Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 8, 2026

Author Spotlight: Understanding Riverine Nitrogen Impacts and Primary Productivity for Effective Nutrient Management
Published on: July 14, 2023
Anthropogenic changes to the Holocene nitrogen cycle in Ireland
Eric Guiry1, Fiona Beglane2,3, Paul Szpak4
1Department of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, 303 NW Marine Drive, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1, Canada.
Abstract:
Humans have always affected their ecosystems, but finding evidence for significant and lasting changes to preindustrial landscapes is rare. We report on human-caused changes to the nitrogen cycle in Ireland in the Bronze Age, associated with intensification of agriculture and animal husbandry that resulted in long-term changes to the nitrogen isotope values of animals (wild and domesticates) during the Holocene. Major changes to inputs and cycling of soil nitrogen occurred through deforestation, land clearance and management, and more intensive animal husbandry and cereal crop cultivation in the later Bronze Age; after this time, the Irish landscape took on its current form. Within the debate concerning the onset of the Anthropocene, our data suggest that human activity in Ireland was significant enough in the Bronze Age to have long-term impact, thereby marking a profound shift in the relationship between humans and their environment.
Related Concept Videos
The Nitrogen Cycle
What are Biogeochemical Cycles?
Overview of Nitrogen Metabolism
The largest pool of nitrogen available in the terrestrial ecosystem is gaseous nitrogen (N2) from the air, but this...
Inorganic Nitrogen Assimilation
Chirality at Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur
A consequence of chirality is the need for enantiomeric resolution. While this is theoretically possible for all...
The Water Cycle

