Ecological effects of nitrogen and sulfur air pollution in the US: what do we know?
Citations Over TimeTop 10% of 2012 papers
Abstract
Four decades after the passage of the US Clean Air Act, air‐quality standards are set to protect ecosystems from damage caused by gas‐phase nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) compounds, but not from the deposition of these air pollutants to land and water. Here, we synthesize recent scientific literature on the ecological effects of N and S air pollution in the US. Deposition of N and S is the main driver of ecosystem acidification and contributes to nutrient enrichment in many natural systems. Although surface‐water acidification has decreased in the US since 1990, it remains a problem in many regions. Perturbations to ecosystems caused by the nutrient effects of N deposition continue to emerge, although gas‐phase concentrations are generally not high enough to cause phytotoxicity. In all, there is overwhelming evidence of a broad range of damaging effects to ecosystems in the US under current air‐quality conditions.
Related Papers
- → The Relationship Between the Actual Level of Air Pollution and Residents’ Concern about Air Pollution: Evidence from Shanghai, China(2019)68 cited
- → A New Model for Investigating the Mortality Effects of Multiple Air Pollutants in Air Pollution Mortality Time-Series Studies(2006)31 cited
- → Regional characteristics of air pollution in Japan(2020)3 cited
- Investigation of pollutants discharged into rivers in complex river network regions and method for their calculation(2003)
- Econometric model for organic pollution loss of water quality(2006)