Dise Nancy B, Stevens Carly J
Department of Earth Sciences, Open University, MK7 6AA, Milton Keynes, UK.
Sci China C Life Sci. 2005 Sep;48 Suppl 2:720-8. doi: 10.1007/BF03187112.
Biodiversity is thought to be essential for ecosystem stability, function and long-term sustainability. Since nitrogen is the limiting nutrient for plant growth in many terrestrial ecosystems, reactive nitrogen has the potential to reduce the diversity of terrestrial vegetation and associated biota through favouring species adapted to quickly exploiting available nutrients. Although the potential has long been recognised, only recently has enough evidence come together to show beyond reasonable doubt that these changes are already occurring. Linked together, experimental, regional/empirical, and time-series research provide a powerful argument that enhanced deposition of reactive nitrogen across Great Britain, and potentially the rest of Europe, has resulted in a significant and ongoing decline in grassland species richness and diversity.
生物多样性被认为对生态系统的稳定性、功能及长期可持续性至关重要。由于氮是许多陆地生态系统中植物生长的限制养分，活性氮有可能通过青睐那些适应快速利用可用养分的物种，从而降低陆地植被及相关生物群的多样性。尽管这种可能性早已得到认可，但直到最近才有足够的证据确凿地表明这些变化已经在发生。实验研究、区域/实证研究和时间序列研究相互关联，有力地证明了整个英国以及欧洲其他地区活性氮沉降的增加，已导致草地物种丰富度和多样性显著且持续下降。
