Assessing the recovery potential of alpine moss-sedge heath: Reciprocal transplants along a nitrogen deposition gradient

作者：Armitage Heather F^*; Britton Andrea J; Woodin Sarah J; van der Wal Rene

来源：Environmental Pollution, 2011, 159(1): 140-147.

DOI：10.1016/j.envpol.2010.09.011

• Nitrogen deposition
• Racomitrium heath
• Tissue N
• Bryophytes
• Recovery

The potential of alpine moss-sedge heath to recover from elevated nitrogen (N) deposition was assessed by transplanting Racomitrium lanuginosum shoots and vegetation turfs between 10 elevated N deposition sites (8.2-32.9 kg ha(-1) yr(-1)) and a low N deposition site, Ben Wyvis (7.2 kg ha(-1) yr(-1)). After two years, tissue N of Racomitrium shoots transplanted from higher N sites to Ben Wyvis only partially equilibrated to reduced N deposition whereas reciprocal transplants almost matched the tissue N of indigenous moss. Unexpectedly, moss shoot growth was stimulated at higher N deposition sites. However, moss depth and biomass increased in turfs transplanted to Ben Wyvis, apparently due to slower shoot turnover (suggested to result partly from decreased tissue C:N slowing decomposition), whilst abundance of vascular species declined. Racomitrium heath has the potential to recover from the impacts of N deposition; however, this is constrained by the persistence of enhanced moss tissue N contents.

• 出版日期2011-1