Can plant or lichen natural abundance 15N ratios indicate the influence of oil sands N emissions on bogs?

Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies

Melanie A. Vile¹  Kimberli D. Scott²  James C. Quinn³  Cara M. Albright⁴  Dale H. Vitt⁵  R. Kelman Wieder⁶  Bin Xu⁷ 

[1] Center for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Stewardship, Villanova University, Villanova, PA 19085, USA;Correspondence to: Department of Biology, Mendel Hall, 800 Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, PA 19085, USA.;Department of Geography and the Environment, Villanova University, Villanova, PA 19085, USA;Department of Health, West Chester University, West Chester, PA 19383, USA;Faculty of Science and Technology, Athabasca University, Athabasca, Alberta T9S3A3, Canada;Department of Biology, Villanova University, Villanova, PA 19085, USA;Faculty of Science and Technology, Athabasca University, Athabasca, Alberta T9S3A3, Canada;

关键词: 15N;    Bog;    Monitoring;    Nitrogen;    Oil sands;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Study region: The 140,329 km2 Athabasca Oil Sands Administrative Area (OSAA), which contains 8982 km2 of bogs. Since the late 1970s, N emissions from oil sands development in the OSAA have steadily increased, reaching over 80,000 metric tonnes yr−1 in 2017. Study focus: If oil sands N emissions have distinct stable isotopic signatures, it may be possible to quantify the extent to which these emissions have affected N cycling in surrounding aquatic, wetland, and terrestrial ecosystems. To assess the potential for 15N as a tracer of oil sands N emissions, we measured natural abundance 15N ratios and tissue N concentrations in 10 plant or lichen species at 6 peatland sites at different distances from the oil sands region, collected on 17 sampling dates over three years (2009–2011). New hydrological insights: To understand how the pressures of changing N and S deposition regimes and hydrologic disturbance interactively affect the region’s wetlands, it is critical to understand how these pressures act individually. The epiphytic lichen, Evernia mesomorpha, was the only species that exhibited patterns that could be interpreted as being influenced by oil sands N emissions. The paucity of data on δ15N signatures of oil sands related N sources precludes definitive interpretations of δ15N in plant or lichen tissues with respect to oil sands N emissions.

【 授权许可】

Unknown