Nitrogen and sulphur deposition and the growth of Sphagnum fuscum in bogs of the Athabasca Oil Sands Region, Alberta
One of the consequences of ongoing development of the oil sands reserve in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada (56° 39' N, 111° 13' W) is an increase in emissions of nitrogen (N) and sulphur (S), with an attendant increases in regional atmospheric N an...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:01462987f8024a519d1678cd8ae28ee9 2023-05-15T16:17:40+02:00 Nitrogen and sulphur deposition and the growth of Sphagnum fuscum in bogs of the Athabasca Oil Sands Region, Alberta Melanie A. VILE Melissa HOUSE Medora BURKE-SCOLL Kimberli D. SCOTT Kelman R. WIEDER Dale H. VITT 2010-08-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.4081/jlimnol.2010.s1.161 https://doaj.org/article/01462987f8024a519d1678cd8ae28ee9 EN eng PAGEPress Publications http://www.jlimnol.it/index.php/jlimnol/article/view/124 https://doaj.org/toc/1129-5767 https://doaj.org/toc/1723-8633 doi:10.4081/jlimnol.2010.s1.161 1129-5767 1723-8633 https://doaj.org/article/01462987f8024a519d1678cd8ae28ee9 Journal of Limnology, Vol 69, Iss 1s, Pp 161-170 (2010) Sphagnum fuscum nitrogen deposition sulphur deposition Athabasca Oil Sands Region peatland bog Canada Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Physical geography GB3-5030 Environmental sciences GE1-350 article 2010 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.4081/jlimnol.2010.s1.161 2022-12-31T03:33:19Z One of the consequences of ongoing development of the oil sands reserve in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada (56° 39' N, 111° 13' W) is an increase in emissions of nitrogen (N) and sulphur (S), with an attendant increases in regional atmospheric N and S deposition. Regional land cover across northeastern Alberta is a mixture of Boreal Mixedwood, Boreal Highlands, and Subarctic areas. Peatlands occupy between 22 and 66% of these natural regions, and the land cover of bogs varies between 6.7% in the Mixedwood Region to 46% in the Subarctic Region. Ombrotrophic bog ecosystems may be especially sensitive to atmospheric deposition of N and S. Across 10 ombrotrophic bog sites in the AOSR over four years (2005– 2008), we found no evidence of elevated deposition of NH4 +-N, NO3 –-N, total inorganic nitrogen (TIN; NH4 +-N plus NO3 –-N), or SO4 2–-S, with values measured using ion exchange resin collectors averaging 0.61 ± 04, 0.20 ± 0.01, 0.81 ± 0.04, and 1.14 ± 0.06 kg ha–1 y–1, respectively. Vertical growth and net primary production of Sphagnum fuscum, an indicator of elevated deposition, did not differ consistently across sites, averaging 11.8 ± 0.2 mm y–1 and 234 ± 3.3 g m–2 y–1, respectively, over the four years. Neither vertical growth nor net primary production of S. fuscum was correlated with growing season atmospheric N or S deposition. Our data provide a valuable benchmark of background values for monitoring purposes in anticipation of increasing N and S deposition over a broader geographic region within the AOSR. Article in Journal/Newspaper Fort McMurray Subarctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Canada Fort McMurray Journal of Limnology 69 1s 161 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Sphagnum fuscum nitrogen deposition sulphur deposition Athabasca Oil Sands Region peatland bog Canada Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Physical geography GB3-5030 Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
spellingShingle |
Sphagnum fuscum nitrogen deposition sulphur deposition Athabasca Oil Sands Region peatland bog Canada Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Physical geography GB3-5030 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Melanie A. VILE Melissa HOUSE Medora BURKE-SCOLL Kimberli D. SCOTT Kelman R. WIEDER Dale H. VITT Nitrogen and sulphur deposition and the growth of Sphagnum fuscum in bogs of the Athabasca Oil Sands Region, Alberta |
topic_facet |
Sphagnum fuscum nitrogen deposition sulphur deposition Athabasca Oil Sands Region peatland bog Canada Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Physical geography GB3-5030 Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
description |
One of the consequences of ongoing development of the oil sands reserve in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada (56° 39' N, 111° 13' W) is an increase in emissions of nitrogen (N) and sulphur (S), with an attendant increases in regional atmospheric N and S deposition. Regional land cover across northeastern Alberta is a mixture of Boreal Mixedwood, Boreal Highlands, and Subarctic areas. Peatlands occupy between 22 and 66% of these natural regions, and the land cover of bogs varies between 6.7% in the Mixedwood Region to 46% in the Subarctic Region. Ombrotrophic bog ecosystems may be especially sensitive to atmospheric deposition of N and S. Across 10 ombrotrophic bog sites in the AOSR over four years (2005– 2008), we found no evidence of elevated deposition of NH4 +-N, NO3 –-N, total inorganic nitrogen (TIN; NH4 +-N plus NO3 –-N), or SO4 2–-S, with values measured using ion exchange resin collectors averaging 0.61 ± 04, 0.20 ± 0.01, 0.81 ± 0.04, and 1.14 ± 0.06 kg ha–1 y–1, respectively. Vertical growth and net primary production of Sphagnum fuscum, an indicator of elevated deposition, did not differ consistently across sites, averaging 11.8 ± 0.2 mm y–1 and 234 ± 3.3 g m–2 y–1, respectively, over the four years. Neither vertical growth nor net primary production of S. fuscum was correlated with growing season atmospheric N or S deposition. Our data provide a valuable benchmark of background values for monitoring purposes in anticipation of increasing N and S deposition over a broader geographic region within the AOSR. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Melanie A. VILE Melissa HOUSE Medora BURKE-SCOLL Kimberli D. SCOTT Kelman R. WIEDER Dale H. VITT |
author_facet |
Melanie A. VILE Melissa HOUSE Medora BURKE-SCOLL Kimberli D. SCOTT Kelman R. WIEDER Dale H. VITT |
author_sort |
Melanie A. VILE |
title |
Nitrogen and sulphur deposition and the growth of Sphagnum fuscum in bogs of the Athabasca Oil Sands Region, Alberta |
title_short |
Nitrogen and sulphur deposition and the growth of Sphagnum fuscum in bogs of the Athabasca Oil Sands Region, Alberta |
title_full |
Nitrogen and sulphur deposition and the growth of Sphagnum fuscum in bogs of the Athabasca Oil Sands Region, Alberta |
title_fullStr |
Nitrogen and sulphur deposition and the growth of Sphagnum fuscum in bogs of the Athabasca Oil Sands Region, Alberta |
title_full_unstemmed |
Nitrogen and sulphur deposition and the growth of Sphagnum fuscum in bogs of the Athabasca Oil Sands Region, Alberta |
title_sort |
nitrogen and sulphur deposition and the growth of sphagnum fuscum in bogs of the athabasca oil sands region, alberta |
publisher |
PAGEPress Publications |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.4081/jlimnol.2010.s1.161 https://doaj.org/article/01462987f8024a519d1678cd8ae28ee9 |
geographic |
Canada Fort McMurray |
geographic_facet |
Canada Fort McMurray |
genre |
Fort McMurray Subarctic |
genre_facet |
Fort McMurray Subarctic |
op_source |
Journal of Limnology, Vol 69, Iss 1s, Pp 161-170 (2010) |
op_relation |
http://www.jlimnol.it/index.php/jlimnol/article/view/124 https://doaj.org/toc/1129-5767 https://doaj.org/toc/1723-8633 doi:10.4081/jlimnol.2010.s1.161 1129-5767 1723-8633 https://doaj.org/article/01462987f8024a519d1678cd8ae28ee9 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.4081/jlimnol.2010.s1.161 |
container_title |
Journal of Limnology |
container_volume |
69 |
container_issue |
1s |
container_start_page |
161 |
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1766003560935325696 |