Stickstoffeinträge in den Schweizer Wald: Ausmass und Auswirkungen

Abstract

Because of their rough surface forests are an efficient sink for nitrogen compounds emitted by industry, traffic and agriculture. Deposition maps reveal that nitrogen deposition in Swiss forests exceed 30 kg N/(ha × yr) in various regions, which is clearly higher than the critical loads set by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The calculated deposition data base on emission inventories, dispersion models, measurements of various deposition components (gaseous, aerosols, wet) as well as on balance calculations. The evaluation of the effects on forests bases on two summary reports: the workshop report of a UNECE meeting on critical loads for nitrogen held in 2010 and a summary of own nitrogen addition experiments published in 2011. The presented data suggest that in Switzerland nitrogen inputs are high enough to cause changes of forest ecosystems.