Atmospheric Ammonia: Detecting emission changes and environmental impacts

468 Pages·2009·18.76 MB·English

by  Mark A. Sutton (auth.), Mark A. Sutton, Stefan Reis, Samantha M.H. Baker (eds.)

Atmospheric Ammonia
Atmospheric Ammonia
Detecting emission changes and
environmental impacts
Results of an Expert Workshop under the Convention
on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution
Edited by
Mark A. Sutton
Centre for Ecology & Hydrology,
(CEH), UK
Stefan Reis
Centre for Ecology & Hydrology,
(CEH), UK
Samantha M.H. Baker
Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
(Defra), UK
Editors
Mark A. Sutton Stefan Reis
Centre for Ecology & Hydrology Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
(CEH) (CEH)
UK UK
Samantha M.H. Baker
Department for Environment
Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
UK
ISBN 978-1-4020-9120-9 e-ISBN 978-1-4020-9121-6
Library of Congress Control Number: 2008937477
© 2009 Springer Science + Business Media B.V.
No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written
p ermission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose
of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.
Cover figures:
Main Figure: Reindeer moss - Cladonia portentosa damaged by ammonia from an agricultural point
source. Photo by Ian Leith, CEH.
Top row figures: Pristine and damaged lichen (Cladonia portentosa) and Sphagnum moss (Sphagnum
capillifolium) exposed to ambient and enhanced ammonia concentrations at the CEH nitrogen
manipulation facility at Whim Bog, south-east Scotland. Photo by Ian Leith, CEH
Printed on acid-free paper
springer.com
Preface
This volume represents the fruits of a major international synthesis on the environ-
mental behaviour and effects atmospheric ammonia. Specifically, it provides a
contribution to the work of the Geneva Convention on Long Range Transboundary
Air Pollution (CLRTAP), established under the auspices of the United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
Atmospheric ammonia has for some years been recognized by the Convention
as being of key importance to air pollution effects on the eutrophication and acidi-
fication of ecosystems. More recently, the contribution of ammonia to the forma-
tion of secondary particulate matter has also been highlighted.
Partly as a result of the many environmental interactions, ammonia has, until
now, mostly been reviewed alongside the other air pollutants treated by the
Convention. This is, in many ways, exactly as it should be. However, ammonia is
an unusual air pollutant in that its largest sources are rural rather than urban, with
livestock agriculture being the major source. Coupled with high uncertainties in the
emissions, in the measurement of atmospheric concentrations and in the environ-
mental impacts, there was therefore a strong case to dedicate a specific review to
current understanding of ammonia.
The original motivation for the present book arose in 2003, related to concerns
over the existing ‘critical level’ for ammonia. With the Gothenburg Protocol signed
in 1999, ammonia had been included in national emissions ceilings of air pollutants
across the UNECE for the first time. This heightened the need to properly quantify
the emissions, trends and impacts of ammonia. The empirical critical loads for
nitrogen deposition had recently been reviewed, at the Bern Workshop of 2002.
However, that assessment incorporated the role of ammonia only as far as deposi-
tion was concerned. By contrast, the critical level for ammonia concentrations had
not been reviewed for a decade, since the Egham Workshop of 1992. By 2003, new
data were emerging that suggested the need for a major re-evaluation of the ammo-
nia critical level. To do this required that the evidence be assembled and that the
Convention formally review the current values.
Hot on the heels of the critical level question was concern about the ‘ammonia
gap’ in the Netherlands. Emission abatement measures had been implemented, but
apparently atmospheric ammonia concentrations had not decreased. These issues
were reviewed in the Bern Workshop (2000), but already substantial new datasets
v
vi Preface
were appearing, pointing to the need for a new scientific update. These issues were
coming particularly to the fore as other countries started to review their options for
meeting the ammonia commitments under the Gothenburg Protocol.
The third issue to arise was that of ammonia in ‘hot-spot’ areas. Previously, there
had been little international assessment of these impacts, which had been consid-
ered a local concern. Yet, it was rapidly becoming apparent that the regional assess-
ments depended on how well the science could treat dispersion and deposition in
source areas. In addition, since the main ammonia hot-spots occur in rural areas, a
better understanding of these processes was recognized as essential to maximise
overall environmental protection.
Finally, a fourth issue was added to the review. Increasingly, different models
were becoming available to simulate the transboundary transport and deposition of
ammonia at regional scales. Yet, there remained major uncertainties in the para-
metrization of these models for ammonia, as well as substantial differences when
compared with measurements. It was therefore agreed that the review must address
the current status of the regional models, with a particular emphasis on the key
uncertainties related to ammonia.
These four themes have thus provided the core of the present review on ammo-
nia, with special attention to the detection of emission changes and environmental
impacts. The review itself was conducted in the form of a UNECE Expert Workshop
(the ‘Edinburgh Workshop’), with background documents prepared in advance to
inform the discussions, and with targeted additional papers presented during the
workshop to support development of the conclusions.
The UNECE Edinburgh Workshop was hosted by the Scottish Government at
Victoria Quay, Leith (4–6 December 2006). It was jointly funded by COST 729,
NitroEurope IP, Defra, the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) and the
Scottish Government. We thank each of these organizations for their respective
contributions. In particular, we would like to thank Emma Giles (CEH) for her
achievement in coordinating the organizational aspects of the workshop, and Geeta
Wonnacott and Philip Wright for their hosting of the workshop at the Scottish
Government offices.
The key conclusions of the workshop have been reported to the Convention,
including new values for ammonia critical levels, a new position on the status of the
‘ammonia gap’, and clear recommendations for the assessment of ammonia disper-
sal and deposition at local and regional scales. The present volume provides the
background to these conclusions, reporting the current state-of-the-art in each of
these areas.
Mark A. Sutton
Stefan Reis
Samantha M.H. Baker
Contents
1 Introduction .............................................................................................. 1
Mark A. Sutton
Part I Ammonia Critical Thresholds
2 Reassessment of Critical Levels for Atmospheric Ammonia ............... 15
J. Neil Cape, Ludger J. van der Eerden, Lucy J. Sheppard,
Ian D. Leith, and Mark A. Sutton
3 Potential for the Further Development and
Application of Critical Levels to Assess the Environmental
Impacts of Ammonia................................................................................ 41
Mark A. Sutton, Lucy J. Sheppard, and David Fowler
4 Long-Term Cumulative Exposure Exacerbates the
Effects of Atmospheric Ammonia on an Ombrotrophic Bog:
Implications for Critical Levels .............................................................. 49
Lucy J. Sheppard, Ian D. Leith, Alan Crossley, Netty van Dijk,
J. Neil Cape, David Fowler, and Mark A. Sutton
5 The Application of Transects to Assess the Effects of
Ammonia on Woodland Groundfl ora .................................................... 59
Carole E.R. Pitcairn, Ian D. Leith, Netty van Dijk,
Lucy J. Sheppard, Mark A. Sutton, and David Fowler
6 Estimation of the Ammonia Critical Level for Epiphytic
Lichens Based on Observations at Farm, Landscape
and National Scales .................................................................................. 71
Mark A. Sutton, Pat A. Wolseley, Ian D. Leith,
Netty van Dijk, Y. Sim Tang, P.W. James, Mark R. Theobald,
and Clare Whitfield
vii
viii Contents
7 Mapping Ammonia Emissions and Concentrations
for Switzerland – Effects on Lichen Vegetation .................................. 87
Beat Rihm, Martin Urech, and Kathrin Peter
8 Over Which Averaging Period Is the Ammonia Critical
Level Most Precautionary ..................................................................... 93
Mark A. Sutton, Addo van Pul, Ferd Sauter,
Y. Sim Tang, and Laszlo Horvath
9 Macrolichens on Twigs and Trunks as Indicators of
Ammonia Concentrations Across the UK –
a Practical Method ................................................................................. 101
Patricia A. Wolseley, Ian D. Leith, Netty van Dijk, and Mark A. Sutton
10 Assessment of Critical Levels of Atmospheric Ammonia
for Lichen Diversity in Cork-Oak Woodland, Portugal ..................... 109
Pedro Pinho, Cristina Branquinho, Cristina Cruz,
Y. Sim Tang, Teresa Dias, Ana Paula Rosa, Cristina Máguas,
Maria-Amélia Martins-Loução, and Mark A. Sutton
Part II Temporal Trends in Atmospheric Ammonia
11 Linking Ammonia Emission Trends to Measured
Concentrations and Deposition of Reduced Nitrogen
at Different Scales .................................................................................. 123
Albert Bleeker, Mark A. Sutton, Beat Acherman, Ana Alebic-Juretic,
Viney P. Aneja, Thomas Ellermann, Jan Willem Erisman,
David Fowler, Hilde Fagerli, Thomas Gauger, K.S. Harlen,
Lars Robert Hole, Laszlo Horvath, Marta Mitosinkova,
Ron I. Smith, Y. Sim Tang, and Addo van Pul
12 Long-Term Record (1981–2005) of Ammonia and
Ammonium Concentrations at K-Puszta Hungary
and the Effect of Sulphur Dioxide Emission Change
on Measured and Modelled Concentrations ........................................ 181
Laszlo Horvath, Hilde Fagerli, and Mark A. Sutton
13 Assessment of Ammonia and Ammonium Trends and
Relationship to Critical Levels in the UK National
Ammonia Monitoring Network (NAMN) ............................................ 187
Y. Sim Tang, Ulrike Dragosits, Netty van Dijk, Linda Love,
Ivan Simmons, and Mark A. Sutton
Contents ix
14 Review of Published Studies Estimating the Abatement
Effi cacy of Reduced-Emission Slurry Spreading Techniques ............ 195
J. Webb, Brigitte Eurich-Menden, Ulrich Dämmgen,
and Francesco Agostini
Part III Analysis of Ammonia Hotspots
15 Ammonia Deposition Near Hot Spots: Processes,
Models and Monitoring Methods ......................................................... 205
Benjamin Loubet, Willem A.H. Asman, Mark R. Theobald,
Ole Hertel, Y. Sim Tang, Paul Robin, Mélynda Hassouna,
Ulrich Dämmgen, Sophie Genermont, Pierre Cellier,
and Mark A. Sutton
16 Standardised Grasses as Biomonitors of Ammonia
Pollution Around Agricultural Point Sources ..................................... 269
Ian D. Leith, Netty van Dijk, Carole E.R. Pitcairn,
Lucy J. Sheppard, and Mark A. Sutton
17 Soluble Ammonium in Plants as a Bioindicator for
Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition: Refi nement and Testing
of a Practical Method ............................................................................. 281
Netty van Dijk, Ian D. Leith, Carole E.R. Pitcairn,
and Mark A. Sutton
18 Spatial Planning as a Complementary Tool to Abate
the Effects of Atmospheric Ammonia Deposition
at the Landscape Scale ........................................................................... 291
Ulrike Dragosits, Mark R. Theobald, Chris J. Place,
Helen M. ApSimon, and Mark A. Sutton
Part IV Regional Modelling of Atmospheric Ammonia
19 Modelling of the Atmospheric Transport and Deposition
of Ammonia at a National and Regional Scale .................................... 301
Addo van Pul, Ole Hertel, Camilla Geels, Anthony J. Dore,
Massimo Vieno, Hans A. van Jaarsveld, Robert Bergström,
Martijn Schaap, and Hilde Fagerli
20 Application of a Lagrangian Model FRAME to
Estimate Reduced Nitrogen Deposition and Ammonia
Concentrations in Poland ...................................................................... 359
Maciej Kryza, Anthony J. Dore, Marek Błaś, and Mieczysław Sobik
x Contents
21 Application of the EMEP Unifi ed Model to the UK
2
with a Horizontal Resolution of 5 × 5 km ........................................... 367
Massimo Vieno, Anthony J. Dore, Peter Wind, Chiara Di Marco,
Eiko Nemitz, Gavin Phillips, Leonor Tarrasón, and Mark A. Sutton
Part V Conclusions and Outlook
22 Critical Levels for Ammonia ................................................................. 375
John Neil Cape, Ludger van der Eerden, Andreas Fangmeier,
John Ayres, Simon Bareham, Roland Bobbink, Christina Branquinho,
Peter Crittenden,Christina Cruz, Teresa Dias, Ian D. Leith,
Maria Amélia Martins-Loucão,Carole Pitcairn, Lucy Sheppard,
Till Spranger, Mark Sutton, Netty van Dijk, and Pat Wolseley
23 Detecting Change in Atmospheric Ammonia Following
Emission Changes .................................................................................. 383
Jan Willem Erisman, Albert Bleeker, Albrecht Neftel,
Viney Aneja, Nick Hutchings, Liam Kinsella, Y. Sim Tang,
J. Webb, Michel Sponar, Caroline Raes, Marta Mitosinkova,
Sonja Vidic, Helle Vibeke Andersen, Zbigniew Klimont, Rob Pinder,
Samantha Baker, Beat Reidy, Chris Flechard,
Laszlo Horvath, Anita Lewandowska, Colin Gillespie,
Marcus Wallasch, Robert Gehrig, and Thomas Ellerman
24 Assessment Methods for Ammonia Hot-Spots .................................... 391
Pierre Cellier, Mark R. Theobald, Willem Asman,
William J. Bealey, Shabtai Bittman, Ulrike Dragosits,
Janina Fudala, Matthew Jones, Per Løfstrøm, Benjamin Loubet,
Tom Misselbrook, Beat Rihm, Ken Smith, Michal Strizik,
Klaas van der Hoek, Hans van Jaarsveld, John Walker,
and Zdenek Zelinger
25 Modelling the National and Regional Transport
and Deposition of Ammonia .................................................................. 409
Addo van Pul, Stefan Reis, Tony Dore, Liu Xuejun,
Hilde Fagerli, Camilla Geels, Ole Hertel, Roy Wichink Kruijt,
Maciej Kryza, Robert Bergström, Massimo Vieno, Ron Smith,
and Eiko Nemitz
26 Reliability of Ammonia Emission Estimates
and Abatement Effi ciencies ................................................................... 423
J. Webb, Nicholas J. Hutchings, Shabtai Bittman,
Samantha M.H. Baker, Beat Reidy, Caroline Raes, Ken Smith,
John Ayres, and Tom Misselbrook