Induction of indirect N2O and NO emissions by atmospheric nitrogen deposition in (semi-)natural ecosystems in Switzerland

During the past century atmospheric nitrogen deposition increased dramatically due to human activities worldwide. Currently, it exceeds the critical load for nitrogen (CLN) in over 90% of the Swiss forest area and raised bogs, in 80% of all fens and in 30% of species-rich grassland areas in Switzerland. Indirect gaseous nitrogen losses (HNO2, NO, N2O, N-2) from these soils induced by atmospheric nitrogen deposition are likely to be substantial. However, the approaches to estimate these indirect N emissions provided by the international organisations (UNFCCC, IPCC; UNECE, EMEP/EEA) are based on agricultural data only. They may not be suitable to estimate the indirect emissions from (semi-)natural ecosystems such as forests, extensively used grassland, and wetlands. The present study aims at calculating ecosystem-specific annual indirect N2O and NO emissions of (semi-)natural ecosystems in Switzerland for the years 1990, 2000, 2007 and 2010 using a simple linear model similar to the international guidelines. The approach here is based on empirical data for (semi-)natural ecosystems, derived from a literature survey, is driven by atmospheric nitrogen deposition and is ecosystem-specific with a high spatial resolution of 100 m x 100 m. Our results show that such ecosystems represent a strong source of indirect N emissions induced by atmospheric nitrogen deposition and emitted 1.61 +/- 0.32 Gg N2O N and 2.51 +/- 0.53 Gg NO N into the atmosphere in Switzerland in the year 2010, corresponding to 21% of the total Swiss N2O emissions and 10% of the NOx emissions. Thanks to the reduction of N emissions and thereby reduced atmospheric N deposition, the indirect N2O and NO emissions from (semi-)natural ecosystems are estimated to have been both reduced by c. 20% from 1990 to 2010. We conclude that the source strength for N2O and NO emissions of (semi-)natural ecosystems have been underestimated by the current approaches of IPCC and EMENEEA by a factor of 4.4 and 17, respectively. In regions and countries with a high fraction of (semi-)natural ecosystems, the approach offered here has the potential to improve the estimate of indirect N emissions substantially. (C), 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.