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Critical Loads for Vegetation

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Critical Loads for Vegetation , '‘`a , 1 e-'-: , % ' , - 7 * liV V$ V 0 , ,„, ' . , 1 4, k. 0. • 4 ' t .r.,.. l'i ,r4' Rat . ' $ i • 11:',11 "P• 1 1, • e á h3A IFISTMAE OF11TRIESTIOL ECOIAGV BUS,- ESTATE. PENICUIK MIDLOTHIAN \ Institute of EH26 OQB Terrestrial 7 Ecology Critical loads: concept and applications ITE symposium no. 28 Proceedings of a Conference held on 12-14 February 1992 in Grange-over-Sands, under the auspices of the British Ecological Society Industrial Ecology Group and the Natural Environment Research Council, and partly sponsored by the National Power/PowerGen Joint Environmental Programme. Edited by M Hornung and R A Skeffington London : HMSO Crown.Copyright 1993 Applications for reproduction should be made to HMSO First published 1993 ISBN 0 11 701666 7 The Institute of Terrestrial Ecology (ITE) is a component research organisation within the Natural Environment Research 'Council. The Institute is part of the Terrestrial and Freshwater Sciences Directorate, and was established in 1973 by the merger of the research stations of the Nature Conservancy with the Institute of Tree Biology. It has been at the forefront of ecological research ever since. The six research stations of the Institute provide a ready access to sites and to environmental and ecological problems in any part of Britain. In addition to the broad environmental knowledge and experience expected of the modern ecologist, each station has a range of special expertise and facilities. Thus, the Institute is able to provide unparallelled opportunities for long-term, multidisciplinary studies of complex environmental and ecological problems. ITE undertakes specialist ecological research on subjects ranging from micro- organisms to trees and mammals, from coastal habitats to uplands, from derelict land to air pollution. Understanding the ecology of different species of natural and man- made communities plays an increasingly important role in areas such as monitoring ecological aspects of agriculture, improving productivity in forestry, controlling pests, managing and conserving wildlife, assessing the causes and effects of pollution, and rehabilitating disturbed sites. The Institute's research is financed by the IJIC government through the science budget, and by private and public sector customers who commission or sponsor specific research programmes. 1TE's expertise is also widely used by international organisations in overseas collaborative projects. The results of ITE research are available to those responsible for the protection, management and wise use of our natural resources, being published in a wide range of scientific journals, and in an ITE series of publications. The Annual Report contains more general information. M Hornung R A Skeffington Institute of Terrestrial Ecology National Power Research & Technology Merlewood Research Station Bilton Centre, Cleeve Road Grange-over-Sands Leatherhead Cumbria LA11 6JU Surrey KT22 7SE Tel: 05395 32264 Tel: 0372 374488 INSTITUTE OF TERIMIRIAL ECOLOGY 13US- ESTATE, PENKUIC MIDLOTHIAN 9428 OW e(ve-yc_srt6 Contents Page nos Introduction M Hornung & R A Skeffington 3 The development of the critical loads concept Acidification research: evaluation and R G Derwent & R B Wilson policy applications Development of the critical loads K R Bull concept and the UN-ECE mapping programme 8 Problems with the critical loads approach: R A Skeffington a view from industry 11 Critical loads for vegetation Problems in determining critical loads for J A Lee & S J M Caporn nitrogen in semi-natural British vegetation in Britain 19 The example of calcicolous grasslands J S Rodwell, T C G Rich and nitrogen & A J C Malloch 24 Critical loads of acidity and sulphur for soils The provisional map of critical loads of M Hornung acidity for soils of Great Britain 31 Critical loads for peat soils M S Cresser, C Smith & L Sanger 34 The application of Skokloster critical load S J Langan & M J Wilson classes to the soils of Scotland 40 The classification of the soils of England P J Loveland and Wales on the basis of mineralogy and weathering - the Skokloster approach 48 Critical loads of acidity for forest soils, H Sverdrup, P Warfvinge groundwater, and first-order streams in & C Jonsson Sweden 54 Testing the PROFILE model on long-term K W T Goulding & L Blake data 68 Critical loads mapping at the UK Critical J R Hall Loads Mapping Centre - data requirements and presentation 74 Critical loads of nitrogen for soils Current methods of calculating critical E J Wilson loads for nitrogen: application to the • • Excess Nitrogen Experiment with Norway Spruce 79 Critical loads of nitrogen for upland forests P A Stevens, B A Emmett, in Wales - effects of plantation age B Reynolds & D A Norris 90 Critical loads for waters Critical acidity loads for UK freshwaters: A M Kreiser, S T Patrick & introduction, sampling strategy and use & R W Battarbee of maps 94 Setting critical loads for UK surface waters: R W Battarbee, T E H Al lott, the diatom model A M Kreiser & S Juggins 99 Evaluation of the steady-state water R Harriman & A E G Christie chemistry method for surface waters 103 Comparison of empirical and dynamic A Jenkins & C Shaw model approaches for surface waters 109 Assessing critical levels of ANC for stream S J Ormerod organisms using empirical data 115 Estimating the relative contribution of SON, M A Sutton & D Fowler NOy and NI-1„ inputs to effects of atmospheric deposition 119 Workshop reports 127 List of Conference participants 131 Introduction M Hornung' & R A Skeffington2 1 Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Merlewood Research Station, Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria LAI l 61(1 2National Power Research & Technology, Bilton Centre, Cleeve Road, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 7SE The concept of a 'critical load' is corning to dominate The development of the concept and production of European legislation on air pollution. A critical load the maps have taken place with remarkable speed, can be defined as 'the maximum deposition of a generally within working parties whose composition given compound which will not cause long-term has been determined by the governments of the harmful effects on ecosystem structure and function, countries concerned. There has been little according to present knowledge'. It is intended, in opportunity for the ecological community as a whole other words, to be a threshold deposition which to participate in these discussions, or for those who ecosystems can tolerate without damage. One aim of have been involved to present the results of their the pollution control policies of many countries is now deliberations to their scientific peers. To remedy this to reduce the deposition of acidifying pollutants situation somewhat, we organised a Conference open below their critical loads. To enable this to be to all interested parties, and invited contributions from possible, the scientific community has to be able to both scientists and those whose job it is to develop define well-supported critical loads for any European and implement environmental policies. The ecosystem. As an attempt to codify a vast amount of Conference was held at Grange-over-Sands on 12-14 ecological knowledge and use it as a rational means February 1992, under the auspices of the British of pollution control, the critical loads approach is an Ecological Society Industrial Ecology Group and the ambitious undertaking. Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). The Maps of critical loads for various receptors have now National Power/PowerGen Joint Environmental been published for the whole of Europe by several Programme provided some sponsorship. bodies on a variety of scales. In the UK, the The Conference generated some new ideas on Department of the Environment has published maps critical loads, showed that there was a variety of of critical loads on scales down to 1 km. The concept views on the validity of the concept as it stood, and is being used by the UK government as a guide for its sparked off some controversies. This volume policies on pollution control, and by European documents the proceedings of the Conference, both governments under the auspices of the United Nations written papers provided by the speakers and reports Economic Commission for Europe as a basis for of workshop discussions on specific questions. We negotiations for a new protocol on limiting long-range hope it will be of use in further development of the trans-boundary sulphur pollution. The concept, critical load concept, and of interest to anyone who clearly, is of great political importance. wishes to understand the progress made so far. 3 4 The development of the critical loads concept Acidification research: evaluation and policy applications R G Derwent & R B Wilson Science Unit, Air Quality Division, Department of the Environment, Romney House, 43 Marsham Street, London SW1P 3PY The United Kingdom government is deeply the Bergen Conference on Sustainable Development committed to the support of environmental research that: into the mechanisms of the atmospheric transport and • strategies for the abatement of SO2 and NOx deposition of acidity, in order to understand the emissions should be designed in the most cost- impacts of that acidity on soils, surface waters, effective way, and forests, crops and the built environment, and the • the concept of critical loads should serve as a consequences for fishery status, freshwater and soil guideline to formulate these strategies where ecosystems. The United Kingdom collaborates fully science has provided the necessary information. with international research programmes within the framework of the United Nations Economic For a deposited pollutant, we define the critical load Commission for Europe (UN-ECE) Convention on as the maximum deposition that a target ecosystem Long Range Trans-boundary Air Pollution, with these can withstand without long-term damage occurring. aims in mind. The critical load is thus one point in the damage- response curve for a particular pollutant/target International action agreed so far on acidic combination, and marks the point where, with depositions has taken little account of the complexity increasing deposition load, damage becomes of their impacts.
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