Shifts in Lake N:P Stoichiometry and Nutrient Limitation Driven by Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition

Abstract

Nitrogen Overload The cycling of essential nutrients in terrestrial ecosystems has been altered by human activities. Elser et al. (p. 835 ) report a comparative analysis of lakes in Norway, Sweden, and in the United States that suggests that this is also true in aquatic ecosystems such as lakes. Deposition of anthropogenically derived atmospheric nitrogen controls whether N or P is growth-limiting for phytoplankton. Under elevated conditions of atmospheric N inputs, lake phytoplankton become consistently P-limited because the N:P ratio is strongly distorted. This is in contrast to conditions of low N deposition when lake phytoplankton are N-limited. These effects are even observed in remote lakes, demonstrating the indirect yet wide-ranging effects of humans on global food webs.