Comparison of the Effects of Wet N Deposition (NH4Cl) and Dry N Deposition (NH3) on UK Moorland Species

Increases in N deposition (wet and dry) have been associated with a decline in semi-natural plant communities, adapted for growth on nutrient poor soils in the UK and Europe. The impacts of N deposition applied as either wet NH₄ ⁺ or gaseous NH₃ on vegetation (7 species) from acid moorland in SE Scotland were compared in a dose-response study. Wet N deposition at 0, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128 kg N ha^?1 y^?1 was applied as NH₄Cl, and dry deposition as gaseous NH₃ (2, 6, 20, 50, 90 µg NH₃ m^?3) under controlled conditions in open-top chambers. A strong linear dose-response relationship (p<0.05) was found between foliar N content in all seven plant species and applied NH₄?N. However, in the NH₃ treatment, only C. vulgaris and P. commune showed a significant response to increasing N additions. NH₃ was found to increase the rate of water loss in Calluna in both autumn and winter by comparison with wet deposition. For Eriophorum vaginatum, the NH₃ and NH₄ ⁺ treatments showed significant N dose response relationships for biomass. A significant increase in above ground biomass, proportional to the added N, was found for Narthecium ossifragum when N was applied as NH₃ compared to NH₄ ⁺.