Increasing atmospheric nitrogen deposition can influence food production, environmental quality and climate change from the regional to global scales. As the largest developing country, China is expected to experience a rapid increase in N deposition. However, the lack of information on dry N deposition limits our understanding of the historical trend of the total N deposition, as well as the main drivers of this trend. Here, we use extensive datasets that include both wet and dry N deposition to evaluate the spatiotemporal variation of N deposition and the changes of its components in China during 1980-2015. Three significant transitions in N deposition in China were observed. First, the total N deposition began to stabilize in 2001-2005, mostly due to a decline in wet NH4+ deposition. Subsequently, a shift to approximately equal wet and dry N deposition occurred in 2011-2015, accompanied by increasing dry deposition. Finally, the contribution of reduced N components in the deposition decreased due to increasing NO3- deposition. These transitions were jointly driven by changes in the socioeconomic structure in China and vigorous controls in N pollution. The three observed important transitions challenge the traditional views about the continuous increase in N deposition in China.
1.Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Geog Sci & Nat Resources Res, Key Lab Ecosyst Network Observat & Modeling, Beijing, Peoples R China 2.Univ Chinese Acad Sci, Coll Resources & Environm, Beijing, Peoples R China 3.Hebei Agr Univ, Forestry Coll, Baoding, Peoples R China 4.Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Geog Sci & Nat Resources Res, State Key Lab Resources & Environm Informat Syst, Beijing, Peoples R China 5.Peking Univ, Minist Educ, Key Lab Earth Surface Proc, Coll Urban & Environm Sci, Beijing, Peoples R China 6.China Agr Univ, Coll Resources & Environm Sci, Key Lab Plant Soil Interact MOE, Beijing, Peoples R China 7.China Agr Univ, Coll Resources & Environm Sci, Beijing Key Lab Farmland Soil Pollut Prevent & Re, Beijing, Peoples R China 8.Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Geochem, State Key Lab Environm Geochem, Guiyang, Guizhou, Peoples R China 9.Chinese Acad Meteorol Sci, Key Lab Atmospher Chem, Beijing, Peoples R China 10.Rothamsted Res, Sustainable Agr Sci Dept, Harpenden, Herts, England
Recommended Citation:
Yu, Guirui,Jia, Yanlong,He, Nianpeng,et al. Stabilization of atmospheric nitrogen deposition in China over the past decade[J]. NATURE GEOSCIENCE,2019-01-01,12(6):424-+