Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 25, 2026

Measurement of the Potential Rates of Dissimilatory Nitrate Reduction to Ammonium Based on 14NH4+/15NH4+ Analyses via Sequential Conversion to N2O
Published on: October 7, 2020
Effects of atmospheric nitrogen deposition on remote freshwater ecosystems
1University of Lyon l, Villeurbanne, France. fabio.lepori@univ-lyon1.fr
Abstract:
We review known and hypothesized effects of nitrogen (N) deposition owing to human activities on the chemistry, organisms, and ecosystem processes of remote oligotrophic freshwaters. Acidification is the best-known effect of N deposition on water chemistry, but additional effects include increased nutrient availability and alteration of the balance between N and other nutrients. Our synthesis of the literature, framed in a comprehensive model for the effects of N deposition on natural ecosystems, shows that all these effects can reduce biological diversity and alter ecosystem processes in remote freshwaters. N deposition is projected to grow worldwide in the near future and will interact with other global changes. Present effects on these fragile ecosystems may be only early signs of more radical impacts ahead.
Related Concept Videos
Freshwater Microbial Ecology
The Nitrogen Cycle
Microbes and Climate Change
Overview of Nitrogen Metabolism
The largest pool of nitrogen available in the terrestrial ecosystem is gaseous nitrogen (N2) from the air, but this nitrogen...
Metabolism of Chemolithotrophs
What is an Ecosystem?

