What happens to high mountain ecosystems when you take away air pollution? Not much, not very quickly.
A new CU research study finds that degraded alpine ecosystems showed limited recovery years after long-term inputs of human-caused nitrogen air pollution, with soil acidification and effects on biodiversity lingering even after a decade of much lower nitrogen input levels.
The study, which was recently published in the journal Ecological Applications, indicates that even a dramatic reduction in nitrogen emissions may not be sufficient to reverse changes to various ecosystem processes after decades of high exposure.
“The legacy of the impacts of nitrogen pollution is strong, and our results emphasize that sensitive standards are needed to minimize enduring environmental impacts,” said William Bowman, lead author of the study and a professor in CU Boulder’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EBIO).
Nitrogen is a key nutrient for life, but agricultural and industrial activities have increased global levels significantly over the last two centuries, with previous research indicating harmful effects on water quality, soil acidity and biodiversity. Nitrogen emission rates have slowed in most of the U.S. and Europe in recent years, but continue to increase in developing regions.
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