CLIM), it is shown that the exceedances in 2100 of the critical loads are declining in comparison to 2010. However, exceedances of critical loads of nutrient nitrogen remain substantial, even under the most stringent scenario. This confirms the increasing role nitrogen plays in environmental problems in comparison to sulfur. Thus research should focus on the effects of nitrogen in the environment, especially under conditions of climate change, to support nitrogen-emission mitigating policies. This not only reduces acidification and eutrophication, but also helps curb the formation of tropospheric ozone.
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spelling doaj-art-32e1c44cdc724c98b47a5dfa9321c8352025-02-03T05:48:21ZengWileyThe Scientific World Journal1537-744X2001-01-01194595210.1100/tsw.2001.302Past and Future Exceedances of Nitrogen Critical Loads in EuropeMaximilian Posch0Jean-Paul Hettelingh1Petra Mayerhofer2National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), P.O.Box 1, NL-3720 BA Bilthoven, The NetherlandsNational Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), P.O.Box 1, NL-3720 BA Bilthoven, The NetherlandsCenter for Environmental Systems Research, University of Kassel, Kurt-Wolters-Str. 3, D-34109 Kassel, GermanyCritical loads of acidity and nutrient nitrogen — simple measures of the sensitivity of ecosystems to deposition — have been widely used for setting emission reduction targets in Europe. In contrast to sulfur, the emissions of nitrogen compounds remain high in the future. This is also true for the exceedances of critical loads until 2010. Looking further into the future, climate change is likely to influence ecosystem sensitivity, and thus critical loads. It is shown that higher temperatures, changed precipitation patterns, and modified net primary production mainly increase critical loads, except in mountainous and arid regions. Using consistent scenarios of climate change and air pollution from a recently completed European study (AIR-CLIM), it is shown that the exceedances in 2100 of the critical loads are declining in comparison to 2010. However, exceedances of critical loads of nutrient nitrogen remain substantial, even under the most stringent scenario. This confirms the increasing role nitrogen plays in environmental problems in comparison to sulfur. Thus research should focus on the effects of nitrogen in the environment, especially under conditions of climate change, to support nitrogen-emission mitigating policies. This not only reduces acidification and eutrophication, but also helps curb the formation of tropospheric ozone.http://dx.doi.org/10.1100/tsw.2001.302
spellingShingle Maximilian Posch
Jean-Paul Hettelingh
Petra Mayerhofer
Past and Future Exceedances of Nitrogen Critical Loads in Europe
The Scientific World Journal
title Past and Future Exceedances of Nitrogen Critical Loads in Europe
title_full Past and Future Exceedances of Nitrogen Critical Loads in Europe
title_fullStr Past and Future Exceedances of Nitrogen Critical Loads in Europe
title_full_unstemmed Past and Future Exceedances of Nitrogen Critical Loads in Europe
title_short Past and Future Exceedances of Nitrogen Critical Loads in Europe
title_sort past and future exceedances of nitrogen critical loads in europe
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1100/tsw.2001.302
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