Heterogeneity of atmospheric ammonia at the landscape scale and consequences for environmental impact assessment

Vogt, E.; Dragosits, Ulrike; Braban, Christine F.; Theobald, Mark R.; Dore, Anthony J.; Dijk, Netty van; Tang, Y.S.; McDonald, Chris; Murray, Scott; Rees, Robert M.; Sutton, Mark A.

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2013.04.014

Cited by 36 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…The spatial and temporal variability of atmospheric NH 3 across the landscape, in which the two catchments are contained, was described in detail by Vogt et al (2012b). Monthly mean NH 3 concentrations at 31 sites were measured through 2008 with ALPHA passive diffusion samplers (Tang et al, 2001).…”

Section: Atmospheric Depositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As part of the NitroEurope Integrated Project , a landscape study area of 6 km × 6 km was established in southeast Scotland for detailed inventory of agricultural activities, N r concentration and flux measurements (see Vogt et al, 2012aVogt et al, , 2012b for further details). The area has a temperate oceanic climate with an annual mean temperature of ∼ 8 • C and a typical rainfall of ∼ 1000 mm.…”

Section: Study Landscapementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Asman et al, 1998;Duyzer, 1994). FRAME simulations were combined with land cover data of 25 m × 25 m resolution in order to apply land cover specific deposition rates to different land cover types, as described in detail by Vogt et al (2012b). For the atmospheric inputs of NH x wet deposition and the dry and wet deposition of NO y , national modelling at a relatively fine-scale resolution, applied to local land cover data, is considered to deliver adequate deposition estimates for this purpose with a low uncertainty in the range of ±20 %.…”

Section: Atmospheric Depositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sites were distributed across the study landscape with an emphasis on capturing high and low emission areas as well as the variability around sources. Ammonia emissions were calculated for each individual field, manure store and livestock house, based on the field and farm activities recorded on a monthly basis, combined with emission rates for each activity (manure housing, storage and spreading, grazing and fertiliser application, Vogt et al, 2012b). The emission estimates were used in the Local Area Dispersion and Deposition model (LADD) (Hill, 1998;Loubet et al, 2009) at a resolution of 25 m × 25 m to model spatial concentrations and dry deposition of NH 3 within the study landscape.…”

Section: Atmospheric Depositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Estimation of nitrogen budgets for contrasting catchments at the landscape scale

et al. 2013

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Abstract.A comprehensive assessment of nitrogen (N) flows at the landscape scale is fundamental to understand spatial interactions in the N cascade and to inform the development of locally optimised N management strategies. To explore these interactions, complete N budgets were estimated for two contrasting hydrological catchments (dominated by agricultural grassland vs. semi-natural peat-dominated moorland), forming part of an intensively studied landscape in southern Scotland. Local scale atmospheric dispersion modelling and detailed farm and field inventories provided high resolution estimations of input fluxes. Direct agricultural inputs (i.e. grazing excreta, N 2 fixation, organic and synthetic fertiliser) accounted for most of the catchment N inputs, representing 82 % in the grassland and 62 % in the moorland catchment, while atmospheric deposition made a significant contribution, particularly in the moorland catchment, contributing 38 % of the N inputs. The estimated catchment N budgets highlighted areas of key uncertainty, particularly N 2 exchange and stream N export. The resulting N balances suggest that the study catchments have a limited capacity to store N within soils, vegetation and groundwater. The "catchment N retention", i.e. the amount of N which is either stored within the catchment or lost through atmospheric emissions, was estimated to be 13 % of the net anthropogenic input in the moorland and 61 % in the grassland catchment. These values contrast with regional scale estimates: Catchment retentions of net anthropogenic input estimated within Europe at the regional scale range from 50 % to 90 %, with an average of 82 % . This study emphasises the need for detailed budget analyses to identify the N status of European landscapes.

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Section: Atmospheric Depositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Landscapementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Atmospheric Depositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Atmospheric Depositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Estimation of nitrogen budgets for contrasting catchments at the landscape scale

et al. 2013

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“…It is primarily emitted at ground level in the rural environment, and is associated with large dry deposition velocities to vegetation (Sutton and Fowler, 2002). High NH 3 concentrations can lead to acute problems at a local scale, for example, at nature reserves located in intensive agricultural landscapes Cape et al, 2009a;Hallsworth et al, 2010;Vogt et al, 2013). The NH 3 remaining in the atmosphere generally partitions to PM where the NH + 4 can have a lifetime of several days (Vieno et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers for spatial, temporal and long-term trends in atmospheric ammonia and ammonium in the UK

et al. 2018

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Abstract. A unique long-term dataset from the UK National Ammonia Monitoring Network (NAMN) is used here to assess spatial, seasonal and long-term variability in atmospheric ammonia (NH 3 : 1998(NH 3 : -2014) and particulate ammonium (NH + 4 : 1999-2014) across the UK. Extensive spatial heterogeneity in NH 3 concentrations is observed, with lowest annual mean concentrations at remote sites (< 0.2 µg m −3 ) and highest in the areas with intensive agriculture (up to 22 µg m −3 ), while NH + 4 concentrations show less spatial variability (e.g. range of 0.14 to 1.8 µg m −3 annual mean in 2005). Temporally, NH 3 concentrations are influenced by environmental conditions and local emission sources. In particular, peak NH 3 concentrations are observed in summer at background sites (defined by 5 km grid average NH 3 emissions < 1 kg N ha −1 yr −1 ) and in areas dominated by sheep farming, driven by increased volatilization of NH 3 in warmer summer temperatures. In areas where cattle, pig and poultry farming is dominant, the largest NH 3 concentrations are in spring and autumn, matching periods of manure application to fields. By contrast, peak concentrations of NH + 4 aerosol occur in spring, associated with long-range transboundary sources. An estimated decrease in NH 3 emissions by 16 % between 1998 and 2014 was reported by the UK National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory. Annually averaged NH 3 data from NAMN sites operational over the same period (n = 59) show an indicative downward trend, although the reduction in NH 3 concentrations is smaller and nonsignificant: Mann-Kendall (MK), −6.3 %; linear regression (LR), −3.1 %. In areas dominated by pig and poultry farming, a significant reduction in NH 3 concentrations between 1998 and 2014 (MK: −22 %; LR: −21 %, annually averaged NH 3 ) is consistent with, but not as large as the decrease in estimated NH 3 emissions from this sector over the same period (−39 %). By contrast, in cattle-dominated areas there is a slight upward trend (non-significant) in NH 3 concentrations (MK: +12 %; LR: +3.6 %, annually averaged NH 3 ), despite the estimated decline in NH 3 emissions from this sector since 1998 (−11 %). At background and sheep-dominated sites, NH 3 concentrations increased over the monitoring period. These increases (non-significant) at background (MK: +17 %; LR: +13 %, annually averaged data) and sheep-dominated sites (MK: +15 %; LR: +19 %, annually averaged data) would be consistent with the concomitant reduction in SO 2 emissions over the same period, leading to a longer atmospheric lifetime of NH 3 , thereby increasing NH 3 concentrations in remote areas. The observations for NH 3 concentrations not decreasing as fast as estimated emission trends are consistent with a larger downward trend in annual particulate NH + 4 concentrations (1999-2014: MK: −47 %; LR: −49 %, p < 0.01, n = 23), associated with a lower formation of particulate NH

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Catchment land use effects on fluxes and concentrations of organic and inorganic nitrogen in streams

Vogt

Braban

Dragosits

et al. 2015

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

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Michael F. 2015. Catchment land use effects on fluxes and concentrations of organic and inorganic nitrogen in streams.Contact CEH NORA team at noraceh@ceh.ac.ukThe NERC and CEH trademarks and logos ('the Trademarks') are registered trademarks of NERC in the UK and other countries, and may not be used without the prior written consent of the Trademark owner. ) and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) in two adjacent Scottish catchments with contrasting land use (agricultural grassland vs. semi-natural moorland). Inter-and intra-catchment variation in N species and the relation to spatial differences in agricultural land use were studied by determining catchment N input through agricultural activities at the field scale and atmospheric inputs at a 25 m grid resolution. The average agricultural N input of 52 kg N ha -1 yr -1 to the grassland catchment was more than four times higher than the input of 12 kg N ha -1 yr -1 to the moorland catchment, supplemented by 12.3 and 8.2 kg N ha -1 yr -1 through atmospheric deposition, respectively. The grassland catchment was associated with an annual downstream total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) flux of 14.4 kg N ha -1 yr -1, which was 66% higher than the flux of 8.7 kg ha -1 yr -1 from the moorland catchment. This difference was largely due to the NO 3 -flux being one order of magnitude higher in the grassland catchment. Dissolved organic N fluxes were similar for the two catchments (7.0 kg ha -1 yr -1 ) with DON contributing 49% to the TDN flux in the grassland compared with 81% in the moorland catchment. The results highlight the importance of diffuse agricultural N inputs to stream NO 3 -concentrations and the importance of quantifying all the major aquatic N species for developing a better understanding of N transformations and transport in the atmosphere-soil-water system.

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Heterogeneity of atmospheric ammonia at the landscape scale and consequences for environmental impact assessment

Cited by 36 publications

References 41 publications

Estimation of nitrogen budgets for contrasting catchments at the landscape scale

Estimation of nitrogen budgets for contrasting catchments at the landscape scale

Drivers for spatial, temporal and long-term trends in atmospheric ammonia and ammonium in the UK

Catchment land use effects on fluxes and concentrations of organic and inorganic nitrogen in streams

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