Ecosystem services altered by human changes in the nitrogen cycle: A new perspective for US decision making

Ecology Letters

Volumn 14, Issue 8, 2011, Pages 804-815

  Compton, Jana E ^a   Harrison, John A ^b   Dennis, Robin L ^c   Greaver, Tara L ^d   Hill, Brian H ^c   Jordan, Stephen J ^a   Walker, Henry ^c   Campbell, Holly V ^e  

^a U S ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY   (United States)

^b WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^c U S ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY   (United States)

^d U S ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY   (United States)

^e OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Air quality; Ecosystem services; Human health; Human well being; Management; Nitrogen; Water quality

Indexed keywords

OZONE;

AIR QUALITY; ANTHROPOGENIC EFFECT; BIODIVERSITY; COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS; DECISION MAKING; ECOSYSTEM SERVICE; ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS; ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION; ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION; ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION; NITROGEN CYCLE; OZONE; POLLUTION CONTROL; PUBLIC HEALTH; RECREATIONAL ACTIVITY; WATER QUALITY;

AGRICULTURE; AIR POLLUTION; BIODIVERSITY; DECISION MAKING; ECONOMICS; ECOSYSTEM; ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING; HUMAN; NITROGEN CYCLE; PARTICULATE MATTER; REVIEW; UNITED STATES; WATER POLLUTION;

AGRICULTURE; AIR POLLUTION; BIODIVERSITY; DECISION MAKING; ECOSYSTEM; ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING; HUMANS; NITROGEN CYCLE; OZONE; PARTICULATE MATTER; UNITED STATES; WATER POLLUTION;

UNITED STATES;

EID: 79960403246     PISSN: 1461023X     EISSN: 14610248     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01631.x     Document Type: Review

References (98)

1. Adams, P.J., Seinfeld, J.H., Koch, D., Mickley, L. & Jacob, D. (2001). General circulation model assessment of direct radiative forcing by the sulfate-nitrate-ammonium-water inorganic aerosol system. J. Geophys. Res., 106, 1097-1111.
2. Baker, J.P. & Schofield, C.L. (1982). Aluminum toxicity to fish in acidic waters. Water Air Soil Pollut., 18, 289-309.
3. Banzhaf, S., Burtraw, D., Evans, D. & Krupnick, A. (2006). Valuation of natural resource improvements in the Adirondacks. Land Econ., 82, 445-464.
4. Baron, J.S. (2006). Hindcasting nitrogen deposition to determine an ecological critical load. Ecol. Appl., 16, 433-439.
5. Beauchamp, E.G. (1997). Nitrous oxide emission from agricultural soils. Can. J. Soil Sci., 77, 113-123.
6. Bedford, B.L., Walbridge, M.R. & Aldous, A. (1999). Patterns in nutrient availability and plant diversity of temperate North American wetlands. Ecology, 80, 2151-2169.
7. Bickel, P. & Friedrich, R., eds. (2005). Externalities of Energy: Methodology 2005 Update. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg.
8. Birch, M.B.L., Gramig, B.M., Moomaw, W.R., Doering, O.C. III & Reeling, C.J. (2011). Why metrics matter: evaluating policy choices for reactive nitrogen in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Environ. Sci. Technol., 45, 168-174.
9. Bobbink, R., Hicks, K., Galloway, J., Spranger, T., Alkemade, R., Ashmore, M. et al. (2010). Global assessment of nitrogen deposition effects on terrestrial plant diversity: a synthesis. Ecol. Appl., 20, 30-59.
10. Bouwman, A.F., Beusen, H.W. & Billen, G. (2009). Human alteration of the global nitrogen and phosphorus soil balances for the period 1970-2050. Glob. Biogeochem. Cycles, 23, 1-16, GB0A04.
11. Boyd, J. & Banzhaf, S. (2007). What are ecosystem services? The need for standardized environmental accounting units. Ecol. Econ., 63, 616-626.
12. Breitburg, D.L., Hondorp, D.W., Davias, L.A. & Diaz, R.J. (2009). Hypoxia, nitrogen, and fisheries: integrating effects across local and global landscapes. Ann. Rev. Mar. Sci., 1, 329-349.
13. Bruulsema, T.W. & Murrell, T.S. (2008). Corn fertilizer decisions in a high-priced market. Better Crops, 92, 16-18.
14. Camargo, J.A. & Alonso, Á. (2006). Ecological and toxicological effects of inorganic nitrogen pollution in aquatic ecosystems: a global assessment. Environ. Int., 32, 831-849.
15. Carpenter, S.R., Mooney, H.A., Agard, J., Capistrano, D., DeFries, R.S., Díaz, S. et al. (2009). Science for managing ecosystem services: beyond the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA, 106, 1305-1312.
16. Chestnut, L.G. & Mills, D.M. (2005). A fresh look at the benefits and costs of the US acid rain program. J. Environ. Manag., 77, 252-266.
17. Cooke, G. & Kennedy, R. (2001). Managing drinking water supplies. Lake Reserv. Manag., 17, 157-174.
18. Corso, P.S., Kramer, M.H., Blair, K.A., Addiss, D.G., Davis, J.P. & Haddix, A.C. (2003). Cost of illness in the 1993 waterborne Cryptosporidium outbreak, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Emerg. Infect. Dis., 9, 426-431.
19. Costanza, R. et al. (1997). The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital. Nature, 387, 253-260.
20. Cronan, C. & Grigal, D. (1995). Use of calcium/aluminum ratios as indicators of stress in forest ecosystems. J. Environ. Qual., 24, 209-226.
21. Daily, G., ed. (1997). Nature's Services: Societal Dependence on Natural Ecosystems. Island Press, Washington D.C., USA.
22. Daily, G.C. & Matson, P.A. (2008). Ecosystem services: from theory to implementation. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA, 105, 9455-9456.
23. Daily, G.C. et al. (2009). Ecosystem services in decision making: time to deliver. Front. Ecol. Environ., 7, 21-28.
24. Deegan, L.A. et al. (2002). Nitrogen loading alters seagrass ecosystem structure and support of higher trophic levels. Aquat. Conser.: Mar. Freshw. Ecosyst., 12, 193-212.
25. Delucchi, M.A. (2000). Environmental externalities of motor vehicle use in the US. J. Transp. Econ. Policy, 34, 135-168.
26. DeSimone, L.A. (2009). Quality of Water from Domestic Wells in Principal Aquifers of the United States, 1991-2004. Geological Survey, National Water-Quality Assessment Program. Reston, VA.
27. Dodds, W.K. et al. (2009). Eutrophication of U.S. freshwaters: analysis of potential economic damages. Environ. Sci. Technol., 43, 12-19.
28. Driscoll, C.T. et al. (2003). Nitrogen pollution in the northeastern United States: sources, effects, and management options. Bioscience, 53, 357-374.
29. Dupré, C. et al. (2010). Changes in species richness and composition in European acidic grasslands over the past 70years: the contribution of cumulative atmospheric nitrogen deposition. Glob. Change Biol., 16, 344-357.
30. Elser, J.J. et al. (2007). Global analysis of nitrogen and phosphorus limitation of primary producers in freshwater, marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Ecol. Lett., 10, 1135-1142.
31. Evans, L.T. (1980). The natural history of crop yield. Am. Sci., 68, 388-397.
32. Fisher, B., Turner, R.K. & Morling, P. (2009). Defining and classifying ecosystem services for decision making. Ecol. Econ., 68, 643-653.
33. Forster, P. et al. (2007). The physical science basis. Contribution of working group I to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change: changes in atmospheric constituents and in radiative forcing. In: Climate Change 2007 (ed. Solomon, S. et al.). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, New York, NY, pp. 129-234.
34. Gallagher, J. & Baker, J. (1990). Current status of fish communities in Adirondack Lakes. In: Adirondack Lakes Survey: An Interpretive Analysis of Fish Communities and Water Chemistry, 1984-1987. Adirondacks Lakes Survey Corporation, Ray Brook, NY, pp. 3-11-3-48.
35. Galloway, J.N. et al. (2003). The nitrogen cascade. Bioscience, 53, 341-356.
36. Galloway, J.N. et al. (2004). Nitrogen cycles: past, present, and future. Biogeochemistry, 70, 153-226.
37. Galloway, J.N. et al. (2008). Transformation of the nitrogen cycle: recent trends, questions, and potential solutions. Science, 320, 889-892.
38. van Grinsven, H., Rabl, A. & de Kok, T. (2010). Estimation of incidence and social cost of colon cancer due to nitrate in drinking water in the EU: a tentative cost-benefit assessment. Environ. Health, 9, 58.
39. Helmers, M.J. & Baker, J.L. (2010). Strategies for nitrate reduction: the Cedar River case study. In: Integrated Crop Management Conference (ed. Pringnitz, B.A.). Iowa State University Extension, Ames, IA, pp. 195-200.
40. Hoagland, P., Anderson, D., Kaoru, Y. & White, A. (2002). The economic effects of harmful algal blooms in the United States: estimates, assessment issues, and information needs. Estuaries Coasts, 25, 819-837.
41. Hungate, B.A., Dukes, J.S., Shaw, M.R., Luo, Y. & Field, C.B. (2003). Nitrogen and climate change. Science, 302, 1512-1513.
42. Hutson, S.S., Barber, N.L., Kenny, J.F., Linsey, K.S., Lumia, D.S. & Maupin, M.A. (2004). Estimated use of water in the United States in 2000. In: U.S. Geological Survey Circular. USGS, Reston, VA, pp. 46.
43. Isaksen, I.S.A. et al. (2009). Atmospheric composition change: climate-chemistry interactions. Atmos. Environ., 43, 5138-5192.
44. Janssens, I.A. & Luyssaert, S. (2009). Carbon cycle: nitrogen's carbon bonus. Nat. Geosci., 2, 318-319.
45. Jaynes, D.B., Thorp, K.R. & James, D.E. (2010). Potential Water Quality Impact of Drainage Water Management in the Midwest USA. American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Annual International Meeting. Paper No. 84.
46. Jenkins, W.A., Murray, B.C., Kramer, R.A. & Faulkner, S.P. (2010). Valuing ecosystem services from wetlands restoration in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Ecol. Econ., 69, 1051-1061.
47. Johnson, P.T.J. et al. (2010). Linking environmental nutrient enrichment and disease emergence in humans and wildlife. Ecol. Appl., 20, 16-29.
48. Jordan, S.J., Smith, L.M. & Nestlerode, J.A. (2009). Cumulative effects of coastal habitat alterations on fishery resources: toward prediction at regional scales. Ecol. Soc. 14, Article 16.
49. Jordan, S.J. et al. (2010). Accounting for natural resources and environmental sustainability: linking ecosystem services to human well-being. Environ. Sci. Technol., 44, 1530-1536.
50. Kusiima, J.M. & Powers, S.E. (2010). Monetary value of the environmental and health externalities associated with production of ethanol from biomass feedstocks. Energy Policy, 38, 2785-2796.
51. Latimer, J.S. & Rego, S.A. (2010). Empirical relationship between eelgrass extent and predicted watershed-derived nitrogen loading for shallow New England estuaries. Estuaries Coasts, 90, 231-240.
52. LeBauer, D. & Treseder, K. (2008). Nitrogen limitation of net primary productivity in terrestrial ecosystems is globally distributed. Ecology, 89, 371-379.
53. Lipton, D.W. (1998). Pfiesteria's economic impact on seafood industry sales and recreational fishing. In: Proceedings of the Conference, Economics of Policy Options for Nutrient Management and Pfiesteria (eds Gardner, B.L. & Koch, L.). Center for Agricultural and Natural Resource Policy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, pp. 35-38.
54. 4 emission. Ecol. Lett., 12, 1103-1117.
55. Losey, J.E. & Vaughan, M. (2006). The economic value of ecological services provided by insects. Bioscience, 56, 311-323.
56. Magill, A.H. et al. (2004). Ecosystem response to 15years of chronic nitrogen additions at the Harvard Forest LTER, Massachusetts, USA. For. Ecol. Manag., 196, 7-28.
57. Malm, W.C. (1989). Atmospheric haze: its sources and effects on visibility in rural areas of the continental United States. Environ. Monit. Assess., 12, 203-225.
58. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Board (MA). (2005). Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Current State and Trends, Volume 1. Island Press, Washington D.C., USA.
59. Moomaw, W. & Birch, M. (2005). Cascading costs: an economic nitrogen cycle. Sci. China Ser. C Life Sci., 48, 678-696.
60. Morris, J.T. (1991). Effects of nitrogen loading on wetland ecosystems with particular reference to atmospheric deposition. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst., 22, 257-279.
61. National Atmospheric Deposition Program. (2009). National Atmospheric Deposition Program 2008 Annual Summary. NADP Data Report 2009-01. Illinois State Water Survey, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL.
62. Nierzwicki-Bauer, S.A. et al. (2010). Acidification in the Adirondacks: defining the biota in trophic levels of 30 chemically diverse acid-impacted lakes. Environ. Sci. Technol., 44, 5721-5727.
63. Norgaard, R.B. (2010). Ecosystem services: from eye-opening metaphor to complexity blinder. Ecol. Econ., 69, 1219-1227.
64. Parker, D.R., Zelazny, L.W. & Kinraide, T.B. (1989). Chemical speciation and plant toxicity of aqueous aluminum. In: Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology of Aluminum (ed. Lewis, T.E.). American Chemical Society, Boca Raton, FL, USA, pp. 117-145.
65. Powlson, D.S., Addiscott, T.M., Benjamin, N., Cassman, K.G., de Kok, T.M., van Grinsven, H. et al. (2008). When does nitrate become a risk for humans? J. Environ. Qual., 37, 291-295.
66. Pretty, J.N. et al. (2003). Environmental costs of freshwater eutrophication in England and Wales. Environ. Sci. Technol., 37, 201-208.
67. Raudsepp-Hearne, C. et al. (2010). Untangling the environmentalist's paradox: why is human well-being increasing as ecosystem services degrade? Bioscience, 60, 576-589.
68. 2O): the dominant ozone-depleting substance emitted in the 21st century. Science 326, 123-125.
69. Reay, D. & Nedwell, D. (2004). Methane oxidation in temperate soils: effects of inorganic N. Soil Biol. Biochem., 36, 2059-2065.
70. Reuss, J.O. (1983). Implications of the calcium-aluminum exchange system for the effect of acid precipitation on soils. J. Environ. Qual., 12, 591-595.
71. Robertson, G.P. & Tiedje, J.M. (1987). Nitrous-oxide sources in aerobic soils - nitrification, denitrification and other biological processes. Soil Biol. Biochem., 19, 187-193.
72. Ruddy, B.C., Lorenz, D.L. & Mueller, D.K. (2006). County-level estimates of nutrient inputs to the land surface of the conterminous United States, 1982-2001. U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report p. 17.
73. Schwede, D.B., Dennis, R.L. & Bitz, M.A. (2009). The watershed deposition tool: a tool for incorporating atmospheric deposition in water-quality analyses. J. Am. Water Resour. Assoc., 45, 973-985.
74. Seitzinger, S. et al. (2006). Denitrification across landscapes and waterscapes: a synthesis. Ecol. Appl., 16, 2064-2090.
75. Sitch, S., Cox, P.M., Collins, W.J. & Huntingford, C.H. (2007). Indirect radiative forcing of climate change through ozone effects on the land-carbon sink. Nature, 448, 791-795.
76. x abatement: a review. Sci. Total Environ., 408, 3976-3989.
77. Smil, V. (2002). Nitrogen and food production: proteins for human diets. Ambio, 31, 126-131.
78. Smith, R.A., Schwarz, G.E. & Alexander, R.B. (1997a). Regional interpretation of water-quality monitoring data. Water Resour. Res., 33, 2781-2798.
79. Smith, D., Vodden, K., Rucker, L. & Cunningham, R. (1997b). Global benefits and costs of the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer. Technical Report, TNS Canadian Facts. Environment Canada, Ottawa, Canada.
80. Suding, K.N., LeJeune, K.D. & Seastedt, T.R. (2004). Competitive impacts and responses of an invasive weed: dependencies on nitrogen and phosphorus availability. Oecologia, 141, 526-535.
81. Sutton, M.A., Oenema, O., Erisman, J.W., Leip, A., van Grinsven, H. & Winiwarter, W. (2011). Too much of a good thing. Nature, 472, 159-161.
82. Talberth, J., Cobb, C. & Slattery, N. (2006). The geniune progress indicator 2006: a tool for sustainable development. Redefining Progress. Oakland, CA, pp. 31.
83. Thomas, R.Q., Canham, C.D., Weathers, K.C. & Goodale, C.L. (2010). Increased tree carbon storage in response to nitrogen deposition in the US. Nat. Geosci., 3, 13-17.
84. Toman, M. (1998). Why not to calculate the value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital. Ecol. Econ., 25, 57-60.
85. Townsend, A.R. et al. (2003). Human health effects of a changing global nitrogen cycle. Front. Ecol. Environ., 1, 240-246.
86. US EPA. (1985). Historic Emissions of Sulfur and Nitrogen Oxides in the United State from 1900 to 1980. EPA-600/7-85-009b. US EPA, Office of Research and Development, Air and Engineering Research Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, NC.
87. US EPA. (1999). EPA Report to Congress. Benefits and Costs of the Clean Air Act 1990 to 2010. Government Printing Office, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC.
88. US EPA. (2000). National Air Pollutant Emission Trends 1900-1998. EPA-454/R-00-002. Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Research Triangle Park, NC.
89. US EPA. (2009). An Urgent Call to Action: Report of the State-EPA Nutrient Innovations Task Force. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, Washington D.C., pp. 170.
90. Vaas, P.A. & Jordan, S.J. (1990). Long term trends in abundance indices for 19 species of Chesapeake Bay fishes: Reflection of trends in the Bay ecosystem. New Perspectives in the Chesapeake System: a Research and Management Partnership (eds. Mihursky, J. & Chaney, A.) Chesapeake Research Consortium Publication 137, 539-546.
91. Van Dolah, F.M. (2000). Marine algal toxins: origins, health effects, and their increased occurrence. Environ. Health Perspect., 108(Supplement 1), 133-141.
92. Van Drecht, G., Bouwman, A.F., Harrison, J. & Knoop, J.M. (2009). Global nitrogen and phosphate in urban wastewater for the period 1970 to 2050. Glob. Biogeochem. Cycles, 23, GB0A03.
93. Vitousek, P.M. et al. (1997). Human alteration of the global nitrogen cycle: sources and consequences. Ecol. Appl., 7, 737-750.
94. Wainger, L. & Boyd, J. (2009). Valuing Ecosystem Services. In: Ecosystem-based Management for the Oceans (eds. McLead, K. & Leslie, H.). Island Press, Washington D.C., USA, pp. 92-111.
95. Ward, M.H., deKok, T.M., Levallois, P., Brender, J., Gulis, G., Nolan, B.T. et al. (2005). Workgroup report: drinking-water nitrate and health - recent findings and research needs. Environ. Health Perspect., 113, 1607-1614.
96. Weiss, S.B. (1999). Cars, cows, and checkerspot butterflies: nitrogen deposition and management of nutrient-poor grasslands for a threatened species. Conserv. Biol., 13, 1476-1486.
97. Whitehead, J.C., Haab, T.C. & Parsons, G.R. (2003). Economic effects of Pfiesteria. Ocean Coast. Manag., 46, 845-858.
98. Wigand, C. (2003). Relationships of nitrogen loadings, residential development, and physical characteristics with plant structure in New England salt marshes. Estuaries, 26, 1494-1504.