Phelan Jennifer, Bell Michael D, Lynch Jason A, Geiser Linda H
RTI International, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA.
National Park Service - Air Resources Division, Lakewood, Colorado, USA.
Ecosphere. 2023 Jun;14(6):e4473. doi: 10.1002/ecs2.4473.
Critical loads (CLs) of atmospheric deposition have been used for multiple decades to assess the impacts of air pollutants on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. However, these CLs have been developed by different researchers, at different times, using different methods, and are named in different ways with varying levels of information and levels of specificity. In this study, we identified the elements that describe CLs and used them to develop and test a standardized CL naming convention and a complementary CL classification system applicable to all CLs. The CL naming convention consists of: the form of deposition; the biological receptor, response, and threshold; and chemical criterion and threshold, thereby clearly communicating what the CL is and what it protects. The CL classification system contains all the elements that define and describe a CL, but the CL classes are not fixed and are therefore, defined by the user. The application of the CL naming convention and classification system to an existing US CL database and national forest was successful, demonstrating not only the utility of the naming convention and classification system, but how both can also be used to guide future CL science.
几十年来，大气沉降的临界负荷（CLs）一直被用于评估空气污染物对陆地和水生生态系统的影响。然而，这些临界负荷是由不同的研究人员在不同时间使用不同方法得出的，其命名方式也各不相同，信息水平和具体程度也有所差异。在本研究中，我们确定了描述临界负荷的要素，并利用这些要素开发和测试了一种适用于所有临界负荷的标准化临界负荷命名法和一个互补的临界负荷分类系统。临界负荷命名法包括：沉降形式；生物受体、响应和阈值；以及化学标准和阈值，从而清晰地传达临界负荷是什么以及它所保护的对象。临界负荷分类系统包含了定义和描述临界负荷的所有要素，但临界负荷类别并非固定不变，因此由用户来定义。将临界负荷命名法和分类系统应用于现有的美国临界负荷数据库和国家森林是成功的，这不仅证明了命名法和分类系统的实用性，还展示了它们如何能够用于指导未来的临界负荷科学研究。
