Abstract
Wet deposition of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (N) is declining nationally, accompanied by a shift in stoichiometry from predominantly oxidized to reduced forms of N. Stoichiometric trends that include the organic fraction of N wet deposition have yet to be assessed in light of anthropogenic pressures and global change, including shifting seasonality. Here we use 17 years of weekly, year-round wet deposition data from a temperate watershed in New Hampshire (USA) to assess long-term and seasonal trends in NO3−, NH4+, and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), and quantify the dependence of N stoichiometry on precipitation type (rain or snow). Concentration, load, and relative abundance of DON are increasing, a pattern previously unreported in the U.S. Deposition of total dissolved nitrogen at this site is declining, but is increasingly depleted in NH4+, contrary to national trends. The stoichiometry of inorganic N is highly sensitive to precipitation type with snow containing significantly more NO3− than rain, which was relatively enriched in NH4+. The effects of climate change on seasonality such as warmer winters could result in a greater proportion of precipitation entering the biosphere as rain that is relatively enriched in reduced N, with significant implications for watershed biogeochemical cycles at the regional scale. This study demonstrates variability in contemporary N deposition inputs including trends in stoichiometry and explores the role of organic N and seasonality in regulating inter- and intra- variability in N deposition stoichiometry.
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Data availability
The meteorological datasets leveraged in the current study are available from NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information repository, https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/search/index. The wet deposition chemistry datasets generated during the current study are not publicly available but can be requested from the University of New Hampshire Water Quality Analysis Lab.
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Acknowledgements
For the help in the field and laboratory, we thank Jeff Merriam, Rachael Skokan, Anna Bourakovsky, Heather Gilbert, Liz Holden, Ania Kobylinski, Katherine Swan, James Casey, Matthew Bosiak, Danielle Chancey and especially Jody D. Potter, manager of the University of New Hampshire Water Quality Analysis Laboratory. Partial funding was provided by the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station. This work was supported by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture Hatch Multi-State Project 1022291 (ASW) and McIntire-Stennis Project 1019522 (WHM). This is scientific contribution 2933. Partial funding was also provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the Connecticut River Airshed-Watershed Consortium, the New Hampshire Water Resources Research Center, the National Science Foundation (NSF) Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) program Research Infrastructure Improvement Awards EPS 1101245, EPS-1929148 (Canary in the Watershed) and IIA-1330641, and the USDA SARE program (LNE11-313).
Funding
Funding was provided by New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station (Grant Nos. 1022291, 1019522), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, New Hampshire Water Resources Research Center, University of New Hampshire, USDA SARE, National Science Foundation Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive research (Grant Nos. EPS 1101245, EPS-1929148, IIA-1330641). Support for DSM was provided by the NASA FINESST program (Grant No 80NSSC1441).
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by DSM, MDS, WHM, and ASW. The first draft of the manuscript was written by DSM, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Murray, D.S., Shattuck, M.D., McDowell, W.H. et al. Nitrogen wet deposition stoichiometry: the role of organic nitrogen, seasonality, and snow. Biogeochemistry 160, 301–314 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-022-00966-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-022-00966-0