Characteristics of SO2, NO2, Soot and Benzo(a)Pyrene Concentration Variation on the Eastern Coast of the Baltic Sea

The investigation of SO₂, NO₂, soot and benzo(a)pyrene (BP) has been performed at the background station on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea since 1980. A significant decreasing trend has been observed for SO₂ and NO₂, while soot and BP concentrations were changing insignificantly. The decreasing SO₂ and NO₂ high concentrations (>10µg·m^?3) have been determined in the air masses coming from the Western and Central Europe to Lithuania since 1900. The concentration of SO₂ in a range of 0–5µg·m^?3 and the concentration of NO₂ in a range of 0–10µg·m^?3 are characteric of the background atmospheric air.     

Summertime study of acid deposition in the Detroit area

A comprehensive acid-deposition measuring station has been set up at the General Motors Technical Center site in Warren, Michigan. A second station is also being operated at a rural site near Lapeer, Michigan, which is approximately 54 km north of the Warren site. This report presents the results of this study for the June-September 1981 period. The rain composition was similar at both sites with the pH averaging 4.1 and the SO₄ ⁼/NO₃ ^? equivalence ratio averaging 2.1:1. This similarity suggests that local sources, i.e., relatively high emissions near the Warren site, and low emissions near the Lapeer site, have little effect on rain composition. The SO₄ ⁼/NO₃ ^? ratio for individual rain events in Warren reflected the SO₂/NO_x emission ratio in the area from which the event had come. Thus, the highest SO₄ ⁼/NO₃ ^? ratios were observed for rains that arrived from the southeast and the lowest ratios for rains from the southwest. No rain events arrived from a northwesterly direction during this sampling period. Measurements were carried out at both sites to estimate the relative contribution of dry deposition. The ambient particulate was acidic about half the time and basic half the time. The acidity in the particulate was due to acid SO₄ ⁼ and the basicity was due to soil-related materials. Gaseous HNO₃ averaged 2.0 μg m^?3while the basic gas, NH₃, averaged 0.83 μg m^?3. Based on these measurements, it was estimated that dry deposition of particles and HNO₃ contributed less than 10% of the total deposition of acidity during this study period.     

Simultaneous Determination of Gas and Particle Dry Deposition onto Conditioned Surrogate Surfaces

Aerodynamically designed surrogate surfaces were used to determine the relative importance of gaseous (SO₂, HNO₃, NH₃) and particulate species (SO₄ ^2?, NO₃ ^?, NH₄ ⁺, Ca²⁺) in the dry deposition flux. For 11 sampling periods, we measured the deposition fluxes, ambient gaseous concentrations, size distributions of atmospheric aerosols and some meteorological parameters in Uji. The dry deposition of the gas to a nearly perfect sink was calculated by subtracting the greased surface flux from the total deposition flux to both the greased and reagent impregnated (or water) surface. It was found that the gas phase deposition contributed significantly more (60–93%) than the particulate phase to overall deposition of sulfur and nitrogen compounds. The dry deposition velocities of the species were also calculated using the deposition fluxes and the measured ambient concentrations. Comparisons were made between the measured and modeled particulate deposition flux.     

Throughfall Chemistry in a Sitka Spruce Plantation in Response to Six Different Simulated Polluted Mist Treatments

A mixed provenance Sitka spruce plantation, planted in 1986 on a drained deep peat, has been exposed to 6 different simulated mist treatments in 4 replicated blocks since 1996. Treatments provided N and/or S at a concentration of 1.6 mol m^?3, supplying ca. 50 kg S and/or N ha^?1 yr^?1 as N (NH₄NO₃), S (Na₂SO₄), NS Acid (NH₄NO₃ + H₂SO₄ at pH 2.5), 2NS Acid (double dose by application at twice frequency), a control treatment supplied with additional rainwater only and a 'no treatment' set of plots. Throughfall, preserved with thymol in the field, was collected using gutters with a surface area of 1 m² in all the replicate plots, and was analysed for all major ions. Prior to treatment in 1999, S deposition in throughfall exceeded that in rain because of dry deposition of SO₂ and SO₄ ^2? to the canopy; NH₄ ⁺ and NO₃ ^? ions were both retained in the canopy. During treatment, only 20–40% of the applied N in the high-N treatments was retained in the canopy. Acidity in the applied mist was partly neutralised by the canopy, but not primarily through exchange of base cations, leading to the conclusion that weak organic acids, in solution or in situ in the canopy, contributed to the buffering of the H⁺ ion deposition in the acid treatments.     

Physical and Chemical Properties of a Winter-Time Yellow Sand Event in Northeast Asia

The long range transport of mineral dust such as Yellow Sand (YS) is not restricted to the springtime periods in Northeast Asia. A YS phenomenon was observed during 25～27 January 1999, which was a remarkably distinctive episode in the occurrence time and intensity that had ever been observed in the wintertime in Korea. This YS event had a bi-modal temporal structure with the daily average concentrations of 210～349 µg m^?3. The long-lasted second one followed the first arriving short and strong dust pulse. The dominant ion components were SO₄ ^2?, NO₃ ^?, Ca²⁺ and Na⁺ with the concentration of 11.3, 7.6, 6.1 and 4.2 µg m^?3, respectively during the passage of YS, compared to the corresponding concentrations of 4.1, 4.6, 0.4, and 1.2 µg m^?3 after the passage of YS (AYS) over Korea. The mode diameter of these compounds of YS was around 4 µm, compared to 0.4～0.9 µm of AYS. Concentrations of SO₄ ^2? and NO₃ ^? were found to be highly correlated with that of Ca²⁺ in the coarse mode during the YS event, whereas they were well correlated with NH₄ ⁺ during the non-YS period.     

Specifics and Temporal Changes in Air Pollution in Areas Affected by Emissions from Oil Shale Industry, Estonia

Atmospheric air pollution levels and long-term effects on the environment caused by simultaneous presence of SO₂ and oil shale alkaline fly ash during the last five decades (since 1950) were investigated. The annual critical value of SO₂ for forest (20 µg m^?3) was surpassed in 1% (～35 km²) of the study area where the load was 30–40 µg m^?3. No effect of long-term SO₂ concentrations of up to 10–11 µg m^?3 (0.5-h max up to 270 µg m^?3) and simultaneous fly ash loads of up to 95 µg m^?3 (1000 µg m^?3) on the growth and needle longevity of Pinus sylvestris was established. The yearly deposition (average load up to 20–100 kg S ha^?1) was alkaline rather than acidic due to an elevated base cation deposition in 1960–1989. Since 1990, the proportion of SO₂ in the balance of components increased: about 70–85% of the total area was affected while the ratio of annual average concentrations of SO₂ to fly ash was over 1. The limit values of fly ash for Sphagnum mosses and conifers in the presence of SO₂ are recommended.     

Dry Deposition of Atmospheric Sulphur and Nitrogen in Russia and the Former USSR

Generally, dry deposition processes are very important for atmospheric chemistry of pollutants providing up to 30–80 % of the removal for certain compounds from the atmosphere. The model for calculating of dry deposition fluxes for a large territory seems unsophisticated in spite of the dependence on surface characteristics, pollutant properties and atmospheric conditions. The approach of combining monthly average concentrations measured at the Integrated Background Monitoring Network (IBMoN) and EMEP stations and linear dry deposition velocity was used to calculate total sulphur and nitrogen fluxes for the whole of the former Soviet Union (FSU) taking into account large-scale geographical variability in climate and lands. Most values of all SO₂ and SO₄ ^2? concentrations were below 2.9 and 3.1 mgS/m³, and NO₂ concentration were 1.5 mgN/m³ over European part and 0.6 mgN/m³ in Western Siberia. The long-term trends of oxidised sulphur and nitrogen compounds in the atmosphere were examined for 1982–1998 in certain FSU regions. Annual dry deposition of sulphur was estimated as 3.64 Mt S (in sulphate form) and 2.76 Mt S (in SO₂ form) for the whole area of FSU. Annual removal of NO₂ by dry deposition was calculated at 1.27 Mt N. These values constituted between 44 and 50% of total oxidised sulphur and nitrogen deposition.     

Atmospheric Deposition of Acidifying Components to a Japanese Cedar Forest

One-year field measurements were conducted in a Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) forest, located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. On the basis of the meteorological and atmospheric concentration data, the dry deposition of SO₂, HNO₃, NO₂ and HCl was estimated using the inferential method. The annual dry deposition of H⁺ was estimated at 721 eq ha^?1yr^?1, which was 40% larger than the measured annual wet deposition of H⁺ (514 eq ha^?1yr^?1). Therefore, dry deposition is an important pathway for the atmospheric input of H⁺ to the forest in the study site. The contribution of each gas to the dry deposition of H⁺ was as follows: SO₂, 25%; HNO₃, 32%; NO₂, 10%; and HCl, 33%. The extremely high contribution of HCl appeared to be caused by the high emission intensity of HCl due to waste incineration in the site region. The differences between estimated deposition and throughfall and stemflow measurements indicated that about 80% of the total deposition of H⁺ was taken up by the canopy.     

Dry deposition to snow in an urban area

Ambient particle and gas concentrations, wet deposition and dry deposition were measured in Warren, MI between December 18, 1983 and April 6, 1984. Dry deposition was measured to various surfaces in a cutoff bucket, including a snow surface, a snow/water surface during melting and a deionized water surface. Dry deposition velocities were calculated for various species from the ratio of the dry flux to the ambient concentrations. The dry deposition velocities measured to a snow surface were 0.082 cm s^?1 SO₂ 2.0 for HNO₃, 0.083 for NH₄ ⁺, 2.0 for Ca⁺⁺ and 4.3 for Cl^?. The values were not significantly different for a snow/water surface during melting compared to a snow surface. However, higher values of 0.69 cm s^?1 for SO₂, 6.2 for HNO₃, 0.33 for NH₄ ⁺, and 4.2 for Ca⁺⁺ were found to a deionized water surface in the spring. These higher values could be due to the higher air temperature, the pH of the liquid or to increased atmospheric mixing during this period.     

Dry deposition measurements using water as a receptor: A chemical approach

The field measurement of dry deposition still represents a difficult task. In our approach, a 1 to 2 cm thick layer of water in a petri dish with a diameter of 22 cm, serves as a surrogate surface. The atmospheric constituents taken up by the water can be analyzed chemically by the same procedure as for the wet deposition samples. In contrast to solid surrogate surfaces, water exhibits the following advantageous properties: low and constant surface resistance, high sticking coefficient for aerosols, and predictable Sorption behavior for gases. Consequently, the deposition rates measured to the wet surface are generally higher, by up to a factor of 4 for NH₄ ⁺, Cl^?, NO₃ ^? and SO₄ ^2?, than those to a dry surface, but still smaller than the concurrent wet deposition rates. We observed the following average dry deposition rates in μmol m^?2 d^?1∶ NH₄ ⁺ 48.3, Ca²⁺ 40.7, Na⁺ 15.8, Mg²⁺ 8.4, K⁺ 4.2, H-Aci 36.4; SO₄ ^2? 57.2, Cl^? 39.2, NO₃ ^? 34.5, HSO₃ ^? 5.7, formate 4.0; acid soluble metals: Fe 2.8, Zn 0.60, Cu 0.11, Pb 0.073, Cd 0.0022. The soluble fraction of Zn, Cd, Cu, Pb and Fe in the dry deposition varied with the pH of the water phase corresponding to the adsorption tendency of these metals to oxide surfaces. The sampling method also allows tracing of regionally and locally emitted atmospheric pollutants. In our study the local pollution sources included road salting, construction work and a refuse incinerator. Finally, chemical reactions occurring in the atmosphere, such as the conversion of Cl^? to HCl by HNO₃ or the oxidation of SO₂, can be identified by evaluating the data. The method proposed is relevant to measure reproducibly the dry deposition of a variety of compounds to water bodies and moist vegetation.     

Source Identification of Rural Precipitation Chemistry in Japan

Precipitation chemistry was discussed from the viewpoint of potential sources for four rural sites where wet-only daily-basis measurement data sets were available during the period from April 1996 to March 1997 in Japan. Annual volume-weighted mean concentrations of nss-SO₄ ^2? and NO₃ ^? ranged from 18.0 to 34.6 µeq L^?1, and from 9.3 to 23.1 µeq L^?1, respectively. The degree of neutralization of input acidity in terms of the concentration ratio, [H⁺] / ([nss-SO₄ ^2?] + [NO₃ ^?]), ranged from 0.46 to 0.63. This suggests that about half of the input acidity due to H₂SO₄ and HNO₃ was neutralized by NH₄ ⁺ and nss-Ca²⁺ to produce the pH values of 4.46 to 4.82 for these sites. Maximum likelihood factor analysis was then performed on the logarithmically transformed daily wet deposition of major ions. Two factors successfully explained a total of about 80% of the variance in the data for each site. Interpreting varimax rotated factor loadings, we could identify two source types: (1) acid source with large loadings on ln(H⁺), ln(nss-SO₄ ^2?), ln(NO₃ ^?) and ln(NH₄ ⁺), (2) sea-salt source with large loadings on ln(Na⁺), ln(Cl^?), ln(Mg²⁺) and ln(K⁺). The rural wet deposition over Japan appears to have a similar structure in terms of the kinds of sources and their relative location.     

Air Pollution Processing by Radiation Fogs

Several fog episodes occurred in California’s San Joaquin Valley during winter 2000/2001. Measurements revealed the fogs to generally be less than 50 m deep, but to contain high liquid water contents (frequently exceeding 200 mg/m³) and large droplets. The composition of the fog water was dominated by ammonium (median concentration?=?608 μN), nitrate (304 μN), and organic carbon (6.9 ppmC), with significant contributions also from nitrite (18 μN) and sulfate (56 μN). Principal organic species included formate (median concentration?=?32 μN), acetate (31 μN), and formaldehyde (21 μM). High concentrations of ammonia resulted in high fog pH values, ranging between 5.8 and 8.0 at the core measurement site. At this high pH aqueous phase oxidation of dissolved sulfur dioxide and reaction of S(IV) with formaldehyde to form hydroxymethanesulfonate are both important processes. The fogs are also effective at scavenging and removal of airborne particulate matter. Deposition velocities for key solutes in the fog are typically of the order of 1–2 cm/s, much higher than deposition velocities of precursor accumulation mode aerosol particles. Variations were observed in deposition velocities for individual constituents in the order NO₂ ^??>?fogwater?>?NH₄ ⁺?>?TOC ～ SO₄ ^2??>?NO₃ ^?. Nitrite, observed to be enriched in large fog drops, had a deposition velocity higher than the average fogwater deposition velocity, due to the increase in drop settling velocity with size. Species enriched in small fog drops (NH₄ ⁺, TOC, SO₄ ^2?, and NO₃ ^?) all had deposition velocities smaller than observed for fogwater. Typical boundary layer removal rates for major fog solute species were estimated to be approximately 0.5–1 μg m^?3 h^?1, indicating the important role regional fogs can play in reducing airborne pollutant concentrations.     

The determination of NH3-concentration gradients in a spruce forest using a passive sampling technique

In order to estimate the influence of NH₃ on a forest in a clean atmosphere, the quality of the atmosphere in Sumava, South-Bohemia, was determined in September–October 1988. In this period the NO_X, SO₂, and aerosol concentrations were extremely low. The N-input into the forest margin amounted to 10–15 kg ha^?1 in these two months, based on a deposition velocity of 3 cm s^?1 and an average concentration of 9 μg m^?3 NH₃. The maximum hourly average ozone concentrations were found to be 50 to 100 μg m^?3. There exists a strong relation between the ambient NH₃ concentration profiles and the stable occupation. The concentration inside the stables exceeded the no-adverse-effect level for cows of 7.6 mg m^?3. This publication forms the basis for the estimation of the exposure of the forest to NH₃ and the interpretation of the observed effects as published elsewhere (Mejst?ík et al., unpublished).     

Measurements of wet and dry deposition in a Northern Hardwood forest

Inputs of wet and dry deposition were monitored at the Huntington Forest in the Adirondack Mountains of New York for two years in the open and beneath the canopy of a northern hardwood forest. In the open, ion flux estimates were similar using wet-only weekly (NADP protocol) and event collections, but bulk collections were higher for all ions except H⁺, which was much lower. These differences were due to the contribution of dry deposition and possible biotic alterations in bulk collectors. Dry deposition was estimated using air concentrations and ion-specific depositional velocities modeled with meteorological data, and contributed substantially to the input of all ions [H⁺ (45%), Na⁺ (24%), K⁺ (22%), NH₄ ⁺ (12%), Ca²⁺ (58%), Mg²⁺(43%), NO₃ ^? (55%), Cl^? (27%) and SO₄ ^?2 (26%)]. Dry input of base cations was dominated by coarse particles, whereas gaseous inputs were more important for S and NO₃ ^?. Atmospheric concentrations of SO₂ and inputs of SO₄ ^2? and H⁺ were lower at this site than sites closer to point sources of S gas emission. The importance of estimating atmospheric inputs was examined using examples of elemental budgets. For example, different estimates of the contribution of dry deposition of SO₄ ^2? (9–21 meq m^?2 y^?1) resulted in conclusions ranging from no net retention to a net loss of this element. Such differences have important implications in assessing the current and future role of atmospheric inputs in affecting elemental cycling.     

N,P, K and S uptake response to various levels of CO2 assimilation and growth rate in lettuce

Under conditions of limited nutrient supply, plant nutrient uptake is controlled by the external concentration of the ions. Limited information exists about the whole-plant regulation of nutrient uptake when the supply is adequate. To study the relationship between growth rate and carbon dioxide (CO₂) assimilation with nutrient uptake, growth chamber experiments were conducted with temperatures ranging from 10 to 35°C at medium (600 µmol m^?2 s^?1) and high (1200 µmol m^?2 s^?1) light intensities. Nutrient solution samples were collected every 24 hours and the concentration of ions was analyzed by Inductively coupled plasma -atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and nitrate and ammonium (NO₃^?/NH₄⁺) conductivity. Leaf photo-synthesis was measured using a closed gas exchange system and the total amount of CO₂ assimilated was calculated from dry weight increases. The daily absorption of NO₃^?, Total nitrogen (N), dihydrogen phosphate (H₂PO₄^?) and potassium (K⁺) responded linearly to plant growth, while ammonium (NH₄⁺) and sulfate (SO₄^2?) uptake showed a curvilinear response. All the ions studied showed a curvilinear relation with CO₂ assimilation.     

Fine and Coarse Ionic Aerosol Components in Relation to Wet and Dry Deposition

The distribution of acidic andalkaline constituents (SO₄ ^2-,NO₃ ^-, Cl^-, NH₄ ⁺, Na⁺,K⁺, Ca²⁺) between the fine and coarseparticle range has been examined in an urban locationin Thessaloniki, N. Greece over an 8-month period. The chemistry of wet and dry deposition collected overthe same period was also examined. Statisticalassociations between species within each environmentalphase were investigated using correlation analysis.Use of principal component analysis was made toinvestigate compositional similarities betweenaerosol, deposited dust and rain. It was found thatSO₄ followed by NO₃, NH₄ and Caprevailed in fine aerosol. Sulphates and Ca were alsothe prevailing ions in the coarse particle fraction.Wet deposition was found to be the dominant depositionmechanism for all species. The high dry depositionrates observed for Ca and SO₄ suggest that mostof the dry deposited sulphate is in the form ofCaSO₄. Scavenging ratios of ionic speciesassociated with coarse aerosol were higher than thecorresponding ratios for fine particles. Principalcomponent analysis suggested that variations in ioniccomposition of fine aerosol could be interpretedprimarily by gas-to-particle neutralization reactionsinvolving atmospheric ammonia. In contrast, theinteraction between SO₂ and HNO₃ with Cacompounds seems to be the most likely factor that canexplain variations in wet and dry deposition ioniccontents.     

NITROGEN–PHOSPHORUS–POTASSIUM EFFECTS ON FORMS OF SULFUR IN LEAVES AND FRUITS OF CUCUMBER

ABSTRACT

The impact that nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) application rates on the sulfur (S) fractions in leaves and fruits of greenhouse-grown cucumbers plants (Cucumis sativus L. cv. Brunex) are presented. The treatments were as follows: N (N1=5 g NO₃NH₄/m², N2=10 g NO₃NH₄/m², N3=20 g NO₃NH₄/m², N4=40 g NO₃NH₄/m²), two levels of P (P1=8 g H₃PO₄/m² and P2=16 g H₃PO₄/m²), and two levels of K (K1=20 g K₂SO₄/m² and K2=40 g K₂SO₄/m²). The foliar and fruit contents were determined for total S, organic S and sulfate. The influence of the N treatments on the total S (St: organic S +sulfate) concentration, proved significant, showing a progressive increase in the leaf and fruit concentrations. In the leaves, the P slightly diminished the St concentration but values in the fruits did not appreciably differ from control. The K dosage did not cause the St concentration to differ from that of P, although in the fruit a slightly lower St concentration appeared in the K2 treatment. The response of the organic-S concentration in the leaves resembled that of St, and thus organic S should not be used as a diagnostic method for S status. In the relationship SO₄ ^2-/St, the SO₄ ^2- concentration proved more influential than did the St form, providing a more accurate representation of the potential status of this nutrient in the plant.     

A computed sulphur budget for the eastern Canadian provinces

Sulphur budgets for Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic Provinces have been computed using the Long-Range Transport of Air Pollutants model (LRTAP) which has been developed within the Atmospheric Environment Service of Canada. Meteorological data from 1978 and a North American SO₂ emissions inventory for 1970–1974 form the basic model input. The S budgets for the eastern Canadian regions were computed for large-scale emission scenarios. The budget shows the trans-boundary mass transport, S deposition and S concentrations within the regions for each scenario and shows the relative contribution to the deposition in each region. For eastern Canada, the model shows an annual S transboundary input of about 2 Tg S, an emission of about 1.8 Tg S, a deposition of about 2.4 Tg S and an output of about 1.4 Tg S. For southwestern Ontario, the model shows an annual average SO₂ concentration of 25 to 30 μg m^?3 (10 ppb), an annual sulphate concentration of about 8 μg m^?3, an annual wet deposition of S of about 15 kg S ha^?1 and an annual sulphate concentration in precipitation of about 5 to 6 mg l^?1.     

Evalution of Acid Deposition in Korea

This study was carried out to evaluate acid depositions and to understand their effect. Wet precipitation has been collected at twenty-four sites in Korea for one year of 1999. The ion concentrations such as H⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, NH₄ ⁺, Ca²⁺, Cl^?, NO₃ ^? and SO₄ ^2? were chemically analyzed and determined. Precipitation had wide range of pH(3.5～8.5), and volume-weighted average was 5.2. The contribution amounts of Cl^?, SO₄ ^2? and NO₃ ^? in anion were shown to be 54%, 32%, and 14%, respectively and those of Na⁺ and NH₄ ⁺ in cation were 32% and 25%. The ratios of Cl^? and Mg²⁺ to Na⁺ in precipitation were similar to those of seawater, which imply that great amount of Cl^? and Mg²⁺ in precipitation could be originated from seawater. The concentration of H⁺ is little related with SO₄ ^2?, NO₃ ^? and Cl^? ions, whereas nss^?SO₄ ^2? and NO₃ ^? are highly correlated with NH₄ ⁺, which could suggest that great amount of SO₄ ^2? and NO₃ ^? exist in the form of ammonium associated salt. The annual wet deposition amounts (g m^?2year^?1) of SO₄ ^2?, NO₃ ^?, Cl^?, H⁺, NH₄ ⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ were estimated as 0.88～4.89, 0.49～4.37, 0.30～9.80, 0.001～0.031, 0.06～2.15, 0.27～4.27, 0.10～3.81, 0.23～1.59 and 0.03～0.63.     

Deposition and Critical Loads of Nitrogen in Switzerland

Many ecosystems in Switzerland suffer from eutrophication due to increased atmospheric nitrogen (N) input. In order to get an overview of the problem, critical loads for nutrient N were mapped with a resolution of 1×1 km applying two methods recommended by the UN/ECE: the steady state mass balance method for productive forests, and the empirical method for semi-natural vegetation, such as natural forests, (sub-)alpine or species-rich grassland and raised bogs. The national forest inventory and a detailed atlas of vegetation types were used to identify the areas sensitive to N input. The total N input was calculated as the sum of NO₃ ^?, NH₄ ⁺, NH₃, NO₂ and HNO₃ wet and dry deposition. Wet deposition was determined on the basis of a precipitation map and concentration measurements. Dry deposition was calculated with inferential methods including land-use specific deposition velocities. The concentration fields for NH₃ and NO₂ were obtained from emission inventories combined with dispersion models. Reduced N compounds account for 63% of total deposition in Switzerland. As indicated by exceeded critical loads, the highest risk for harmful effects of N deposition (decrease of ecosystem stability, species shift and losses) is expected on forests and raised bogs in the lowlands, where local emissions are intense. At high altitudes and in dry inner-alpine valleys, deposition rates are significantly lower.