Synthesis of lichen response to gaseous nitrogen: ammonia versus nitrogen dioxide.

ABSTRACT: The dominant chemical form of nitrogen pollution in the atmosphere in the U.S. is shifting from oxidized nitrogen, primarily from combustion of fossil fuels, to reduced nitrogen from agricultural animal waste and fertilizer applications. Does it matter to lichens? In this synthesis, we characterize U.S. air concentrations of the most ubiquitous gaseous forms of reduced and oxidized nitrogen, NO₂ and NH_3, respectively, and their direct effects on lichens. In the U.S., the 3-year average (2017-2019) of the annual mean for each monitoring site ranges up to 56.4 μg NO₂ m^-3 (~30 ppb) and 6 μg NH₃ m^-3 (~9 ppb). The spatial coverage of current routine monitoring of NO₂ and NH₃ likely does not accurately repres

SUBMITTER: Greaver T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10355123 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature