← Back to PublicationsJournal Article

Shifts in lake N:P stoichiometry and nutrient limitation driven by atmospheric nitrogen deposition

Authors: Elser, J. J.; Anderson, T.; Baron, J. S.; Bergstrom, A. K.; Jansson, M.; Kyle, M.; Nydick, K. R.; Steger, L.; Hessen, D. O.
Year: 2009
Journal: Science, Vol. 326(5954), pp. 835-837
Publisher: UNKNOWN
DOI: 10.1126/science.1176199
Keywords: NITROGEN DEPOSITION, NUTRIENTS

Abstract

Nitrogen Overload The cycling of essential nutrients in terrestrial ecosystems has been altered by human activities. Elser et al. (p. 835 ) report a comparative analysis of lakes in Norway, Sweden, and in the United States that suggests that this is also true in aquatic ecosystems such as lakes. Deposition of anthropogenically derived atmospheric nitrogen controls whether N or P is growth-limiting for phytoplankton. Under elevated conditions of atmospheric N inputs, lake phytoplankton become consistently P-limited because the N:P ratio is strongly distorted. This is in contrast to conditions of low N deposition when lake phytoplankton are N-limited. These effects are even observed in remote lakes, demonstrating the indirect yet wide-ranging effects of humans on global food webs.

Local Knowledge Graph (14 entities)

Loading graph...

Knowledge graph centered on Shifts in lake N:P stoichiometry and nutrient limi with 15 nodes and 19 connections. Top connected: Nutrient availability and phytoplankton nutrient l, Long-term declines in insect abundance and biomass, Using ecological stoichiometry to understand and p, High interspecific variation in nutrient excretion, Carbon Dioxide Concentrations and Efflux from Perm.