Challenges characterizing N deposition to high elevation protected areas: A case study integrating instrument, simulated, and lichen inventory datasets for the Devils Postpile National Monument and surrounding region, USA
Excess N deposition is a common stressor of ecological health. Sensitive biota, including many lichens, respond to small differences in atmospheric N deposition. For lands with a conservation mandate, obtaining sufficient N data to evaluate risks is a challenge, especially in Mediterranean or arid l...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Ecological Indicators |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X2031253X |
| _version_ | 1818401918264803328 |
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| author | Sarah Jovan Mark E. Fenn Monica Buhler Andrzej Bytnerowicz Adrienne Kovasi Martin Hutten Elisa DiMeglio Donald Schweizer |
| author_facet | Sarah Jovan Mark E. Fenn Monica Buhler Andrzej Bytnerowicz Adrienne Kovasi Martin Hutten Elisa DiMeglio Donald Schweizer |
| author_sort | Sarah Jovan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Excess N deposition is a common stressor of ecological health. Sensitive biota, including many lichens, respond to small differences in atmospheric N deposition. For lands with a conservation mandate, obtaining sufficient N data to evaluate risks is a challenge, especially in Mediterranean or arid landscapes. Managers in the Western U.S. commonly use epiphytic (“tree-dwelling”) lichens to supplement N assessments, although options for higher elevations lacking epiphytes are poorly developed. Managers instead rely on broad-scale air quality simulations like the Total Deposition Model (TDEP). The Sierra Nevada Range is an example where anthropogenic N reaches mid-to-high elevation protected areas but managers lack tools for monitoring at ecologically relevant spatial-scales. Our main goals were to demonstrate how well-studied epiphytic bioindicators can supplement N assessments and recommend saxicolous (“rock-dwelling”) candidates for similar development to improve coverage in higher elevations. As a case study, we characterized N deposition at a small (323 ha) protected area, Devils Postpile National Monument (DEPO), by integrating data from TDEP, air instruments, and assays of %N in the epiphyte Letharia vulpina. We used the regional N threshold associated with detrimental effects to epiphytic lichen communities, 2.9 kg N ha−1 yr−1 in throughfall (i.e. under a tree canopy), as a provisional critical load (CL) for indicating areas at risk of ecological impacts. Results clearly showed the need for empirical, diverse, and finer-scaled information, even for an area as small as DEPO. Importantly, simulations from TDEP overestimated dry deposition of oxidized N, making total N estimates nearly twice measured values (6.0 vs 3.03 – 3.66 kg N ha−1 yr−1, respectively). While small, our L. vulpina dataset (n = 5) from the Monument indicated highly variable N in throughfall (1.7 – 4.44 kg N ha−1 yr−1), with small-scale drivers, like proximity to the river canyon and the Central Valley, tipping the scale towards CL exceedance. Regional L. vulpina assays (n = 355) showed a distinct north-to-south gradient in California where N deposition at DEPO was highly similar to the nearby protected area, Yosemite National Park, where ecological impacts of excess N are well-documented. To expand N bio-monitoring into higher elevation areas, we recommend vetting five widespread saxicolous species, Rhizoplaca melanophthalma, Umbilicaria phaea, U. polaris, Xanthoparmelia coloradoënsis, and X. cumberlandia. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T08:00:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1c34d597bf1b48fb91eb7863aeca4757 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1470-160X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T08:00:06Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Indicators |
| spelling | doaj.art-1c34d597bf1b48fb91eb7863aeca47572022-12-21T23:10:25ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2021-03-01122107311Challenges characterizing N deposition to high elevation protected areas: A case study integrating instrument, simulated, and lichen inventory datasets for the Devils Postpile National Monument and surrounding region, USASarah Jovan0Mark E. Fenn1Monica Buhler2Andrzej Bytnerowicz3Adrienne Kovasi4Martin Hutten5Elisa DiMeglio6Donald Schweizer7USDA Forest Service, PNW Research Station, 620 SW Main, Suite 502, Portland, OR 97205, USA; Corresponding author.USDA Forest Service, PSW Research Station, 4955 Canyon Crest Drive, Riverside, CA 92507, USADevils Postpile National Monument, National Park Service, Mammoth Lakes, CA, USAUSDA Forest Service, PSW Research Station, 4955 Canyon Crest Drive, Riverside, CA 92507, USAOregon State University, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, 2082 Cordley Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331, USAUSDA Forest Service, Wrangell Ranger District, Wrangell, AK, USAOregon State University, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, 2082 Cordley Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331, USAUSDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region, 351 Pacu Lane, Bishop, CA 93514, USA; Health Sciences Research Institute, University of California, Merced, 5200 N. Lake Road, Merced, CA 95343, USAExcess N deposition is a common stressor of ecological health. Sensitive biota, including many lichens, respond to small differences in atmospheric N deposition. For lands with a conservation mandate, obtaining sufficient N data to evaluate risks is a challenge, especially in Mediterranean or arid landscapes. Managers in the Western U.S. commonly use epiphytic (“tree-dwelling”) lichens to supplement N assessments, although options for higher elevations lacking epiphytes are poorly developed. Managers instead rely on broad-scale air quality simulations like the Total Deposition Model (TDEP). The Sierra Nevada Range is an example where anthropogenic N reaches mid-to-high elevation protected areas but managers lack tools for monitoring at ecologically relevant spatial-scales. Our main goals were to demonstrate how well-studied epiphytic bioindicators can supplement N assessments and recommend saxicolous (“rock-dwelling”) candidates for similar development to improve coverage in higher elevations. As a case study, we characterized N deposition at a small (323 ha) protected area, Devils Postpile National Monument (DEPO), by integrating data from TDEP, air instruments, and assays of %N in the epiphyte Letharia vulpina. We used the regional N threshold associated with detrimental effects to epiphytic lichen communities, 2.9 kg N ha−1 yr−1 in throughfall (i.e. under a tree canopy), as a provisional critical load (CL) for indicating areas at risk of ecological impacts. Results clearly showed the need for empirical, diverse, and finer-scaled information, even for an area as small as DEPO. Importantly, simulations from TDEP overestimated dry deposition of oxidized N, making total N estimates nearly twice measured values (6.0 vs 3.03 – 3.66 kg N ha−1 yr−1, respectively). While small, our L. vulpina dataset (n = 5) from the Monument indicated highly variable N in throughfall (1.7 – 4.44 kg N ha−1 yr−1), with small-scale drivers, like proximity to the river canyon and the Central Valley, tipping the scale towards CL exceedance. Regional L. vulpina assays (n = 355) showed a distinct north-to-south gradient in California where N deposition at DEPO was highly similar to the nearby protected area, Yosemite National Park, where ecological impacts of excess N are well-documented. To expand N bio-monitoring into higher elevation areas, we recommend vetting five widespread saxicolous species, Rhizoplaca melanophthalma, Umbilicaria phaea, U. polaris, Xanthoparmelia coloradoënsis, and X. cumberlandia.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X2031253XEpiphytic lichensSaxicolous lichensNitrogen depositionSierra Nevada RangeCritical loadsFederal class 1 areas |
| spellingShingle | Sarah Jovan Mark E. Fenn Monica Buhler Andrzej Bytnerowicz Adrienne Kovasi Martin Hutten Elisa DiMeglio Donald Schweizer Challenges characterizing N deposition to high elevation protected areas: A case study integrating instrument, simulated, and lichen inventory datasets for the Devils Postpile National Monument and surrounding region, USA Ecological Indicators Epiphytic lichens Saxicolous lichens Nitrogen deposition Sierra Nevada Range Critical loads Federal class 1 areas |
| title | Challenges characterizing N deposition to high elevation protected areas: A case study integrating instrument, simulated, and lichen inventory datasets for the Devils Postpile National Monument and surrounding region, USA |
| title_full | Challenges characterizing N deposition to high elevation protected areas: A case study integrating instrument, simulated, and lichen inventory datasets for the Devils Postpile National Monument and surrounding region, USA |
| title_fullStr | Challenges characterizing N deposition to high elevation protected areas: A case study integrating instrument, simulated, and lichen inventory datasets for the Devils Postpile National Monument and surrounding region, USA |
| title_full_unstemmed | Challenges characterizing N deposition to high elevation protected areas: A case study integrating instrument, simulated, and lichen inventory datasets for the Devils Postpile National Monument and surrounding region, USA |
| title_short | Challenges characterizing N deposition to high elevation protected areas: A case study integrating instrument, simulated, and lichen inventory datasets for the Devils Postpile National Monument and surrounding region, USA |
| title_sort | challenges characterizing n deposition to high elevation protected areas a case study integrating instrument simulated and lichen inventory datasets for the devils postpile national monument and surrounding region usa |
| topic | Epiphytic lichens Saxicolous lichens Nitrogen deposition Sierra Nevada Range Critical loads Federal class 1 areas |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X2031253X |
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