nitrogen: friend or foe

It’s kind of a good news, bad news situation.

The National Science Foundation recently released data from its longest running study showing that by releasing one pollutant into the environment it may help in combating another pollutant in the environment.

The research indicates that by adding nitrogen into the soil, prompts northern hardwood forests to absorb more carbon dioxide. The conclusion being that if we dump nitrogen into the atmosphere, we could create huge carbon sinks and help mitigate climate change. However, many experts are also saying that it is a dangerous experiment that could have dangerous consequences.

In the experiment larger than normal levels of nitrogen were added to the soil. As expected, the trees grew more, which is beneficial because it means they can absorb more carbon dioxide. But there was an unexpected observation in the forest floor. The decomposition of tree litter (twigs, leaves, bark) slowed. Tree litter has a high concentration of lignan which is very good at trapping carbon. The longer the lignan stays around due to a decrease in erosion, the longer the carbon is trapped.

However there are downsides to pumping nitrogen into the atmosphere, “including biodiversity loss, smog formation, and acidification of forests, streams and lakes.” Also, the forests that were experimented on have reached nitrogen saturation, meaning they cannot take up anymore nitrogen into their system. This means what is left in the ground could make it into our water system. When humans are exposed to too much nitrogen there are health risks, most seriously “blue baby syndrome” which is a fatal blood disease in infants. And, if the nitrogen makes it all the way to the seas and oceans, there is high potential for dead zones. And, finally, there is the potential of the saturated trees to start releasing the nitrogen as nitrous oxide which is a harmful greenhouse gas.

There is much more work to be done to see if nitrogen will be a blessing or a curse. On a daily basis, as we increase our industries, we increase the levels of this gas. So, eventually, we will know the answer.

The article can be found via The Daily Climate