Elevated NH3 and NO2 air concentrations and nitrogen deposition rates in the vicinity of a highway in Southern Bavaria

Abstract A transect study consisting of air concentration and deposition measurements of nitrogen compounds was performed to estimate the potential influence of car emissions on the nitrogen input to ecosystems. Therefore, two transects each consisting of 4 plots, the first in a coniferous forest and the second one in an extensively farmed grassland, were installed perpendicular to a highway south of Munich (Bavaria). Both profiles were influenced mainly by car emissions and showed only small local influences caused by agricultural activities. In the framework of a pilot study based upon denuder measurements we found a strong temporal dependency of both nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ammonia (NH3) concentrations on traffic density. In the main study air concentrations of NO2 and NH3 were measured by passive samplers; they used as the basis for the estimation of dry deposition. These estimations have been compared with the results of analyses from simultaneously conducted canopy throughfall deposition and open air bulk measurements of nitrate (NO3−) and ammonium (NH4+). Additionally, within the forest transect the variety of different soil vegetation species was recorded and quantified. We obtained a strong gradient of gas concentrations along both profiles. Whereas the bulk deposition remained quite constant along the non-forested transect, the nitrogen throughfall deposition rate diminished substantially with the distance from the highway. The deposition rate at the forest edge was twice of that inside. The nitrogen load estimated for the examined forest in the vicinity of the highway was comparable to other forest ecosystems situated near diffuse emission sources from agriculture. It could be shown that changes in soil composition and soil vegetation along the forest transect are caused by decreasing nitrogen deposition with distance from the highway. The application of road salt in winter leads to further impacts.

[1]  E. Kolb,et al.  Langzeituntersuchung ehemals streugenutzter Kiefernökosysteme in der Oberpfalz: Veränderungen von bodenchemischen Eigenschaften und der Nährelementversorgung der Bestände , 1997, Forstwissenschaftliches Centralblatt vereinigt mit Tharandter forstliches Jahrbuch.

[2]  A. Marchetto,et al.  Studies on a chemical gradient of atmospheric deposition from the po valley to the alps , 1996 .

[3]  Matthew P. Fraser,et al.  Detection of Excess Ammonia Emissions from In-Use Vehicles and the Implications for Fine Particle Control , 1998 .

[4]  H. Wanner,et al.  Deposition of nitrogen-containing compounds to an extensively managed grassland in central Switzerland. , 1996, Environmental pollution.

[5]  P. Grennfelt,et al.  Deposition of air pollutants in a wind-exposed forest edge , 1987 .

[6]  M. Ferm,et al.  Dry deposition and internal circulation of nitrogen, sulphur and base cations to a coniferous forest , 1999 .

[7]  M. Baum,et al.  Multicomponent remote sensing of vehicle exhaust by dispersive absorption spectroscopy. 2. Direct on-road ammonia measurements. , 2001, Environmental science & technology.

[8]  D. Fowler,et al.  The relationship between nitrogen deposition, species composition and foliar nitrogen concentrations in woodland flora in the vicinity of livestock farms , 1998 .

[9]  J. Duyzer,et al.  Evaluation of dry deposition measurements for monitoring application over the Speulder forest , 1993 .

[10]  P. Warneck.  Chemistry of the natural atmosphere , 1999 .

[11]  C. Beier,et al.  Atmospheric deposition to the edge of a spruce forest in Denmark. , 1989, Environmental pollution.

[12]  Nigel N. Clark,et al.  Atmospheric emissions inventory data for heavy-duty vehicles , 1999 .

[13]  B. C. Madsen.  An evaluation of sampling interval length on the chemical composition of wet-only deposition , 1982 .

[14]  J. Duyzer,et al.  The dry deposition of ammonia onto a Douglas fir forest in the Netherlands , 1994 .

[15]  S. Smidt.  Analyses of NOx and wet depositions at Mühleggerköpfl, North Tyrolean Limestone Alps , 2002, Environmental science and pollution research international.

[16]  D. Fowler,et al.  Ammonia emissions from non-agricultural sources in the UK , 2000 .

[17]  J. Slanina,et al.  The Stability of Precipitation Samples under Field Conditions , 1987 .

[18]  Viney P. Aneja,et al.  Trends in Ammonium Concentration in Precipitation and Atmospheric Ammonia Emissions at a Coastal Plain Site in North Carolina, U.S.A. , 2000 .

[19]  S. Krupa.  Effects of atmospheric ammonia (NH3) on terrestrial vegetation: a review. , 2003, Environmental pollution.

[20]  P.H.B. de Visser,et al.  Risk of damage to crops in the direct neighbourhood of ammonia sources , 1998 .

[21]  David Fowler,et al.  Atmospheric nitrogen compounds II: emissions, transport, transformation, deposition and assessment , 2001 .

[22]  A. Kasper-Giebl,et al.  Monitoring ammonia in urban, inner alpine and pre-alpine ambient air. , 2002, Journal of environmental monitoring : JEM.

[23]  J. Braun-Blanquet,et al.  Pflanzensoziologie: Grundzuge der Vegetationskunde. , 1967 .

[24]  G. P. Wyers,et al.  Measurement of dry deposition of ammonia on a forest. , 1992, Environmental pollution.

[25]  A. Kasper-Giebl,et al.  Field intercomparison of diffusive samplers for measuring ammonia. , 1999, Journal of environmental monitoring : JEM.

[26]  Paul M. Mather.  Computational Methods of Multivariate Analysis in Physical Geography , 1976 .

[27]  V. Karlsson,et al.  Stability of major ions and sampling variability in daily bulk precipitation samples. , 2000 .

[28]  G. P. Wyers,et al.  A continuous-flow denuder for the measurement of ambient concentrations and surface-exchange fluxes of ammonia , 1993 .

[29]  Guido Lenaers,et al.  On-board real life emission measurements on a 3 way catalyst gasoline car in motor way-, rural- and city traffic and on two Euro-1 diesel city buses , 1996 .

[30]  J. Lodge.  Air quality guidelines for Europe: WHO regional publications, European series, No. 23, World Health Organization, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland; WHO publications center USA, 49 Sheridan Avenue, Albany, NY 12210, 1987, xiii + 426 pp. price: Sw. fr. 60 , 1988 .

[31]  Cinzia Perrino,et al.  Gaseous ammonia in the urban area of Rome, Italy and its relationship with traffic emissions , 2002 .

[32]  Andrew J. Kean,et al.  On-Road Measurement of Ammonia and Other Motor Vehicle Exhaust Emissions , 2000 .

[33]  N. Lin,et al.  Hydrological and chemical input to fir trees from rain and clouds during a 1-month study at Clingmans Peak, NC , 1990 .

[34]  W. Ivens,et al.  Atmospheric deposition in forest edges measured by monitoring canopy throughfall , 1988 .

[35]  Cassandra Volpe Horii.  Tropospheric Reactive Nitrogen Speciation, Deposition, and Chemistry at Harvard Forest , 2002 .

[36]  H. Rennenberg,et al.  Consequences of N Deposition to Forest Ecosystems - Recent Results and Future Research Needs , 1999 .

[37]  Mark A. Sutton,et al.  Dry deposition of reduced nitrogen , 1994 .

[38]  S. Lindberg,et al.  Throughfall studies of deposition to forest edges and gaps in montane ecosystems , 1992 .

[39]  Andrea Fischer-Riedmann.  Atmosphärische Konzentration und Deposition von N-haltigen Komponenten im Wald des hydrologischen Einzugsgebietes Erlenbach im Alptal , 1995 .

[40]  Mark A. Sutton,et al.  The exchange of atmospheric ammonia with vegetated surfaces. II: Fertilized vegetation , 1993 .