Curtis, C; Simpson, GL; Shilland, J; Turner, S; Kernan, M; Monteith, DT; Rose, NL; + view all Curtis, C; Simpson, GL; Shilland, J; Turner, S; Kernan, M; Monteith, DT; Rose, NL; Evans, C; Norris, D; Rowe, E; Emmett, B; Sowerby, A; Heaton, T; Maberly, S; Ostle, N; Grant, H; - view fewer (2007) Freshwater umbrella - the effects of nitrogen deposition & climate change on freshwaters in the UK. (ECRC Research Report 115 ). UCL Environmental Change Research Centre: London, UK.

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Abstract

In upland areas of the UK located away from direct human disturbance through agriculture, industrial activities and urban pollution, atmospheric pollution poses one of the major threats to the chemical and biological quality of lakes and streams. One of the most important groups of pollutants is nitrogen (N) compounds, including oxidised forms of N called NOx, generated mainly by fossil fuel combustion especially in motor vehicles, and reduced forms of N (ammonia gas or dissolved ammonium compounds) generated mainly from agricultural activities and livestock. These nitrogen compounds may dissolve in rain or soilwater to form acids, or may be taken up as nutrients by plants and soil microbes in upland catchments, and then subsequently released in acid form associated with nitrate leaching at a later date. It is well established that nitrate leaching contributes to acidification of upland waters, with damage to aquatic ecosystems including plants, invertebrates and fish. However it has recently been suggested that nitrate leaching may also be associated with nutrient enrichment of upland waters that contain biological communities adapted to very low nutrient levels.

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