Impact of nitrogen deposition on species richness of calcareous grasslands in Europe - some preliminary results

Didier Alard (1) , E. Dorland (2) , C. Dupre (3) , C. Stevens (4) , Cassandre Gaudnik (1) , Emmanuel Corcket (1) , N. Dise (5) , M. Diekmann (3) , R. Bobbink (2) , P.A. Aarrestad (6) , V. Vandvik (7) , D. Gowing (4)

1 BioGeCo - Biodiversité, Gènes & Communautés
2 Universiteit Utrecht / Utrecht University [Utrecht]
3 University of Bremen
4 Open University
5 Department of Environmental & Geographical Sciences
6 NINA - Norwegian Institute for Nature Research
7 UiB - University of Bergen

• This paper seeks to determine whether N-deposition has a negative impact on the species richness of calcareous grasslands at a European wide scale. • 100 calcareous grasslands across the Atlantic region of Europe were sampled in one season. Species composition and richness of vegetation communities were compared to some key environmental drivers (climate and N deposition) indirectly estimated via surrogates (latitude, longitude, N concentration in bryophyte tissue). • There are marked differences in species composition across the calcareous grasslands of the Atlantic biogeographic zone within Europe. Contrasts in mean species richness between regions are also detectable at a European wide scale. These natural gradients may mask any footprint of N deposition on vegetation at a European-wide scale. • For grasslands located along the western range of distribution, there are indications of a decline in species richness as N concentration in moss increases. This suggests that N deposition may be reducing biodiversity in calcareous grasslands at a wide scale, but that this impact can only be detected at the regional, rather than cross-European, level. • Further research is needed to investigate the impact of N deposition on calcareous grasslands, particularly through the direct assessment of potential drivers as well as the characterisation of variations in species pools at the European scale.

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

Didier Alard, E. Dorland, C. Dupre, C. Stevens, Cassandre Gaudnik, et al.. Impact of nitrogen deposition on species richness of calcareous grasslands in Europe - some preliminary results. Nitrogen Deposition and Natura 2000. Science & practice in determining environmental impacts : Book of Proceedings of the COST729 Mid-term workshop, COST Office, 307 p., 2011, 978-91-86125-23-3. ⟨hal-02806606⟩