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Proximity to Roads Does Not Modify Inorganic Nitrogen Deposition in a Topographically Complex, High Traffic, Subalpine Forest

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Abstract

Vehicles are an important source for N deposition that may negatively impact roadside ecosystems. While elevated roadside N deposition has been found in many locations, it is not yet known if vehicle emissions cause measurable increases of N deposition in complex, mountainous terrain adjacent to roads. To address this, this study investigated the effect of vehicle N emissions on throughfall (through trees) and open N deposition in a high traffic corridor in mountainous terrain of Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA. We measured bulk (wet + dry) atmospheric N deposition in throughfall and open samplers along two transects of 750 (throughfall) and 225 (open) m moving away from the road using ion exchange resin (IER) collectors. Contrary to most studies of roadside N deposition, we found no influence of road proximity on inorganic N deposition in throughfall or open sites, possibly due to terrain complexity. Interactions with vegetation modified regional N deposition; throughfall sites had 69% higher nitrate (NO3−) deposition than open sites and larger trees were associated with higher ammonium (NH4+) deposition as compared to smaller trees. When comparing to regional sites that are part of national monitoring networks, we confirmed that our estimates were unaffected by vehicle emissions as our throughfall IER collectors had similar total inorganic N deposition as wet + dry deposition from regional sites (8.64–13.56 vs 10.72–12.14 g N ha−1 day−1, respectively). These findings do not negate vehicles as a local source of N emissions but suggest elevated N deposition adjacent to busy roads cannot be assumed for complex terrains. Instead, environmental variables may be more important drivers than proximity to roads in topographically complex ecosystems.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available in the Environmental Data Initiative repository: https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/3b9095eb0d80afb6456a61ab37bb6b72

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Acknowledgements

We thank Rebecca Even, Kaydee Barker, Leland Dorchester, Amy Rocci, Tim Weinmann, and Caitlin Charlton for their assistance in the field. We also thank Scott Esser and Lisa Baron at Rocky Mountain National Park for their assistance in facilitating this research. This research was conducted under permit numbers: ROMO-2021-SCI-0013 & ROMO-2021-SCI-0019. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program and a small grant from the Colorado State University Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, both awarded to K. S. Rocci.

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  1. Institute of Alpine and Arctic Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80303, USA

    Katherine S. Rocci & M. Francesca Cotrufo

  2. Institute for Global Change Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Katherine S. Rocci

  3. U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins, CO, 80526, USA

    Jill S. Baron

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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Katherine Rocci. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Katherine Rocci and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Katherine S. Rocci.

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Rocci, K.S., Cotrufo, M.F. & Baron, J.S. Proximity to Roads Does Not Modify Inorganic Nitrogen Deposition in a Topographically Complex, High Traffic, Subalpine Forest. Water Air Soil Pollut 234, 761 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-023-06762-2

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